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How do i get my three year old to go to the potty? we have tried bribery adn rewards none of it sticks.

By christina.nielsen | 7 weeks 3 days ago
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10 Answers

I think that each kid is different. Our 3yr old showed mild interest for over a year but nothing that would stick. He actually decided to finally "poop" on the potty the week I left for a conference and seemed to completely GET IT while I was gone.

I think sometimes us parents are more apprehensive about them learning to go than they are. If they are interested and at least trying to go and seem upset when they have an accident then just keep at it but if you feel like you're stuck and getting nowhere it might be time to back off just a little bit.

I don't know if that helps you any but after potty training four kids, I know it can be frustrating! I had my oldest almost totally trained and then he regressed when he went back to the sitter's and of course she was NO HELP. We backed off and then started all over again and it was hard but definitely better for him.

Good luck!

Thank you for the advice and encouragement.

I realized something with my daughter when we were in the early stages of potty training: kids at this age are looking for ways they can control their world, and they quickly realize that we can't MAKE them use the potty. So they use that to their advantage. When they sense that we really *want* them to do it, they resist (especially the more strong-willed ones, I think.)

Undoubtedly by now your child knows you want him or her to use the potty. You have provided the tools and know-how. Now you just need to sit back and let your child figure it out. Occasionally you can offer a prompt: "Do you want to use the potty?" If the answer is no, don't push.

Another thing: I'm not sure if you already have your child wearing underwear. If not you may want to give it a try. Pull-ups are supposed to give them the sensation of being wet and therefore provide motivation to use the potty, but they actually keep the kids pretty dry, and, in my opinion, aren't dramatically different from diapers. Sure, you'll have a couple of messes to clean up in the underwear, but I really felt that my daughter learned much faster once she started wearing them.

One last thing: check out our Potty Training Club.

Patti
SAHM in SoCal and administrator of the Sleep Forum group, http://www.mothersclick.com/group/sleep-forum and Tri-Counties Moms, http://www.mothersclick.com/moms-club/tri-counties-moms-sb-ventura-slo-c...

Thank you for the advice and encouragement. I agree with pull-ups being a waste of money, he thought they were diapers.

I agree with Patti about the underwear. That seemed to help us. I have twin girls who are VERY strong willed, and competed with each other NOT to go! Of course there were still a few accidents (both 1 & 2) after my twin girls were trained, but it's really no big deal. Pull-ups are definitely a waste of money.

Have you tried the DVD Once Upon a Potty? It can be pretty effective and it's totally entertaining!

What kind of rewards have you tried? What worked for us are Hot Wheels cars (I know, I have girls, go figure). One for #1, and two for #2. Now, I didn't keep on buying new ones. At the end of each day, I put them all back in a bucket and kept it out of sight and reach. It seemed to work well. And, also, as it has been said, every child is different and they figure it out eventually. Sometimes going to preschool helps when they see all their little friends using the bathroom. Look at it this way: I highly doubt your little one will be going to high school wearing adult diapers! It'll happen sooner or later, promise!

Thank you for the advice and encouragement. I will have to definetly try to find that DVD.

I have 2 girls, one is 8yrs old and the other is 5yrs old. My 8yr old, potty trained really, really easily, BUT, my 5 yr old was 3 before she finally was potty trained! We bought her "big" girl panties, and I did a surprise bag. Get a that will catch child's attention, my bag was sparkly and girlie, then put all kinds of prizes, little toys, candy, I just went to the dollar store for all of it. And every time they go potty, they get a reward! It worked better with my 8yrs old when we trained her, but eventually, my 5yr old got it and she did not want to ger her "big" girl panties wet or dirty. I hope this helps!

I definitley agree with going with the undies and ditch the pull ups. Pull ups are just glorified big kid diapers(lol). I took my son to Target and had him pick out "big boy undies" because he was now 3 and they didn't make diapers in his size anymore. He got such a kick out of the different characters on his undies. He would get up in the morning and be so excited to pick Elmo, Spiderman or Thomas to wear that day!

My son never liked the training potty. He would refuse to go even when he had to go. I ended up buying one of the smaller kids seats that fit right onto our toilet seat and a step-stoll where he could get up himself and it did the trick. It's funny because when we are out and he uses the public bathrooms he says "Mommy, hold me so I don't fall in, this seat is to big for my bum". lol! We also kept a chart on the bathroom door and he would get a sticker for using the potty. He got a kick out of that!

Every child is different but I hope this is helpful! Good luck.

My best advice is to use a small toddler potty to start with.  I wrote an article on the 10 best potty training tips that I used with my daughter including using that small potty.  I encourage you to read it if you get the chance and let me know if it helps you, even if you only pull out one tip/trick.  Plus, I'd love to hear what other tips any of you moms used with your child.

http://www.makemeahotmama.com/2009/09/my-top-10-toddler-toilet-training.html

take off his diaper and let him run around without it.  put a few potty seats around the house.  The idea is, he won't want to make outside the diaper, and will look for an alternative.

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