Moms of boys? Was your son at least starting potty training by 2.5?

Question

My son doesn't even show the earliest signs of potty training. He says he pooped when he didn't, I tried him in underwear and he wet right through it 3 times in a row after being sat on the potty and didn't even say anything to me. It's like he doesn't even understand me or what I'm saying to him. I know all kids are different but I thought by this age he would at least be showing signs of readiness?

Answer 1

All kids are different. If he's not quite ready just yet leave him until he is showing more signs.

Don't worry about him though, I've got 3 kids and they all toilet trained at different ages. I tried to hurry my first one and it just gets messy! So we stopped and waited.

Answer 2

I was told by my child health nurse that girls usually start around 2 and boys 2.5yrs. And that girls are heaps easier to train then boys. My boy has just gone 2 and he will do wees in the potty occasionally and on the little toilet seat that goes on the big one. When I first got the potty he wouldnt sit on for weeks, then when he finally did and now when he wees i make a huge deal out of it. Im not going to push the toilet training until our summer (December) when I can let him run around in very few clothes.

If your son is showing no signs of toilet training then dont worry about it just yet, some take longer then others and theyll do it in their own time. In the meantime make going to the potty a novelty and no big deal if hes not interested.

Answer 3

My son was trained by 27 months. I let him go without a diaper when he was home a lot and it seemed to help him. Must have been that he was able to see himself and knew that he was about to go. Of course there were still accidents in the floor. I was afraid by doing this he would get used to the idea of going naked, but he just went straight into the underwear with no problem. And we haven't had any bed wetting. Don't let it bother you too much, kids learn at their own pace.

Answer 4

no not necessarily every child is different. some aren't ready till 3 an a half don't stress. he will want to go when hes ready try making it fun, get him to go with you or your partner, if its warm let him run round with no pants on an leave the potty in the same room as him. most importantly don't push him in to it if he isn't ready my son use to say the same thing an while he would pee he wouldn't p**p in the potty it took a good couple of mths to change his mind

Answer 5

What about dads of boys? Or don't we count. Our son started at 2yrs. He still wore a nappy at night till he was three.

He didn't like using the toilet until i took him in there and showed him how to pee. He is 4 this year and he goes by himself and wipes his own ***. Even reads my car and bike mags.

Answer 6

my sister and i were potty trained by the time we were 2, but my brother wasn't potty trained till he was 6 or 7! my mom kept trying with no success, and went to a uroligist who said boys just take longer( he still wet his bed till he was 10) when my mom asked him why he wouldnt use the potty, he said that he liked it it was warm! give him time my brother was an extreme case, im sure your son will have it by 3 or 4 :) good luck and congrats:)

Answer 7

believe me, when your boy is ready he will let you know. my boy was 3 1/4 when he was trained. he trained both day/night in 3 days & ive never had a problem with him bed wetting. my mum always used to lecture me about training him earlier but i knew he was not ready. follow your instincts. if you dont think he is ready & you try & force him to train, you may actually make it worse.

Answer 8

my son was completely potty trained at this age. you could visit http://www.learning-graph.com/teachingdi... for tips.

Answer 9

Don't watch for signs, just do it. It's like watching for a sign that your son WANTS TO TAKE A NAP. good luck! lol. My son was completely potty trained at 2 1/2 years old. I started working with him going to the potty when he was only 1 year old though, so maybe that's why. My son just turned 3 years old and we're done with potty training. no diapers, no pull-ups, no wetting the bed at night. done as done can be. I'm proud of him! He's proud of himself and even talks to his p**p while pooping. As he flushes the toilet, he says "bye bye p**p see you tomorrow!" hilarious!!:)

Answer 10

I used to work in child care before I had my children. I have 1 boy 2 girls. My girls both toilet trained between 2.5 - 3 years, with full control shortly after their 3rd birthdays. My son was similar to the boys I helped train in childcare, it is slightly more difficult for them to co-ordinate and understand. For example, a girl sits down and can take care of 'all' her business, for boys it is obviously physically different. It is also important to remember, that generally, boys mature slower than girls, so need to be given more time. My son was fully trained at 3 1/2 years and never had any accidents when HE decided he was ready to train. I found the similarity with all of the children was to let them lead the way, they will let you know when they are ready. Certainly introduce the potty and make it a part of their day, but without any pressure, it can make it overwhelming for them. He will train easily if you let him take the lead. It is annoying to still be changing him, but it wont be forever, before you know it he'll be asking for the car keys! :)

Answer 11

My son is the same age, and same problems! He sits on the potty and tells me he's done wee or poo and hops off right away but there's nothing there. I don't think he understands (or cares at all) about the concept and clearly, he's not at all ready, so I'm not too worried.  I hear that if you wait until the right time it happens very quickly and easily - sounds good to me. Also, not sure where you live but I'm in Australia, so I'll be waiting until the warm weather closer to his 3rd birthday. If you're in summer at the moment, perhaps you may like to wait another year - it sounds as though you'll be stressing both of you out to bother about it now.

