3 Yr Old And Potty Training

[broncomom1973]

I have a 3 yr old dcg who recently started. She is very intelligent and does well in all areas other than she has no interest in potty training. The parents were really hoping that if she was around other children who use the potty she might be more inclined to using it herself, but no. She goes in the bathroom when my 3 yr old dd goes but freaks out if I ask her if she wants to try. I guess Im not even sure why she wears pull-ups. I havent been doing daycare too long and really have only trained my 2 girls who were extremely easy, so I dont know how to approach this with her. I have offered stickers but she could care less, .

Also, my ds who is not quite 2 is showing signs of being ready to potty train. I really had no intention of starting him until he is 2-1/2 but he tells me before he goes, pees on dh and I when we change him (purposely- you can see him bearing down to pee on us, he thinks it is so funny). He has also pooped on the toilet. The thing is he always pees on it when he is sitting down. Is this ok for a little guy or do we need to have him start trying to pee standing up? He initially started going after he would see his sisters go, so he naturally sat down like he saw them do. He also grabs toilet paper and tries to wipe himself which really bothers dh. What have your experiences been with potty training little boys and what works best?

[DCMomOf3]

I would have the girl sit on a potty chair, clothed at first just so she gets over the fear of the chair. Once she is ok with that then work to have her sit there bare behind while your DD is on the real potty. Then start having her go before your dd. I think she just has to get over her fear of the toilet. My son used to be afraid of pooping in the potty but be did get over it eventually just with patience and consistancy on my part.

Also, great on your boy! Sitting is fine to train, the boys will start to stand to be when they get tall enough and start noticing other boys standing to pee. ALso, they still have to sit to poop, so until he can clearly decide which he needs to do, sitting is the right choice anyway. Just tell him, he only has to wipe with poop, not pee, he'll learn.

[kidkair]

I agree with Quincy: help the girl get over her fear and be gentle and non pushy. Maybe something happened when she was littler and she developed a fear that now needs to be overcome. One way I keep kids from fearing the toilet is to change them in the bathroom all the time so maybe you should start changing her in there if you don't already.

For your boy: definately let him sit until he is fully potty trained and then teach him how he can stand to pee like dad. Also when you are getting ready to have him stand have him sit backward so he's facing the right way and can work on his aim. As for the wiping I say go ahead and let him if he wants to and then when he's standing to pee he can learn that he doesn't need to wipe.

[Lucy]

Im not even sure why she wears pull-ups.

That is one of my biggest gripes. Parents will put kids in pull-ups before the kid is ready for potty training or even has any interest in it whatsoever. (I refuse to force potty training). The reason it is a gripe for me (and this may sound lazy, but hey - I'm busy) is because you have to take their pants all the way off to put the fresh pull-ups on. With a diaper, you can just pull the pants down to change them. Also, pull-ups don't seem to hold as much, and leak faster.