I am trying to toilet train my 3.5 year old boy... now i know when they are ready they are ready.. and he has a few medical issues with kidneys etc so i have been told to expect it to be a little difficult.
I found my first child super hard too he was a boy eventuallyhe just got up and went despite everything i tried, in his own time and never wet the bed day or night again, with little accidents.. it felt like a miracle he was about 5 just before he started school was super worried he would be in nappies at school.. thank god that did not happen.. so i am seeking help from the more experienced and confident i guess.
Our approach to date has been.. pretty child initated. He followed us too the toilet, initated wanting to use the toilet.. wear jocks etc... we have a sticker chart and try not to make a big deal. After awhile the novelty wore off so now im just trying to perfect the potty before the toilet and we are waiting for some aides to be made up to due to his small stature , to make using the toilet easier, for now the potty works.
We've had some success with wees , will go if reminded but only if reminded and will wee in the potty when he does go.
However i am struggling with poop, i dont think he fully understands the concept of toileting and maybe his just not ready.. but he will go behind the couch to poop but not use the toilet..
I am worried about his poop for a 3.5 year old , he is on a special diet but he poops frequently but they seem quite loose stools and very rarely firmish. I have addressed with a peaditrician, poop was tested but other than that not much insight.
Anyway.. I'm trying to work on it now because i know its hard.. he just uses pull ups , which he chooses as the amount of washing and accidents and clean up from accidents was becoming hard.
I do work so he does attend daycare/ kinder so im finding that hard too we mostly work on it in the morning or afternoons and i try to encourage the staff at that daycare/ kinder to encourage him to go on the hour.. his usually more than happy and will do a wee.
We've started a second chart just for poop incentives and I've tried seeing if his more likely to poop around a particular time but it changes daily.
Anyway what where your approaches , i feel like im doing it wrong.. i grew up with all girls and don't have a lot of family around.
2 Replies
Poop often comes a lot later than pee. So don’t worry too much.
Just keep reminding him to go to the toilet. He might not understand the ‘feeling’ of needing to go, due to his kidney issues. So it’s probably why he isn’t initiating.
Most kids I’ve trained (about 20kids) have learned to poop on the toilet because they accidentally let one out while they are peeing.
I’d keep doing what you are doing for now. If at some point you want him to initiate peeing on the potty, then I’d do a naked weekend and watch him for physical signs he needs to pee, and that’s when I’d send him to the toilet. You are looking for signs of a full bladder, drips from the penis etc.
You're right and it usually "just happens when they are ready". But there is no harm in gentle encouragement.
My first (boy) wasn't interested until 4. Then he decided he was a big boy himself. Wee's come easily. We encouraged with sticker chart. But he'd wait until the night time nappy come on, to do his poo. After a few weeks of encouraging and trying a chart specifically for poo, I ended up just telling him I would not longer change poo nappies and he'd have to wash himself off in the shower. Which happened for maybe three days... and then he got sick of having to clean up.
My girl had never really had much encouragement from us. We'd talk about it, we are open and she'd see us on the toilet lots so she would always hop on before her bath. At 3 she randomly told me she wasn't wearing nappies anymore and barely had an accident from that day. She also waits until her night time nappy is on and usually does a poo but she also poos in the toilet. And I usually just mention how she's not supposed to poo in her nappy. If she gets to 4 and still poos in the nappy, I'll do the same as my son.
They are 5.5 and 3.5 now, still wear nappies to bed every night.