DS (3.2) has just potty trained himself!

[Jacksmybaby]

After lots of failed attempts at toilet training which always ended in tears and tantrums (mostly mine ), the last of which was over Xmas, DS a couple of weeks ago announced out of the blue he was going to the toilet, told me not to come as he would do it himself, and has not looked back since! I was and am absolutely gobsmacked! Just wanted to reassure others out there that it really is a case of waiting until your child feels ready and willing to do it. He had been physically and mentally capable (bladder control, able to pull pants on and off, knew what it was all about etc) for months and months but for some reason just did not want to do it, until he felt ready. So there we go. Hurray!

There is hope yet... for us hopefully. ;)

My DD has just done the same, just turned 3. Been having an occasional go on the potty for months but no idea she needed to wee until it was too late.

I got a potty training book with stickers and reward chart in and said she could have a sticker if she wee'd in the potty. She obliged and demanded a sticker A week and a half on she is only have 1 or 2 accidents a day mostly when she gets distracted...Is now demanding to use the toilet rather than potty

Kind of glad I was too lazy waited til she seemed ready.

That's really good.
What do you think it means when you've got to the point after a good start of potty training, that DS doesn't want to go anywhere?

I was giving stickers and sweeties as rewards, but have suddenly reached a lull in DS enthusiasm and now have to bribe him just to sit on the potty.
I have to watch him, whereas at the beginning DS was very excited and would run to use the potty and then empty it in the toilet.

When I see a sign he needs a potty because he has had more accidents, I'm rushing him onto the potty and having to resort to all kinds of bribery.

Its going the wrong way round now with him demanding sweets and stickers and then me telling him he'll have to go on the potty.

I'm not sure, Dominique - we never had any enthusiasm at all until the Sudden Turnaround! Guess you have to make the decision whether you've come far enough now to keep going or whether things are getting to the stage where you'd be better off backing off for a while. My only advice really, based on experience, is that if it is turning into a real battle of wills and causing serious upset, as our previous attempts all were, that you shouldn't feel too bad about leaving it for a while. None of our bribery tactics (sweets, stickers, promises of nice outings, novelty potties, etc) worked and it really was a case of DS deciding for himself that he wanted to do it, not in response to a bribe but because he just wanted to! Good luck.