My 3 year old son wants to keep wearing his nappies!

Lizzybop

Hi there, just wanted to say please don't stress about your son being 3 and still in nappies. My second son is in the same situation. I have tried with pants and have just ended up with wetting and accidents.

He won't tell me when he wets and will even sit in dirty pants. I'm not sure if he doesn't notice or doesn't care. Either way I take this as a sign that he isn't ready.

With regard to pre-school, don't worry about that either, they will be used to children in nappies and as others have said when he sees other children using the toilet this may spur him into action.

I too have told off my son for wetting and messing, don't be too hard on yourself, being a parent isn't the easiest job in the world and none of us are perfect.

My eldest son was also just gone 3 when he went into pants and he took to it like the proverbial duck to water. But only when he was ready. He still can't quite 'get' nightimes - but I'm led to believe that the professionals don't worry too much about being dry at night until they are 7 or 8 (he's 5!)

I'm going to try again with pants over the easter holidays, when I've got a bit more time. If that doesn't work then the summer holidays it is.

I wish you lots of luck and send you my best wishes. It will happen!

moneypooh

My DD was easy, at nearly 3 she just decided to go to the toilet and that was it, and another 6 months for complete night time dryness.
My DS however was not keen at all and at 3 was still in nappies. He went to a pre-school and they sent them all to the loo at the same time. He wouldn't go and sure enough 10 mins later was soaking. He went through 5 sets of clothes one day. It was all very upsetting for him so we decided to just let things take a more natural course. About 6 months later we went swimming and he suddenly got out of the pool quickly and ran to the loo with his Dad, and to our surprise did his first 'proper' wee in the loo. That was it, he was so excited he had done this that we never looked back, and nights too in a couple of weeks.

They can't be forced but encouraged. Don't fret about this, it's the start of all the milestones of life and every child has their own timing.

It's a bit like the dummy and blanky syndrome, remember how many children you see with a dummy/blanky at 7 or 8 - not many (well not in public anyway - as my son still sleeps with his teddy in his bed at 10!!)

Don't forget if the child is stressed this will inevitably make things worse, if you are relaxed about it so will they. Good Luck !!

LavenderLily_2

Thank you all for your kind words and excellent advice! It's so nice to know that I'm not alone and I think I shall give the potty training a break for a bit and see what develops.

Thanks again, you are all wonderful!

poppyolivia

My son is 3 on Tuesday and we are going through the potty training malarky..I kept putting it off but thought its time to bite the bullet (been at it for 2 months now)...he started out like your wee one but I just kept at it...I swear I kept giving in for about 2 wks then it was like a light had been switched on in his head and since then he has been 99% ok. We even forgot to put a nappy on him the other night...bone dry in the morning! Haven't risked it again though LOL

We got him the pixar car pull ups that tesco have/had BOGOF and he loves them although during the day now its proper pants. Pull ups for night.

It is so hard and down right annoying when they wet themselves, but trust me when they poo in it its 10 times worse!..I told him it was naughty and it made me feel sick....poor sod hasn't done it since BUT and its a big BUT...he was terrified to poo in the potty or the toilet so I had to put nappy on him....this is sorted out now and he will go to the loo and I make such a big deal out of it he thinks hes the bees knees....

No 2 kids are the same and if your wee one is stressing you out about it...is it really worth it??? In 2-3 wks he might suprise you and want his pants on...kids are weird little creatures!!!

Good luck XXX

Edited to say that...on the other hand getting that ruddy dummies off him is killing me!!!!!....He says that when its his birthday if he gets a Barney Cake AND a Thomas cake he will give his dummies to the babies.....yeah right but I'm gonna try!!LOL Although I'm positive ONE will be staying on his bed and STAYS on his bed! None of this walking around with it wedged in his gob!!LOL

siren13577

pukkamum wrote: »

