potty training help!!!!!

[naflharrison]

does anyone have a babyish 3yr old boy that they are hoping to potty train or anyone have advice on this, he is such a good happy boy but when it comes to the potty its just sooo difficult!! he doesnt seem to realise that he needs to go and i let him loose today without the nappy and just wearing pants, all was good for a while until i thought he had wet himself when i pulled down his trousers he had pooped in his pants n not really noticed. i couldnt look at him without smiling cos he gave me this grin. i dont think he is ready but i think at his ages he needs to be outa nappys. help!!!! (my daughter was so much easier to potty train!)

[redcrx]

i have no tips on how to do it but can tell you that my lad was 3 before he really bothered much.
I was once told that if you try and train then earlier than they are ready that they take longer than if you just let nature take its course.
My lad would also, happily poop in his pants without a care in the world.
Does he use the potty at any time? Have you thought of maybe going straight to the big boy toilet, or getting some of those ping pong balls with faces for the loo to encourage him to try and hit them?

oh and they do reckon that girls are a lot easier, so dont worry that hes a little later than your daughter was

[Solarjunkie]

It was pointed out to me that you have to tell them that's what everyone does, ie use the loo. And demonstrate! Children do learn by copying and so (unless you use a potty!) you may well be better going straight to a loo seat & step. Some children get on better with the smaller sized portable caravan loo.
Good luck.

[Lil O'lady]

I agree with the others - try the big lad's toilet, maybe even give him a nice picture book to look at whilst there (no I'm not kidding). If he sees others on the loo he will probably want to copy. My lad would not entertain a potty as a toddler but went straight to the Big White of his own choosing. Not wishing to pry or be pervy but if he has a 'role model' such as his dad who doesn't mind him wandering into the bathroom during 'occupation' he might get the idea.

[elaine33]

I had two children, a girl and a boy, both were out of nappies day and night by the age of 2. I started using the potty for both of them at 8 months. Once they could sit unaided, I would sit them on the potty after each meal, we would read books or play with a toy for about 5 minutes. This got them used to the potty and it also meant that occasionally in the early days we would get a result. At eighteen months it was such a part of the routine that both children knew what the potty was for and 'performed' . getting them out of nappies was so very easy after that.
Try sitting your little one on the potty or the toilet and stay with them, with a book or a game. Do not expect results every time and give plenty of praise when you get them. He will get the idea soon enough. Good luck.

[mrs_overall]

My eldest two were exactly like elaine33's kids.

My youngest boy was still in nappies at 3 and I was in despair. Even at nursery he was unconcerned that he was the only 3 year old in a nappy. When he was 3.5 he suddenly announced that he didn't want to wear a nappy any more. I still put him in trainer pants for bed but he never had a single accident.
His decision not to wear nappies any more coincided with me accidentally leaving the potty behind when we went on holiday. He was forced to use the big toilet (with his own seat on top of it) and that seemed to be the trigger for him.
How about having a star chart for him and giving him a little reward at the end of the week?
Good luck!

[Le Chat]

If I were you, I would forger about it until the weather takes a turn for the better, then he can go out in the garden with a bare bottom, or just some undies. He will then obviously become aware when he is wetting himeslf and if you keep an eye on him and rush the potty over at the right moment, he will twig on eventually.
My eldest son became 'potty trained' accidentally, when we were in Tenerife. We had a ground floor apartment with a really large terrace. The terrace had a small grid in the middle and a large plant pot in the corner. The little fella used to run around naked and then took great delight in weeing in the grid and seeing how high he could get it when weeing in the plant pot! We continued this by buying a potty for indoors and telling him to wee in that, as if it were the grid!
Children do, as a natural progression and as a human instinct. all eventually become potty trained or 'dry'...it's just that sometimes we want them to be faster than they are really ready to become...what with pre-school, playgroups etc. Don't get too anxious about it, as it will all fall into place eventually and then you'll be nappy free, which is a good day for any mother! x

[madmaggot]

I got my OH to 'go' with my son watching. Not easy as men are so much more private about these things but if they see that that is what men do they try to do the same thing. Try not to make a big thing about it; if he gets attention by pooing his pants he could see it as a desirable thing to do. I think the main thing is to just be very, very patient.

[naflharrison]

thankyou all for your helpfull answers, i know he can do it as he has used the potty once and as much as he was pleased about the praise he was very shy also. hes a shy boy and sees us using the toilet, totally opposite to my daughter who was quite happy to use the toilet. we are very open with the kids we dont mind having baths with the kids and they ask questions and get proper answers! im just worried that he wont be out of them by the time he goes to nursery class in sept! hes a very babyish boy (we bought him a fire engine for xmas that has very realistic sirens etc, we had to take the batteries out as he was scared of the noise. anyway ill leave it for a while and see how we get on! thanks again everyone!