We started potty training both boys about 6 months ago and, while one is doing great, the other is not. He will not tell anyone when he needs to go potty. I was taking him every 30 mins. while we were beginning PTing, then I started stretching it out. Problem is, he never got past the point where I make him go instead of him telling me he needs to go. I have no idea where I went wrong. He can go up to 2 hours without having any accidents - but at what point do I stop MAKING him go and depend on him to tell me when he needs to go?? If I don't make him go, he will just pee in his underwear. This has happened every day for weeks. He doesn't care when he goes in his pants - it doesn't bother him - sometimes he doesn't even tell me, I just see that his pants are wet. We have also trained rewarding him when he does tell us he needs to go. That works for about 2 days and then he doesn't care about the reward anymore and starts peeing in his pants again. He's supposed to start preschool next month and he's supposed to be potty trained before he starts. I don't know what to do. He's definitely not trained, since he's not actually telling me when he needs to go. What can I do between now and then to get him trained??? PLEASE HELP!!!!
I guess I would start the timer again and start over. Then when you stretch it out to an hour for a couple days start saying "Let me know when you need to go potty so I can help you." instead of asking if he needs to go. I'm not really sure what else to do?
He may not be ready yet. You don't say how old he is. Also, speak to the preschool. The school my boys went to was more concerned that they had "potty training skills". In other words, could pull their own pants up and down. They actually told me to leave them in underpants, and send in extra clothes. Also, most preschool programs are only 2 1/2 hours, try taking him before school, and then right after. They probably take them at least once during the day, so since he can hold it, you may be surprised by how quickly he picks it up. Another gem from our preschool principal "you will be surprised at how many kids train in August". They get so excited for school, that they do train.
They turned 3 in May. Sharongl, that does make me feel better about preschool - I'm hoping theirs is understanding about our situation. They'll be going 5.5 hrs a day, so I don't think he'll be able to hold it that long (ha! but hopefully the teachers will be nice enough to work with us.
The best advice I received when PT'ing DS was from a dad of two sons. He said to his boys, peeing in their underwear was just like wearing a diaper that was too full--they didn't "get" that wet underwear was any different than a full, wet, leaky diaper. His advice--go naked. Once they were naked, they were able to see the difference. I think that lo's tend to become totally involved in whatever they are doing. Then they just don't want to stop what they're doing and take time out to go to the bathroom. We tried his advice and it worked. It wasn't an instant result, however. I think it worked after two weeks or so. GL!
