Atlanta Cracker Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 I'm not very good at the "sit back and let it happen" thing but before I screw my son up for life I wanted to get some huddler feedback . He turned 3 in January and is very aware of the potty and how it works. I am sure he can handle it but he has zero interest. In fact he has less than zero interest. I guess I'm just trying to figure out when/if I should force the issue a little bit and exactly how if so. I have heard of people doing "pants off" training for a weekend with success but I don't know if I want to spend time that we could be doing something else fun chasing around my bare bottomed son to get him to go to the potty and cleaning up the messes. What say you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Country Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 As mentioned in the thumb sucking thread, a reward system could work. My wife set up a potty chart, and every hour she would have my son sit on the toilet. Whether he went or not, he would get a sticker for "trying". He got ot put the sticker on his potty chart, and every 8 stickers, he would get a potty prize. We did this last summer (he turned 3 in October) as he needed to be potty trained to go to preschool. It didn't seem to be working, then one day, or it seemed like pretty much one day, it just clicked with him. Pooping, well, that took a little longer to get him to go in the toilet but he is a pro now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yo mama Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 My daughter took to it around 3 years old. My son at 3-1/2 still wears a pull up at night, but is groovy during the day. Didn't do the pants off method. Mostly it was just removing diapers from the equation when they expressed readiness, and asking them/taking them to the bathroom every hour or two even if they didn't think they had to go. Reward success. Don't punish failure. At this point we can interpret their nonverbal behavior in terms of when they have to go; preventing accidents is as much the parents' job as it is the kids. But I wouldn't force potty training on a kid who wasn't ready to try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiefjay Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 No comment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cunning Runt Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 As mentioned in the thumb sucking thread, a reward system could work. My wife set up a potty chart, and every hour she would have my son sit on the toilet. Whether he went or not, he would get a sticker for "trying". He got ot put the sticker on his potty chart, and every 8 stickers, he would get a potty prize. We did this last summer (he turned 3 in October) as he needed to be potty trained to go to preschool. It didn't seem to be working, then one day, or it seemed like pretty much one day, it just clicked with him. Pooping, well, that took a little longer to get him to go in the toilet but he is a pro now. Ya - we did do the sticker thing, which graduated to bigger things (an inexpensive toy - like at Dollar Tree) and it worked well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Savage Beatings Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 Daycare actually helped us with our son... in that he saw other kids his age starting to use the potty, which is what got him motivated. We did some practice sessions on the toilet in the beginning... reassuring him that nothing had to happen, that we just wanted to practice sitting there. Each session brought a reward of a sucker. Then the practice became real sessions, where the reward was only given for some kind of production. Also, that big person toilet can be a bit intimidating for a little kid, so we started out by having him face the tank while sitting down... it makes them feel a little safer. They can kind of hold onto the tank that way, and their butts just seem to fit better that way until they feel comfortable. Then when they feel a litlle more comfortable, turn them so that they are facing forward. At some point, you have to take away the diapers and/or pullups, and put regular underwear on them... once they crap themselves without a diaper, they will not want to do it again. Its messy but effective. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puddy Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 I have a related question. How does a kid's body decide when to stop going pee at night. We were wildly successful potty training during the day. For nighttime, do they just keep going until something in their little bodies decides it can make it until morning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
untateve Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 I'm not very good at the "sit back and let it happen" thing but before I screw my son up for life I wanted to get some huddler feedback . He turned 3 in January and is very aware of the potty and how it works. I am sure he can handle it but he has zero interest. In fact he has less than zero interest. I guess I'm just trying to figure out when/if I should force the issue a little bit and exactly how if so. I have heard of people doing "pants off" training for a weekend with success but I don't know if I want to spend time that we could be doing something else fun chasing around my bare bottomed son to get him to go to the potty and cleaning up the messes. What say you? When each of my sons were about 3, we did the pants off for the weekend. By the end of the weekend, they were trained. I don't know why that worked so well, but it did. Of course, my home is mostly tile so I didn't have much concern about an accident. Oh, you need to get real excited when they go in the potty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yo mama Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 I have a related question. How does a kid's body decide when to stop going pee at night. We were wildly successful potty training during the day. For nighttime, do they just keep going until something in their little bodies decides it can make it until morning. I'm a night owl, so I wake my kids up around 1am and take them to the bathroom before I go to bed. That helps them make it through the night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yo mama Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 Oh, you need to get real excited when they go in the potty. Troof. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
