Okay so everyone with a nearly 3 year old plus who is nowhere near potty trained please let me know I am not alone.

[bobbybob]

Ds will be 3 at the end of Feb 06 and deep down I know that it is fine that he has no concept of what is required. But when everyone I know in RL has done it, I just want to know that in the much more sensible and probably more honest world of mumsnet that I am not alone.

A lot of it is that I just can't be arsed and am waiting for ds to decide to do it himself. We go out a lot to places like the zoo with 2 toilets about 2km apart, and I bike or walk to places rather than take the car.

I am rather tempted to send him to preschool for the whole week and let them sort it out.

my dd was not potty trained til after she was 3 and she still puts on a nappy to do a poo!

We had a false start with DS1 and then abandoned it all. Started again about 10 days before his 3rd birthday and it all seemed to work that time. Try not to worry about it - he won't go to school in a nappy

My ds2 is 3 at the beginning of Feb and he's not trained either. He's terrified of the potty and doesn't like going round naked, so I'm not bothering til after Christmas now. May join The Fish's school...

Put him in pants today to see what happened. One wee on the floor, another in a pull up (we went out and he inspected all the toilets, but never expressed an interest) and then did a lovely big one round at Gran's house in the potty. He brought it to the table for us all to admire.

So actually he probably is ready, and it's just me that can't be bothered.

3 on Christmas Eve. Not a bit interested!!
Although he has discovered his willy!!!!

Ds trained in a week in August - thanks to Cod starting a thread on the subject. Unfortunately, a couple of weeks after arriving in Australia in September he regressed completely. We fly home tonight, resolutely wearing nappies (well, ds anyway ) and we'll probably try again after Christmas. He'll be 3 mid-January.

he did a wee on the potty today!!!!
and one behind the curtain, one in his big brothers room and one on the kitchen floor!!!

Ds has woken up and announced he wanted to sit on his potty, then went and got himself some undies. Maybe he read the thread!

did another wee on the potty this aft!!!

Ds was a month past 3 when I got him potty trained. He'd been in pull-ups for ages because they wanted him to be for nursery but he just wasn't ready. On the plus side, when we went for it over the Christmas holidays and just put him in pant he only had one accident, ever, and was dry at night within a couple of months too. I think late training can sometimes work quite well to be honest.

We put him in pants, not pant, I wasn't that mean

I am sure it will happen in time!!!

I was over 3. I was just stubborn. Finally I twigged it was uncool to use nappies, so I told my mum I wanted big girl knickers and to use the loo.

After that I never had an accident.

Ds weed everywhere and anywhere today - he peed right next to his potty - didn't see it happen, so will give him the benefit of the doubt for that one. Another one whilst eating. We were out in the am so he had a pull up on. All the same, that's only 3 wees all day. Last night he managed to sleep through doing and having changed the most enormous poo.

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tried to potty train my son at two n half. made him reaaly unhappy so have decided like many of my friends to leave it til closer to three. friends with older children said it was much easier when they trained their children on or around 3 than with those they had tried at a younger age.

It's relieving me no end seeing this thread - friends with under 2s are freaking me out with buying pottys and talking about starting potty training in the next couple of months!!!

I tried with ds for a week just before he was 3, and we got nowhere.

I waited, and tried again when he was 3 1/2. He got the hang of it in 2 days then, and was utterly trustworthy by the end of a week.

Don't worry about it. Try by all means, but don't get stressed if he's not ready and you have to go back to nappies for a while.

This thread is so reassuring. ds will be 3 just after Christmas and still sleeps in his cot in an enormous grobag. I would love to be rid of nappies, but he is showing absolutely no interest in potty or toilet except as a delaying tactic at bedtime. Though he will now admit to having a smelly nappy, it just doesn't seem to bother him.

I do think it's worth leaving it. My older daughter was heading for three and got it over a weekend. My younger one was about 2.3 when her childminder (who is my utter guide in all things child-related) suggested we go for it, and it's been a lot, er, splashier.

I waited til ds1 was 2 years 8 months....party as I was pregnant and couldnt be bothered.
A month after ds2 arrived he just took his nappy off and that was it. i did very little. He was dry at night after a week too.

We gave him lots of time with his nappy off around the house before that.
Much easier to wait until they are defintiely ready imo

My older two boys were 3 and 3.5 when they were trained (there's only 13 months between them so I think DS2 became ready by watching DS1 IYSWIM). We had aborted previous attempts because we got absolutely nowhere, bt once he was ready it was easy... day and night within a week, and less accidents since than I have fingers, and that goes for both of them. With DS3 I can't be arsed to even think about it yet (he's 2.5); he's dropping hints such as sitting on the loo and mimicking the others, but until his communication is good enough I'm not going for it.

His behaviour completely disintigrates the twice we have tried. And whilst not as bad this time, it is still worse that it would be normally.

He was very proud of his undies though and showed them off at nursery. One wet set of clothes in 4 hours, but dh picks up and never asks the right questions.

Our son is 3.3 years old and still not potty trained, in fact he is refused point blank to use potty or wear pants and will scream blue murder for his pullups. he had a week where he would intermittently use the potty at nursery but refuses at home and will hold it in until bathtime and then take great delight in peeing in the bath. When i took away a train of his for being naughty i said to him the next day if he peed on the potty at nursery he could have it back when he got home, low and behold he peed twice on potty at nursery ! so he is capable he is just trying to be in control! not sure what to do with him as think he will be going to school in pull ups at this rate!!!!! I was thinking about goign cold turkey at xmas and refusing pullups but that is goign to make for a complete stressful xmas! argh - what to do?

I'm intrigued. Those of you who say you just "left it" until they "were ready", what should I do in the meantime?

Ds is 3.4 mths. He was in cloth til March but is now too big for Totsbots Size 3s. Pull ups (eco ones) are proving to be incredibly expensive, but as I have no idea how much longer ds is going to keep on with this, I'm feeling a bit stuck.

He's a very tall 3 three year old (passes for 4 and is often asked what school he goes to etc). As his tots don't fit anymore - is there another cheaper option than Pull ups?

Should I be treating pull ups like pants and encouraging him to use the loo?

Or do I pretend they're nappies and just leave it alone. He won't let me change him.

Should I just leave him when I know he's wet/pooed? He won't tell me if he has and lies and then runs a mile if I ask him what the smell is!? As a result he has massive sores and rash on his bum. I find it difficult to manhandle such a large boy to the ground in order to change his pants. Any ideas?

bit end of tether here now...