Creative and positive ways to potty train 3yr old

[Lovage]

I've not really made much effort to potty train DS1 before - he wasn't keen and I was too knackered with terribly sleeping baby to be able to cope with anything else. But I'm getting a bit more sleep now, so I'd like to give it a go, in a laid back, low pressure way.

He's not a child who can be bribed and the obvious tecniques (exciting new pants he chose, big boys use toilets or potties, reading him a story while he sits on it, books from library) have completely failed so far. He says 'no thank you' very politely but firmly whenever I suggest sitting on the potty or loo. He never wants to stop what he's doing. He has sat on both maybe 6 times, but never done anything. He seems to be a little confused about the mechanics of it, but i guess that will come with actually seeing it. We did some nappy free time in the garden over the summer and he always seemed to be completely unaware of peeing until he was doing it.

If I can get him on board, I think it'll be okay - surely he must be old enough at 3 yrs 3 months?! Any one got any advice on ways to make it fun and interesting for him?

DS is 3 years 2 months and we're struggling too. We resorted to bribery - a chocolate button for each time he sat on it and two chocolate buttons if he actually did anything in it (and loads of praise). This worked for a while but now we have to watch him all the time until he starts jiggling his legs around and is clearly desperate to go, and then he will go on the potty but has often already started the wee in his pants.

I'd be interested if anyone has any other ideas. We've tried getting a different potty (in case he was finding it uncomfortable), sticker charts, even sitting on the bloody thing myself and showing him what fun it was! And nothing has worked for longer than a few times and then he loses interest again!

If your DS hasn't actually done anything in the potty/toilet yet maybe you just need to keep reminding him of the potty but don't pressure him and once he does actually do something in it he'll start to get the idea of how it feels and know when he needs to go.

I don't know if this will help, but we started potty training DS by doing this, and he thought it was a funny thing, though he was a bit younger. He also loathed the idea of sitting on a potty, and would deny needing to wee/poo, ever.

Get ready for bathtime. Have a plastic beaker or similar to hand.

Get DS to stand in the bath when you first help him in.

He WILL wee. It just happens when feet hit water!

Laugh, and position cup beneath stream of wee, exclaiming how wonderful/funny it all is that wee is going in cup.

Flush wee away and wash cup out, return to DS and grin/ruffle hair/laugh etc about amusing nature of wee catching.

For us it was the first step that let us go on to catching the wee in potty/loo/variety of emergency containers when out and about.

OmniDroid - ROFL. I can see that working for DS too actually. He loves trying to drink out of things which aren't really cups (just bought some new paint pots and he poured his milk out of his beaker into the new pots and drank it from there ). Would obviously need to make sure we separate drinking containers from weeing ones!

At his age, I wouldn't bother sitting him to wee. Let him stand on your feet or on a step stool if necessary and pee standing up. You can throw a handful of cereal in the toilet and ask him if he can see if he can hit it. Have him blow out when he's trying if nothing happens.

Thanks, those are great suggestions. I don't suppose anyone knows a funny book about potty training? Preferably not one that is scatalogical humour... There's plenty of time for that yet... DS1 has a great sense of humour and if we could appeal to that, it would definitely help

My dd loves shouting lines from "I want my potty", though it's about a princess so more girl-orientated I guess.

On Target Infant Toilet training balls about £5 from Amazon
Palmolive aquariaum handwash just for him to make bubbles with in the sink afterwards
DS phone someone - the grandparents are always a good bet - after he's sat on the toilet or done a wee for massive congratulations.

1st words should have been "Wee standing up...on