Potty training at a stand still....any thoughts?

My son is almost 5 and I still have problems getting him to use the bathroom. I had done alot of research to find out why kids won't go #2 on the potty and one of the things I found out was that kids sometime feel like they are losing a part of them and its theirs so they dont' want to get rid of it. With my son I figured maybe thats what it was(I still dont' know for sure) So I talked to him and explained that it has to be done and he will have more of it everyday. Lately I have told him that if he doesn't go I will have to take him to the hospital and they will have to take it out for him. He will sit where I can't see him and hold it until the feeling goes away so when I catch him I tell him he needs to go potty and if he says not the hospital thing has been workin. I would try talkin to him about it and try to figure out what he is scared of. Ask him if it hurts him to go and if thats the case there is a fibre drink you can get for kids to help them go normally. You should also maybe talk to your doctor about this and see if they know of anything you can do. Have you tried telling your son that if he doesn't go on the potty all the time he won't be able to go to school???

Is there anything that he likes or is he looking forward to pre-school? If he does, then probably it will be a good thing to tell him that unless he goes to the potty, the pre-school will not take anybody with diapers on. Or probably martial art class, or anything that will perked his interest. My toddler is 3 and mentioning school or ballet class will make her run to the potty twice as fast. My only mistake is using pull-ups..it took me as long until now rather than going to underwear right from the beginning. She is getting good but some days when I am so busy with work and I will just put on diaper for her, she will still pee on it. But if she will wear underwear all day, she will go to the potty all the time. Hopefully your son will be interested in something that will motivate him to go to the potty. Also try having music in the bathroom, nintendo games where he can hold while he is sitting in the potty...or anything that will occupy his mind and he won't realize that he is doing potty. Last resort, have a portable DVD player in the bathroom while he is sitting down and will be engrossed in a movie. Also, take note of his fluid intake coz if he is prone to constipation that is why he hates going to the potty. My toddler was like that too. I don't let her eat lots of bananas coz it is a major thing for constipation, lots of apple sauce and oatmeal and plenty of juice and water...thank God it works. She never had any more constipation after I watched what she is eating. Goodluck and hopefully no more ER trips.

I have a friend whose daughter was terrified to put her b.m.'s in the potty, she became constipated, making it even MORE scary for her. THey finally, haulted the potty training until she was having regular bm's again, in her diaper. Once her b.m.'s were normal, and not painful, they reintroduced the potty, and it went much more smoothly. THe problem lies in when they become scared, and hold in the poop, then they get consitpated, so when they do finally go, it's painful, confirming thier fear, that putting poop in the potty hurts, then it's a vicious cycle. I'd suggest dealing with the constipation, then trying to work on the potty training. What worked best for my son, was to put underwear on him, if he peed or pooped in them, he had to stop what he was doing, change his clothes, and help clean up the mess, eventually (after a week or so) he decided that he'd much rather take a few seconds to go in the potty, then to have to spend all of that time cleaning up! Good luck to you!

I am having similar problem with my 2 year old son. He just does not seem interested in sitting or going to the potty to pee or poo. I did not have a problem with my daughter as she was exposed to the potty pretty early by my mum,at around 5 months old. Sigh, I hope that he will take an interest in being potty trained soon.

any change is hard to go through as a kid, dont rush them, encourage them with rewarding comments and "big boy" attitude. school is the hardest part.

As a nurse, its best to take note of a child's behavior before a parent starts toilet training. There are signs in which a child is said to be prepared for toilet training when he/she: starts walking, stating he/she needs to urinate (hold on-let go response seen in toddlers), and able to communicate with parents (even if on single words, short phrases: "poo-poo".) But its not only the child who needs to be prepared for toilet training, the parents should also be prepared emotionally, during this crucial times of toddlers. This is the time that a toddler seeks acceptance from caregivers or parents. And from this acceptance determines how they develop psychologically and emotionally. I understand though, at times there are parents who become frustrated when their child is not yet ready for this potty training even if all measures have been exhausted. I advice them to give their child some time, because we never can tell what that child is feeling and when the child is ready. What the parents can do is to show some more love and more acceptance. Never make them feel neglected when they did use the potty. For toddlers, communication is the best key. Use simple words and phrases, that way they will understand. They will feel love. Eventually, they will feel more accepted and prepared for the big task.

I can understand your problem,me too is travelling in the same boat as you but my son is still 2yrs and i want him to train potty at any cost now only but iam unsucced in every plan and i just left the practising him thinging that he will learn it from his teacher when he joins school. May God help such type of parents from their kids,have a good time.

Have you had any luck? If not you are not alone on this one. My son is 4 1/2 years old and won't use the potty at all. He knows how but just refuses to use it. I have tried everything imaginable and nothing has worked. So I asked his doctor about it and he told me not to worry about it until he turns 5. He said that if he still doesn't show an interest by the time he is 5 then its a problem. He also said that some kids are just late in doing this but it will happen. I am not sure if the rules are different where you are as far as preschool goes but where I live my son will be starting prek and the preschool he will be going to said they would take him even though he is not potty trained. The director basically said that they are not going to turn a kid away from learning just because he won't use the potty. She said that is almost like punishing them which is something you shouldn't do when trying to potty train. Well I hope you have had some success in this and if not hang in there. I'm sure it will happen sooner or later.

When my son experienced the same thing last year....I was catching so much flack from my other choldren because I allowed him to wear pull-ups with causing extreme embarrassment to me...so I took him to see his pediatrician....she adviced me that maybe we were putting too much pressure on him....I do not believe in making him feel badly abot himself or punishing him for this...I would still ask him if he needed to go...but did not complain when he said no....whithin a couple of months he broke himself....he has only had 1-2 accidents since then and they were both in his bed while sleeping..... I know that this works on your nerves...it is stressful when you are trying to teach your child something that they need to know and they rebel against it for whatever reason.....he feels this stress as well.... I would try to "back-off" and see what happens for a few weeks....desensize the situation....and try again... Thanks the best advice I can give, my friend. I wish you the best of luck in dealing with this. Please keep me updated....I care.