Has anyone managed to potty train a child who never says when they are peeing? Is there any point trying?

[Miaou]

Ds is 2.9. Dh thinks it's time that he was learning to use the potty. We have one, he sits on it (clothed, won't go near it with a bare bum ), but will never say if he needs a wee or even if he has done one. He can be standing there weeing (in the bath for eg) and looks down in total surprise - he just doesn't seem to get it!

I would LOVE to get him out of nappies, not least because having two children in washable nappies is hard work, and because my back is killing me from all the kneeling down to change them etc .

I'm guessing most people will say "wait until he is ready" - but we tried that with dd2 and ended up forcing the issue when she was about 3.5 because she showed no signs that she was ready to learn either (a long time ago, can't remember how we did it then! I do remember though taking her away on a school trip at about 4 and her going through every bit of clothing we took in the first two days of a week-long trip )

My DS1 is 2.7 and very much the same as yours.
He just doesnt seem to know he is doing it.

I was holding out for 'when he is ready' but will be watching any replies here in interest!

DD (2.7) is very recently potty trained. It took 3 days and she has not had an accident since then (furiously knocking on wood). Before, she had never said when she would wee. In fact, I don't think she knew what a wee was before I showed her (don't ask).

So it's possible.

What helped us:

• a book about a kid learning to use the potty and then the toilet
• a big bag of M&Ms (each time she did anything in potty/toilet, she got one)
• keeping her bare bottom for the first two days
• putting her on potty every ten minutes at first, then every half hour, etc
• staying home first two days
• taking potty with me in the car

It might help to put on training nappies for a week or two. These are nappies that don't absorb as well, so kids actually feel wet after a wee and better realize when they wee.

Posting mostly so I can keep an eye on this thread! Tried ds1 last week - disaster! He's 2.11 and shows no desire to train. Kept putting him on regularly but just kept wetting himself. Last straw was when he wet himself, I changed him but put him on the potty before putting pants on, he did a couple of drops, then literaly 30sec later did an enormous wee in his pants, but didn't even notice he was doing it. I was wondering about just keeping him in nappies, since the wet sensation seems not to bother him, and jsut putting him on the potty regularly every day until he learns the sensation. My mum reckons do it in the summer, keep 'em naked from the waist down, running ound in the garden and as soon as you spy them starting to wet themselves you sit them on the potty. I worry too much about sunburn...

I was also dispairing on Day 3 when we were having as many accidents as wees in potty, wondering if we would ever be able to leave the house!

Next day we had no accidents. Like something clicked in her brain...

Oh there's hope then! I did wonder about training nappies Cote D'Azur - there's ds2 to train after this one so I wouldn't mind shelling out for some. Any recommendations?

2happy, that's what I would be worried about. For the first time ever in my entire adult life I have new, nice, beige carpets, and the thought of them getting covered in wee just makes me want to weep

Any other thoughts/experiences welcome ...

btw what was the book cote d'azur?

It was a children's book in French. One day daddy brings a potty to the kid and says "From now on, when you need to peepee, you do it here". He does it, daddy says "Bravo!", kid pours potty into the toilet and flushes etc etc

Here it is.

we are sort of introducing DS 21 months to the potty. He has done 3 wees on it. When he does a wee he stops moving and looks at his wink... I dont know I often wonder when the right time is.

Aw that book looks so sweet! What a shame it's not in English though (my French isn't up to much, ds1's even less so )

We went nappy less from 2.7 yrs. Ds never said when he was wet, etc. So just forced issue an dused blackmail to get him to sit on potty (turned the tv off untilwould sit on & at least try). Never, ever put a nappy back on , except for night(rule of cod), put pampers mat on car seat and I suppose by the end of 7-10days he would say when he needed to go. I did stop in for the first week probably and did next to nothing except train him to go to potty. Then soon after (probably a month or 2) he woulduse the toilet and then took himself to toilet not long after. Good luck.
Find an old cod nappy boot camp thread, definitely worth a look. HTH

Yes, not thought of the cod threads (I feel a headache coming on deciphering all the typos ).

Being stuck in for a week would send him demented - I have to break it to him gently that it's the weekend and there is no playgroup! That's another issue I guess. Argh - hate this bit.

Watching this thread with interest although nothing helpful to offer! Just nice to know that there are other children approaching 3 that have no interest in potty training.

I have tried buying some nice knickers for DD (Dora the Explorer, Pingu) and telling her that if she wees/poos on the potty/toilet then she can wear the nice pants. She does love the pants but just seems to have no interest in sitting on the toilet or potty. If I get her on there she's off again like a jack in the box within seconds even I offer to read her a story/sit with her etc.

She's a bright girl so I feel like she should be potty training but I don't want to create an uphill struggle for myself especially as I also have a 5-month old. Think for now I might just continue putting her in the Dora knickers when we're at home and see where it gets us.

V interested to hear anyone else's pearls of wisdom ...

It seems to me that whatever you do and however long you wait, you will have to stay home for a few days (2-3) and clean quite a few accidents. It's easier in the summer, when they don't get cold if let free to roam the house/garden with naked bums. So.... my advice would be to bite the bullet in the next couple of months.

well we are really trying now. Its hit and miss at the moment but he has grown rather attached to the potty! And every time I take him to empty the potty in the toilet then wash his hands he insists on brushing his teeth as well so I am stuck in the bathroom all day! What are the old Cod potty threads??? I am keeping him nudey rudey unless we have to leave the house.

i started at 2.7 months, tried for 5 months, got no-where so decided to wait till he is ready, still not trained, 4 in aug

I'm sure if you put cod -potty training boot camp in the thread search you would find 1. She just gives you a list of guidelines and tells you to stick to them, otherwise you'll make no headway. Sometimes it can take abit of deciphering, but i'm sure you'll get the gist. The main one i remember and pass on to anyone who asks about my experiences-don't go back to nappies during in the day-you will just confuse them, evenwhen it seems like it would be the easy option and convenient.

Also apart form the night time training i am doing i think it was one of the hardest things i've done as aparent so far, because you have to be calm and patient. I always usde to say never mind , beter luck next time after an accident though I know it gets wearing after the 3rd or more time of mopping up.