Potty training help Ds2 will be 4 in a little less than a month and I cannot for the life of me get…
Potty training help
Ds2 will be 4 in a little less than a month and I cannot for the life of me get this kid to potty train! He knows when he has to go, and has all the signs of readiness he just refuses to go in the toilet. I have tried letting him pick his own underwear-worked for a day then he peed in them back to back the next day. I have tried putting cheerio’s in the toilet for targets-worked one time. I have tried letting him run naked and that has worked the best but again he will go a day or two then just starts peeing and pooping on my floor. I tried his favorite character underwear and he will go to the bathroom 3 or 4 times then decide he doesn’t care and just relieve himself. He has had to clean out his own underwear, put in timeout, toys have been taken away, we have tried rewards with candies and small toys and I recently tried a sticker chart that he had no interest in. I am at a complete loss. Ds1 was potty trained in a week once we took diapers away. I have taken diapers/pull ups away and it does nothing.
deleted-user·
The back and forth is likely what has dragged out the process so long. Consistency is the key to most things when it comes to children. I have potty trained many children over the years.
My middle ds sounds similar to yours. He had no interest in potty training. He also showed all the signs of readiness. We talked about it for a couple of weeks leading up to his birthday. The day after his 4th birthday I put away all the diapers and told him that I wasn't putting diapers on a great big 4 year old. He was fully trained in 2 days. But even if it had taken 2 months, I wouldn't have given in. Once I commit to potty training, there's no going back.
I didn't focus on rewards with him. We talked about it a lot. I explained that it was just part of growing up. I talked him through his fears of the loud flushing sound and his hesitation to poop in the potty. I listened and sympathized with him, but ultimately he understood that I wasn't going to give in.
With any method of potty training there should never be any punishments for accidents. I would not suggest using timeouts or showing any sign of frustration. That leads to power struggles and defiant behavior and can prolong the process. Staying calm, positive, and matter of fact is the best tactic I've found. If there are still accidents after a month of consistency on your part, I would check with his pediatrician to make sure there aren't any medical issues that could be causing the problem.