I know it seems a bit harsh but i would start putting his undies on, if you can! And if he wets don't change them immediately leave him in wet pants for a while that way he will feel how uncomfortable it is and start asking for the toilet. As the other poster said it may be you bypass the potty and use the big toilet, perhaps giving him a choice of EITHER potty or toilet. Other than that i would say don't worry, when he gets to nursery he will see all the other boys and girls using the loo and it may spur him on, especially if you make a point of saying how big and clever the other boys and girls are for using the toilet. I know it is hard but you really need to not shout at him for wetting as you don't want to turn the whole toilet thing into a major issue with him. Good luck HTH

Sorry about all the trouble you are having, OP, it's a hard thing to achieve even without the other things you are going through. The above is really good advice, modern disposables are so efficient your ds doesn't really feel wet when he has had a wee etc so it's a good idea to put on his big boy pants and not worry so much if he wets them, try a reward chart or reward sweets when he uses the toilet, sorry if TMI but let him see you use the toilet, even standing a little so he can see the wee go into the toilet or ask his dad to show him. Make a big fuss if he just sits on the loo or has a tiny wee, my son was in pants but had accidents also so don't worry too much about pre school too much, they are used to it, HTH and good luck:beer:

Rachie_B

poppyolivia wrote: »

Edited to say that...on the other hand getting that ruddy dummies off him is killing me!!!!!....He says that when its his birthday if he gets a Barney Cake AND a Thomas cake he will give his dummies to the babies.....yeah right but I'm gonna try!!LOL Although I'm positive ONE will be staying on his bed and STAYS on his bed! None of this walking around with it wedged in his gob!!LOL

just go cold turkey with it

i got rid of all my sons dummies when he was 3 ,he asked for it for 2 nights

and after that nothing

leaving a treat / toy from the "dummy fairy" helps lessen the blow

Rachie_B

mrcow wrote: »

Oh my goodness.

Please, you have enough on your plate at the moment without trying to potty train. You must be going through such a hard time. I'm sorry to hear that.

About the potty training:

If he's not interested, I'd give it another six weeks and try again later on (when you'll be stronger emotionally too). My son was not ready for potty training until 2 months after his 3rd birthday. When he fnally was ready, he had two accidents and then has not had a single one since then (he's now six). He was also dry at night within a few weeks - and I am thus a great believer in not rushing things. I appreciate that perhaps I just got lucky, but I know that before that, he just wasn't ready. It's not a race and as with most things, they become ready in time.

My sister's boy on the other hand was not ready at 2 3/4 years and was pushed into it. He is still having regular "accidents" at now aged 4.........I strongly beleve it's because he was rushed into it. He starts school in September and it's quite worrying.

btw.....there is nothing wrong with telling a child off for wetting/soiling themselves......it is dirty and not acceptable. If they don't realise this, then they have no reason to do otherwise!

Take care of yourself.

i agree with rushing a child when not ready ,is the worst thing you can do

OP your son just isnt ready to be trained,try again in a few weeks you can of course still encourage him / ask to use the potty but dont nag or force the issue

something will click one day and he will want to start using it

windym_2

My friend had problems with her son, she stuck 3 ping pong balls in the loo and told her son it was a game. Everytime he needed to pee, he had to see how many ping pong balls he could 'drown' - obviously none as they just keep popping back up. But it was such a gimmick that he loved it and spent most of his time in the loo! He was out of nappies so quickly. She says he has much better 'aim' now than his father!

DaisyFlower

You can get ping pong type balls off Amazon that are blue and have smiley faces on them, most little boys seem to love them.

Could it be his potty, a different style can make all the difference sometimes.

Let him do it in his own time, forcing potty training rarely works and just leads to an anxious child and a stressed mummy.

DS was 3.2 when it finally clicked with him after trying a couple of times before, once he decided he could do it it too less than a week and he did both the day and night at the same time so if definitely paid to wait until he was ready.

MrsE_2

Poor you, you have enough on your plate without worrying about this.

Peer pressure can be a positive thing, when he starts nursery he will want to be like all the other kids & he will probably tell you!

I didn't rush my daughter, she told me when she wanted too & because she instigated it, she was ready & I had no accidents or wet sheets.

So ease up on yourself & don't worry about this little thing.

I bet in 2 months he will be running around in his y-fronts :-)