untateve Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 At some point, you have to take away the diapers and/or pullups, and put regular underwear on them... once they crap themselves without a diaper, they will not want to do it again. Its messy but effective. Once you are certain they have the ability to go to a potty if they need to, having them clean their underwear in the sink after an accident provides motivation and teaches responsibility. Of course, you have to make sure you consistently provide children with positive attention. I've seen this backfire when the only attention a parent gave was when the kid f'd up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Savage Beatings Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 I've seen this backfire when the only attention a parent gave was when the kid f'd up. Like chiefjay? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Country Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 Oh, you need to get real excited when they go in the potty. Very true. We would clap and high five etc. just for trying. And when he went we'd really celebrate. He wears a pull up for his nap and a diaper at night. Going to start working on that part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Dick Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 My son is 2 and a half and we have been trying to get him thinking about it. My wife is REALLY lazy about it, and I've been trying to convince her she has to be as consistent as I am with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T_bone65 Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 Elise will be 3 in July and she is now potty trained. She goes to a "school" and they started working with her and then we re-enforced what they started. She is still on a reward program to where if her panties are still dry and she tries she gets a sticker and if she goes she gets a piece of candy. She will now try every hour on her own just to get something. We use candy until about an hour before bedtime then she gets animal crackers. She went from diapers to pullups to panties in about 3 weeks, she still uses a pullup at nite but she usually wakes up dry still. Pooping is another story but for the last 4 days she has pooped on the potty on her own as well. All kids are different as my son was over 3 before he wanted to start. With her I think it is almost a peer pressure thing seeing all of the kids in her class of 2.5-3 years olds all wearing underwear and she was in diapers still. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Dick Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 My son has 2 books we leave by the toilet that he can only read in there. Of course now he's telling us he has to poop so he can sit there and read his books. So now I've started to ask him if he's going in to play or is it a business trip. If he REALLY needs to go he tells me "business trip." Cracks me up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puddy Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 I'm a night owl, so I wake my kids up around 1am and take them to the bathroom before I go to bed. That helps them make it through the night. Did that religously for months (usually around 11:30 - 3 hours after bedtime). Didn't really help. I'm just curious if potty training only means when they are awake. I mean how can you train a sleeping child? Mrs. Puddy claims the body will just stop going at some point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiefjay Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 Like chiefjay? lol but it worked for my kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yo mama Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 (edited) My son has 2 books we leave by the toilet that he can only read in there. Of course now he's telling us he has to poop so he can sit there and read his books. So now I've started to ask him if he's going in to play or is it a business trip. If he REALLY needs to go he tells me "business trip." Cracks me up. Everyone Poops is a classic. If you're going to read to your kids anyways, might as well kill two birds with one stone. Edited March 11, 2008 by yo mama Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yo mama Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 Did that religously for months (usually around 11:30 - 3 hours after bedtime). Didn't really help. I'm just curious if potty training only means when they are awake. I mean how can you train a sleeping child? Mrs. Puddy claims the body will just stop going at some point. Dunno. My daughter gets up and goes on her own about 95% of the time. My son is a lazy bones about it, preferring to wallow in his own filth, or crawl into our clean bed post-excrement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh 0ne Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 Did that religously for months (usually around 11:30 - 3 hours after bedtime). Didn't really help. I'm just curious if potty training only means when they are awake. I mean how can you train a sleeping child? Mrs. Puddy claims the body will just stop going at some point. Just don't put them in a pull up. Buy a waterproof sheet for over the mattress. Kids don't like being uncomfortable, he'll probably piss the bed a few times, which will require some extra laundry work, but he'll also probably learn that he doesn't like it pretty quick, motivation to stop. Also make sure you cut the fluids long before bed time, and make him pee right before he goes to bed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
isleseeya Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 i may have just sharted so i probably am not the best source of advice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missoula Griz Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 My son was 2 1/2 years old and he new darn well how the toilet worked, but he was lazy. The last time I changed a poopy diaper I held it up to his face and said this is the last one I change. I almost pushed it in his face. He was now potty trained. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yo mama Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 My son was 2 1/2 years old and he new darn well how the toilet worked, but he was lazy. The last time I changed a poopy diaper I held it up to his face and said this is the last one I change. I almost pushed it in his face. He was now potty trained. Your official nomination for father of the year should be coming any day now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missoula Griz Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 Your official nomination for father of the year should be coming any day now. It worked. He knew better and my actions, though aggresive, solved the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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