Potty help!! Any advice?

I know many of the kids here are younger but does anyone have any advice for me with Luke & his potty training? Im really getting sick of this.

I have tried just about anything I can remember being suggested and he still pees and poops in his pants. He will pee if I put him at the potty and he will poop if I catch him at the right moment but it doesnt stop him from turning around and still doing it in his diaper. Ive tried underwear only, giving rewards, harrassment, begging, straight forward talks, etc. What can I do? I feel like this is never going to happen!!! I'm really getting so fed up, I am ready to scream. We've had a few moments of being encouraged and then we end up in the same place. I feel incapable of "making him do it" or being encouraging or upbeat about it - none of that seems to be getting through.

Advice anyone?????

Message edited 11/11/2005 12:23:53 PM.

Re: Potty help!! Any advice?

I feel your pain!! I bought Emma my own learning leap and the potty training "disc" for him. She would be so excited to use the potty like Leap.

He will get it. Potty training is a hard thing!

Re: Potty help!! Any advice?

my daugheter is 3 next week and we are still working on it. i guess we just have to hang in there.

Re: Potty help!! Any advice?

my niece is 18 months and we got her "Once upon A potty" she LOVES it. She dances to it and now for the past two weeks she's been grunting taking our hand and leading us to the bathroom to go on the potty.

Re: Potty help!! Any advice?

I am wondering if I should try to start marissa with the potty she is 14 months but whenever I go in the bathroom she follows me and is very interested in the toilet. She had followed me in there when I was brushing my teeth and she tried toclimb up on the toilet thank goodness the lid was down

Re: Potty help!! Any advice?

when my boys were small they sold "targets" that float in the toilet and it would let it be kind of like a game, to aim and hit the target, my pediatrician also told me to use cheerios. ..it worked . We also had once upon a potty and they loved it. My daughter who is now 2 we went and let her pick out underware and made a huge deal about it....it worked then a few weeks ago she totally regressed , but now is back on track...it is very frustrating and hard!! hang in there

Message edited 11/11/2005 12:46:37 PM.

Re: Potty help!! Any advice?

Most important..how old is he? He may just not be ready yet and boys generally get trained later than girls.


What type of potty are you using. We had one that we could put stickers all over and then another with Dora. I put a sign on the wall that he could put a sticker on everytime he went. Once he got the hang a little bit I left him naked (I found that if he had underwear on he would go just the same as a diaper) but naked he would freak out when a little came out.

Hope this helps, and hang in there, it will happen

Re: Potty help!! Any advice?

No advice, just commiseration here. How old is Luke?

Maddie was going on the potty since 15 mos but no at the age of 2 has started to tell me AFTER that she has gone.

I think peer pressure helps. In daycare it was a bigger thing to go on the potty since the older kids do it. We never tried the targets with Joseph but he was 2-1/2 when we started & he was about 3 when he was fully trained. I explained that if he wanted to take swimming lessons, he'd have to go in the potty. Two weeks before his 3rd birthday, we started saying "You're almost 3, no more pull-ups soon -only big boy underwear" - in the end, I think it was because we just went cold turkey with the pull-ups.

I'm thinking we're definitely doing something wrong - our mothers had us trained by the age of 2 at the very latest. Now experts say we shouldn't push them but I dont' have any issues - so what was the problem?


edt - One other question - is he "busy" and doesn't go? or is he hiding when he goes?

Message edited 11/11/2005 7:11:03 PM.

Re: Potty help!! Any advice?

I can just tell you that our little ones are stubborn. They all use the potty when they are ready and cant be forced. YOu can introduce and try rewards but only the kiddies will go on their own when they are ready. My son who is now 3 1/2 told me he will use the potty in our new house and he did. He still has accidents once in while :( like today he pooped and peed in his pants but it doesnt happen to often. Toilet training is sooo hard. Good luck - Shari

Re: Potty help!! Any advice?

He just turned 3 in October. I have tried the targets, books, videos, etc. He seems open to it, loves to use the targets but not enough to use the potty exclusively. He will use it and stands and pees like a champ as well but he will think nothing of peeing or pooping in the diaper. Today I tried underwear and he pee through one pair and later pooped in one pair. I mean, we were 10 steps from the bathroom at the time and he had just peed and got an M&M as a reward, so why the heck poop in your underwear?? So frustrating!!!!

ETA: He goes to preschool. I was hoping the peer pressure would motivate him but he seems oblivious to it, even when I have mentioned that this one and that one do it. He seems totally unfazed by this information.

Message edited 11/11/2005 11:36:49 PM.

Re: Potty help!! Any advice?

I swear by the "once upon a potty for boys" book and video.. they are anatomically correct...

My son also likes the Its potty time video.. the songs really help... What about the ELMO that goes potty?

Do you have a potty chair for him or the insert into the big toilet??

My little one DOES not do ANYTHING in the potty chair, he just wanted to be a big kid...
My SIL's little one ONLY went in the musical potty chair.. HTH.... Good Luck!

PS-Give Luke a hug from his OOT buddy!

Re: Potty help!! Any advice?

stick with it, they dont like how it feels to pee in their underwear. It is alot of work for you, but a few times of that and Ryan preferred making it to the potty.

Re: Potty help!! Any advice?

When Jospeph was in the toddler group, the teacher told the children if they wanted to move up they have to be out of pull-ups & had to go on the potty. I'm surprised that the pre-school took him.

I've considered putting underwear UNDER Maddie's pull-up so she's more uncomfortable. While I love the more absorbent option, the Feel & Learns aren't uncomfortable enough for her.

Re: Potty help!! Any advice?

Re: Potty help!! Any advice?

Liz, I hate to say it but typically Pull-ups really lengthen the time that a child Potty Trains. The more you can have him in undies/naked ( I know it gets messy) the better and faster he will probably train.