Answer 12

oh my god, what a competative woman heiss is, that first answer was so unnecessary, what does your child reaching its mile stones that early have to do with the question, rub it in why dont you?

Anyhow my input on the SUBJECT is that it is not an intelectual mile stone, it is simply a feeling that your child has, and the clinic nurses at my local early chilhood center say that most children are not ready until they are at least 3.

My friend has just started with her 3.5 yr old and he was ready and willing and within the week was out of night nappies too!!

Maybe try him on the potty before his bath, run the tap while he is sitting on it and if something happens give him a little praise and if not, no big deal!!

Good luck.

Answer 13

My son took FOREVER!  I was ready to pull my hair out!  It is sad to admitt, but it took him to the day before his 4th bday.  It was rough, but he did it over night. He will use the toliet when he is good and ready! :)  Boys will be boys.  Good Luck!

Answer 14

My son started trying right at two but lost interest a couple months later. He is two and a half now and wants nothing to do with the potty. I have read that a lot of boys don't start until three. Just hang in there and keep on encouraging him, but don't force it. He'll go when he's ready...

Answer 15

Have you got any men about who could help out? Perhaps a dad or uncle, perhaps a slightly older cousin, who might be able to demonstrate how a man goes to the toilet?  If he's tall enough to stand on a stool or something to reach the loo perhaps you could skip the potty stage and try just using a normal toilet.  Also, if you put a ping pong ball in the bowl and tell him to aim for it, that might make it more fun and encourage him to use the loo.

I think they all get the idea of potty training at different ages.  I know one thing though, when he does go in the potty/loo make a BIG fuss.  Applaud!  I helped a friend's daughter potty train that way, me & my daughter would go into the toilet and cheer and clapped, she got the hang of it in no time at all.

I wonder if there is a story book that you could read to him that might be able to help with this (he needs to have it clearly explained what you want him to do, imagine how confused he must be), perhaps search the internet or have a look at Amazon.com.

Answer 16

with my son i did it gradually.....i think he was a little over 2 when i first started putting him on the potty i would do it every few days the eventually every day even if he didnt do anything... when he was a little over 2 and a half he laid down and changed his own diaper... so the next day i took his diaper away and put him in underwear.... he had plenty of accidents but when he wet himself i would take him to the bathroom and make him rinse his underwear and then sit on the toilet. that same day he pooped and i made him put the p**p in the toilet and clean his underwear. might sound gross but after that p**p he always went to the toilet. then he jus wore pull ups over night..... hes almost 4 now no pull ups but has occasional bed wets......also if u are having trouble with the potty let him pee in a bush they love that

Answer 17

i put my sons potty in the lounge room infront of the tv when cartoons were on when i knew he haddent wet in his nappie 4 a while. I gave him lots of water to drink then eventually he would pee. i would make a big deal out of it and give him lots of praise and a treat. i done this 3 times a day for a while then more till all i had to do was tell him to go to the potty and he would go and pee. i had to remind him all the time it took a while before he would go himself then we moved from potty to toilet the whole pooing in the toilet was a challenge but one day he just done it. like a light just turned on. this might work 4 your son it might not but i suppose any advice might be handy at this stage. toilet training my son as i remember was very stressfull

Answer 18

well here's a different answer for ya!!! This sounds real hillbilly but it'll work.teach him to go outside if you can when no'one is looking of course.He will think it's great to pee on all the stuff outside and when it starts to get fall,you just start him in the potty.obviously you will take the potty out and try to get him to aim for it along with a cofee can etc.It also comes in handy when you have an emergency too,your kid can always find somewhere to go.I remember being stuck in Cinncinnati traffic 3 hours,we just got off interstate and when we did find gas station,we got gas but they "had no restroom" we had to go so bad we went in the woods behind the place!lol

Answer 19

My nephew is going to be 3 in october and he is no where near being ready i think it's when your child feels ready they will cause my friends child is 1 in a half and already potty trained it is really just the child good luck try cheerie o's my kids love shotting the cheerie o's and so we made it  a fun game and it works for  some.

