anyone have any tips on potty training my 3 year old son?

We first started by using pull ups and a child size potty. For us- not so good. IMO pull ups make it worse because its just like a diaper and they have a ton more accidents. Also, I went to parentcenter.com for advice all the time because he would pee in the potty with no problem after a few months but not poop!

Some great advice I got which worked like a charm is to make the bathroom more fun for them. I went to the store and bought a Blues Clues potty seat that goes over the big potty that we all use, and since he's such a huge fan, he LOVED it and wanted to use it immediately! And I was in shock because it was months of stress because he refused to use the go on the potty. He would go in his underwear. Also- give him a book to read and privacy. My son loved that and still asks me to leave him alone when he's going to the bathroom. Ever since the day we asked got him that potty- we've only had a handful of accidents.

I think boys are differently trained than girls but I started out by buying the "Feel N Learn" pull-ups which are great because when they are wet, they feel wet to the child. Then we had a "sticker" program. I would put her potty in front of the toilet and we would both go potty together. Every time she was successful, she got a sticker that she placed on the bathroom cupboard beside her potty chair. That way she was able to see the rewards of her efforts. And I also made a big effort to praise her really dramatically! Then we'd both empty her potty into the toilet and wave and say "bye-bye peepees/poopoos, thanks for coming out!" She'd sometimes just sit on the chair and "pretend" to potty just so she'd get a sticker! But she quickly figured out that she needed to produce visible results... It took about 2 months. Then I took her shopping and let her pick out her own underwear (Dora). She was so happy to wear them and very, very proud. She had a few accidents but I never made a big deal out of them to her. It got tricky when we went out because it's important that as soon as said she had to potty, we had to pull over right away. I was sure NOT to fall back on the pullups just because we were out. It just prolongs the process. She was able to wear underwear during the day and a pullup at night. Then, eventually she lost the nightime pullup and I woke her at 2am and took her to the potty - every night for about a week. And then that was that.

Every child is different tho - the key is to make a big fuss when they go and not make a fuss if they don't. Good luck with it.

Some fun ways to get him interested in using the potty are: putting fruit loops in the toilet and having them aim, having a little treat jar where they can pick out a candy or something everytime they go in the toilet. When they "poop" in the potty, give them a dollar toy (Hot Wheels). Put a sticker for each dry day and at the end of a week, or something, they get a bigger toy, or an outing or an ice cream sundae with dad or mom. Oh! And have him be naked, so you can tell when he has to go potty. It sure helped me check on him more frequently, so my nice sofa didn't get peed on!!! LOL

What worked for my son was letting them go bare-bottomed during the afternoon. I would put the potty in the middle of the living room, in front of his favorite movie, or where ever he was playing, he had fun with it, and then when he got the hang of that we graduated to the bigger potty in the bathroom. Good luck. This is a frustrating, but fun time for many children and parents.

The best way, that's worked for me twice and I passed it along to my sister-in-law and worked for her twice, it to spend a weekend and maybe even an extra day with your kid by only having him wear big kids underware, either boxer or trouser and keep taking him the the potty every 20 to 30 minutes and celebrate every time he uses the potty. Only have him wear pull-up at night and as soon as he wakes up put him back on big kid undy. he will have a couple of accidents but that will make him realize that he does not like to smell bad or be wet. Works everytime.

thanks,

Firstly don`t rush them ,even if the books say so . Believe me they will let you know when they are ready. Boys are slower than girls to train.

I would personally forget the potty and go straight to the toilet .There are plenty of special seats that fit the loo.

There is a item on ebay that is called The Wee Man. g8 cause the child pees in the special bowl attached to the toilet.Just like his daddy.then you just tip it up into the loo.

If daddy is around or any other male figure have him take your son in the bathroom with him when he pees. Most every man I have known when their pee hits the water it makes bubbles and kids love bubbles. Make sure he sees the bubbles. Then later on all you have to do is tell him "I bet you cant make bubbles in the potty like daddy or who ever it was" and like most 3 yr olds who are bent on doing most everything the opposite of what you want and just to bug you 9 x's out of 10 will come back at you with "yes I can" and you need to say " I bet you cant" and he will say " I can to" so then you say "ok let me see , cause I dont think you can " and when he does you make a big BIG BIG deal about it . You tell everyone that comes around how your son made bubbles in the potty like a big boy . The trick is you have to really lay it on make it seem like he discovered the cure to every bad thing in the world just by making bubbles in the potty. Heres a tip I know you didnt ask for but instead of learning the hard way like i did I will tell you . Little boys in the morning wake up as you know at full salute and until they reach about 8 sometimes 10 in the mornings they might try to hit the water but usually that first burst is going to hit the lid , the tank , the wall and maybe some will find its way into the water. To avoid having to clean the whole bathroom each morning behind them. I found it easier to have them pee in the shower only in the mornings when it was standing at attention and only up until the time they finally could control it . I found it much easier to rinse the shower out than have pee all over the wall. Especailly when they get up half asleep and then it be hard too. You'll see what I mean. One last thing when teaching them to sit down to go poop have them hold thier little friend down pointing to the water other wise when they are that age when they push to poop sometimes pee will squirt out from below the rim and they end up with wet pants. And to get them to poop in the potty the best way is not to ask them if they can go for you but bet them that they cant go like a big boy and remind them every so often because they usually forget until its to late. They usually go about the same time everyday too so that helps. At 3 they want so bad to prove that they are big and that they have the upper hand and love to be the center of attention . If you try it this way with in a week you wont be buying diapers trust me. I raised 6 boys. All in boxers by 2 using my method accident free.

once you are going to coach your son, you will possibly desire to cheer for him. If he is going potty, say that he's the bravest guy or woman ever. every time he does pass,act as though he basically climbed Mount Everest.perhaps which will help him. and if he loves candies, supply him some daily,no longer too lots.and you ought to even supply him a penny an afternoon. because of the fact a penny an afternoon, keeps the conflict away!

Get ur kid a potty training song tape.

My sister used cherrios and told him to pee on the cherrios, she also used foaming mousse and told him to pee on the clouds:) It worked less than a week and he was potty trained..