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Stubborn Three Year Old
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Stubborn Three Year Old

[Replies: 4]
Last Post Oct 13, 2008 6:15 AM by: mason's mom
mason's mom
 
mason's mom
Posts: 2
Registered: 7/28/08

Re: Stubborn Three Year Old

Oct 13, 2008 6:15 AM
Just wanted to let you all know that we made it. Mason has been potty trained now for a little over two weeks with no accidents, not even at night. :) It just happened one day! (just as Mason's pediatrician had told us)
For all those frustrated parents, hang in there. It WILL happen!
kamariden
 
kamariden
Posts: 3
Registered: 8/27/08

Re: Stubborn Three Year Old

Aug 27, 2008 2:42 PM
If you figure this one out PLEASE LET ME KNOW! My son first showed readiness signs when he was just 18mths. I didn't think he was old enough but he was so persistently interested that after 2 weeks we gave it a go. He was thrilled and almost immediately successful. We did pretty good...for 10 days. Then he was over it. And after about another week of not wanting to (I never made him sit at this point) I just decided to stop and wait until his little brother was born (I was preggo at the time & didn't want to deal with retraining anyway).

Now, about 2 months ago he was showing so much interest we decided to give it another go. He's 2 1/2 now and has no problem telling us with enough time to get to the potty. He even got to the point where he was wearing cloth training pants and went 2 whole days (including a shopping trip) without an accident. However...he has once again lost interest and we are at a loss of what to do.

We have tried about every bribe, I mean, reward ;) that we can think of (charts, stickers, food treats, playground, disneyland, toys, calling Nana, movie, playdates, etc.) and they've all worked... for a few days, before his interest wains off again.

The problem is he just doesn't care. He loves it when he's successful but couldn't care less when he wets or soils his diaper, pull-ups, cloth trainers, or even regular underwear. To test our theory we put him in standard underwear (no absorption) with a vinyl swim diaper over it and waited to see what he would do. He sat & watched TV in a puddle of urine for 20min with not the slightest care until we finally had enough and told him to get up so we could change him!!:O There is no doubt in my mind that he knows what he's supposed to do, he just doesn't want to do it and I'm really at a loss as to what to do next!

BTW I've trained 3 girls before this (as a nanny) so this isn't exactly my first go around the block, but he's got me stumped!

I guess my point is you are certainly not alone and please let me know what ends up working!

--
Edited by kamariden at 08/27/2008 2:43 PM PDT
M&NMommy
 
M&NMommy
Posts: 2
From: Buffalo, NY
Registered: 8/6/08

Re: Stubborn Three Year Old

Aug 6, 2008 6:19 AM
I can so relate. My son will be 3 in October and he is great at going on the potty--once we finally get him there. And it's crazy, because he's so motivated to get his rewards and he's so proud of himself when he goes. He'll clap and cheer and even likes to help empty the potty chair receptacle into the big toilet. I wish I understood what the big deal was with not wanting to get into the bathroom in the first place. It's so bad for us we often have to actually pick him up, carry him there, and close the door behind us so he can't escape. Makes me wish I had a giant fancy bathroom so I could just keep him in there all day to play (and potty in between). :)
sharlyn
 
sharlyn
Posts: 13
Registered: 7/24/08

Re: Stubborn Three Year Old

Aug 2, 2008 9:10 PM
You may have a stubbornness problem. You know that he understands what you have said, but he refuses to carry out your instructions. If stubbornness is the problem you cannot count on advancing age to solve it.
stubbornness is a personality trait, not a stage he is going through. Before you start to deal with his toilet training issues it may be easier to work on his ability to follow your instruction in general. Here are some tips that may help you.
1. give instructions only when you are next to the child.
2. obtain the child's attention before giving the instruction.
3. Provide gentle manual guidence with in two seconds after an instruction, if the child does not start to follow the instruction.
4. Give enthusiastic approval as soon as the instruction is folllowed.
5. Do not give a second instruction until the first one has been completed.
6. Do not allow a tantrum to deter you from seeing that the instruction is followed through.
hope this helps you in your effort to potty train.
sharlyn
mason's mom
 
mason's mom
Posts: 2
Registered: 7/28/08

Stubborn Three Year Old

Jul 28, 2008 12:11 PM
My son turned three in May. We have been training since he was two. He knows how to pee and poop in the potty, but only if we constantly force him to go to the bathroom. Very rarely does he tell us he needs to go. If we leave his pull-ups or underwear off of him and let him run around the house bare bottom, he will go to the bathroom every time. The second we put underwear or pullups on, he goes in his pants. We have rewarded him with candy, toys, and money when he uses the bathroom. In fact we have a spiderman (in the package, which sits in the bathroom where he can see it) that we've told him only plays with big boys and once he learns to use the potty he can play with him. Nothing seems to get him to go own his own. Any suggestions?