Answer 20

My son is 18 months and starting to show signs he is ready. He has always been really early though ... jumping at 2 1/2 months, crawling at 5 and walking at 8 months. His doctor says 3 is the average age for boys, but if they show signs encourage it ... Good luck, my little guy doesn't talk much so its still hard.

He pulls his diaper off and gets on his potty seconds after he pee pees or poo poo's

Answer 21

Most boys will start at the age of three.  My two older boys started around 2.5, but weren't completely trained till after they were three.  If you have a fenced in yard, and your neighbors won't care, let him run around commando in the back yard.  That way if he does pee he doesn't have anything to get wet.

Answer 22

I have 3 boys, and they all started potty training at different stages. My oldest boy was the latest he wouldnt even try untill he was 3. It is normal for all kids to do things at different times. Those parents out there that force it on them wind up having more problems with training because the child wasnt ready. that usually leads to more bed wetting, and other problems with behavior. So take your time when he's ready you'll know!

Answer 23

My son was 2 - but that was because he was ready. I wouldn't have started until he was ready.

But neither of mine ever showed the "know when they are wet" standard signs, or knew when they pooed. The way I knew when they were ready was to take off their underwear when they were playing outside (nice long T shirt, no nosy neighbours). Before a child is ready, they'll run around as they pee, they don't even know they are doing it. Once they are ready, they will stop what they are doing to pee.

Two and a half isn't particularly late for a boy. If he's not ready, I would wait. Trying to train a child who isn't ready is a waste of everyone's time. Wait until they're ready and it takes a couple of days.

Answer 24

Trust me im not a mom but im a sister of 4 brothers and 1 sister and girls are so much quicker in being potty trained. I was potty trained at 2 and my brother who is currently 4 is still not potty trained. My mom says she will give him a thomas the train engine if he goes poo on the toilet, put he only pees. So trust me your not alone and dont woory.   :)

by the way is that him in the picture??

he's soooo cute!!! :)

Answer 25

You will know when he is truly ready. So long as he is not wearing nappies to kindy does it really matter how old he is? Boys do generally take longer too. My son was trained by 3 but my daughter by 2. Rushing him will just make it one big stress for you both. Good luck x x x

Answer 26

No, my son wasn't showing signs until he turned 3.  May I suggest that if you don't think he understands what you're saying(which he probably doesn't because it's new), that you take him with you when you go and let dad do the same. Do this a lot in the beginning and have a conversation about what you're doing and tell him that, "You're going to start going pee pee and poo in the potty like mommy and daddy."  I found that this really helped my son start to make the connection with what I was saying and what he needed to do. Also charts helped too...two different ones, one for pee and poo.  He got a sticker every time he went in the potty and after 6 stickers he got a popsicle.  Be patient, and if he's resisting then leave it alone for a few weeks and try again. Good luck!

Answer 27

My son was interested in the potty at 18 months old. Crazy, I know! When he was a little over 2 he was fully potty trained.

My nephew, on the other hand, is 3 1/2 and not even close to being fully potty trained. My sister finally took him to get some testing done and found out that he has a learning disability. Of course, he doesn't say 3 consecutive words and doesn't know any colors or letters, so it was a little bit of a given.

Anyway, just depends on the baby. Just be really consistent with him and take him every 1-2 hours until he catches on. Good luck!

Answer 28

My son is not yet 2, so aside from going before bath time, we're not yet trying.

But I have 3 nephews, the younger 2 pretty much decided on their own right around their 3rd birthdays to start using the potty.

Don't force it if he's not interested, you don't want it to become a power struggle.

Answer 29

My youngest was hopeless until he was 3, was even scared of the toilet - we thought he would still be in nappies for his 21st! However all is well, success came quickly once he was ready. Don't stress about it, it WILL happen. And yes, my son has above average intelligence despite his reluctance to "go"!

Answer 30

My son was the same, I started toilet training him just after he turned 2 he would always go in his pants and never tell me he needed the toilet,it was very frustrating and having to clean his pants was no fun but i just persavered thinking that kids pick up on repetative behaviour so i turned it into part of his routine i would take him to the toilet just before and after bed an about 10 mins after giving him a drink and after a while he got the hang of it although you might find it harder to get him doing a number 2 in the toilet just persavere and he will learn in his own time.

Plus boys are slower to pick up toilet training than girls my daughter is 2 and fully toilet trained and dosen't wet the bed.