How do you potty-train a three-year-old boy?

• == My son was done at 2 1/2 in 3 days flat. How? Well, you have to make sure he is ready. Does he get curious about the potty/bathroom, ask questions about what you do in there, sit on the potty on occasion, etc? If so, then pick a 3 day interval when you can commit yourself to being in the house and not leaving. On day 1 put him in underwear and say that he is a big boy and he is going in the potty now. Take him to the potty and tell him he has to go in there when he has to go. Day 1 he will have accidents, so be prepared with lots of underwear! When he goes, immediately take him to the bathroom and sit him on the potty and explain that pee and poo go in there. Change him into dry underwear and give him a sticker. Praise him for coming to the bathroom, even if he didn't make it! Keep doing this until he says he has to go all by himself, usually by the 2nd day. Day 2 will have much less accidents as he begins to be aware of how wetnesss really feels gross, he can feel the need to go and will remember that he is supposed to go in the potty, and he will want another sticker! By day 3 it should be done!! This worked like magic for me and he has only been using pullups at night ever since. Good luck! ==
• == Potty-Training 3-year-old Boy ==

Show him the ropes, invite other boys over and let them all go, and let him in the bathroom with Daddy. Really is not a good idea to push it beyond that. Scolding, insisting that he try and other ideas (i.e.Toilet Training in a Day) just seem to make the day a sad one and doesn't really set up a precident for good feelings for either of you. I noticed other signs of readiness, such as being dry all night, lining up his matchbox cars or other sorts of organizing, that were pretty accurate. I also bought some of those superman/transformer underwear and he was able to have them to wear when he was able to keep dry! BTW mine liked sitting on the toilet backwards...note that the extra "cup" on the front of the potty chair can scrape their tender parts, so you may consider removing it before use.

Here are more ideas and suggestions from WikiAnswers contributors:

• I had a heck of a time training my daughter. It took her 3 years too! My son was much easier, I've heard boys are supposed to be easier. Anyway with my son, we put Cheerios/Fruit Loops in the potty. Sounds silly, I know, but it gave him a target and was entertaining to him. I have also heard letting them go around without a diaper and if they have an accident don't clean them up right away. The object is too make them uncomfortable I guess. One more suggestion- we used stickers also each time they did go they got one sticker to put on their potty. They feel good about getting a lot of stickers.

• A star chart works. Every time the child goes to the bathroom "on time" they get a sticker and for each 5 or so stickers they get a small toy, such as a matchbox car. This method was used on my brother and it worked wonderfully. You may frown on such Pavlovian training, but you can train them to do almost anything with positive reinforcement.

• The best way is to gradually introduce your little man to all things potty. They say that most children are ready when they learn bathroom words like pee and poop and they are interested in watching other family members use the toilet. A friend of mine would give her son two chocolate chips for a pee, three for a poop. It was less chocolate than the M&M idea and the bag lasts longer! If you don't want to use candy the star chart does work. Also, if they have an accident, don't make them clean it themselves. I've heard of this technique many times and it just doesn't seem right to punish a child for doing something they've been doing for more than a year! It takes time, but if you get them to sit on the potty after breakfast and dinner every day just for five or ten minutes, it helps them get used to the idea. If nothing happens, praise them for trying. If they go, try to make a big deal out of it and tell them that you're proud. A little reinforcement goes a long way! I've also noticed that after boys watch daddy (or any other male in the house) use the toilet, they become very interested in the idea. Maybe let his daddy give it a try and see if he can teach your little guy what it's all about.

• I have two boys, one who is now about to turn three and not potty trained. It is a very difficult task if you TRY, so don't try. The best way is to introduce it, award him when he sits on the potty, pees, tells you he went in his diaper or wants to sit on the potty. Eventually it will happen. The more you push the more he will resist. (I learned that through experience) If you are the type who agrees with "tough-love" as one friend I had...she made her child sit on the toilet until he went. It took an hour at times, but it worked for her. For the less patient and more compassionate...I say try the other way. He probably knows what he "should" be doing, but its probably a little scarey because its new and he will approach it with caution. Be patient...it will happen!

• Wait for his signs of readiness but bring the idea of the potty closer to him in a playful manner long before you expect results. We had a potty sitting in the bathroom since my son was 2. It just sat there and I explained that he can pee in there or not. He sat on it a few times fully dressed but then never looked at it for another year. Suddenly he was very interested in becoming a big boy in all areas of his life. Right after his 3rd birthday, I simply said: "There are no diapers after the third birthday." And that was that. He never wanted to go back to diapers and somehow toilet-trained himself within a week. Accidents happen, but the general idea sank in within a day. Good luck!

• When I noticed that my son (2 years old) would take off his diaper after he was finished, I knew he was ready. I would put him on the potty and he'd sit there, and sit there, and sit there. Eventually I got so fed up and changing diapers that one day, I didn't by any diapers. He asked: "Where's my diapy?" I told him that I didn't by any! You should have seen the surprise on his face! I told him that he had to go to the potty now, since mommy couldn't by diapers anymore. And by golly he did it! There was only a time that he had a couple of accidents, but that I can handle. I was lucky to have a little boy who doesn't wet the bed at night. Hope that yours is like that too!

• Just before my son turned two i bought him a potty chair i relly stressed the the fact that he could only look at it, because he was not a big boy yet your only a big boy when you use the big boy potty. he would not be a big boy until his birthday 2 years old! everyday he looked but could not! try it out or sit in it for any reason when his birthday rolled around he would now get to be the big boy he had been waiting for. reverse phsycology i call it. he was so excited to use that big boy potty that he never not even once had an accident in his pantz never wet the bed it was the easiest thing i ever did! it was all the anticipation of becoming a big boy that did it not stickers gum candy a new present, just the feeling of accomplishment of something so important to him becoming a big boy!

• As much as I appreciate all you advice, every child is different. My son knows when to pee, and is great at doing it, but poop is another story. It appears he is afraid of allowing his "poop" to drop in the toilet. My hope is taht someone out there has a solution to this. He knows when he needs to "poop", and lets us know when he does it. He just won't surrender to it!!! HELP

• I just happened to looking for advice on how to let my 2 1/2 year old son to let ALL his pee pee go in the potty and not just little bits at a time. And I thought I would let you know how we handled the poop thing. We told him that his body no longer needed it and that he should let it go Bye Bye into the potty. Then we would flush it down the big toilet and wave bye bye to it. This helped tremendously. GOOD LUCK!

• After your son poops in his diaper, take him with you to dump it in the toilet (if it's dumpable :) instead of wrapping it up and throwing it away. Your son will probably like to flush the toilet, too, if he's anything like mine. That way he understands that's where the poop goes and he gets to participate in getting rid of it. Hopefully the next step is going while actually 'on' the potty!

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