Potty Training: Day 4 (frustration)

I HATE POTTY TRAINING!

There. I said it. I hate potty training! I see no reason the kid can't wear diapers forever. He's perfectly happy in them. I can live with changing him....ok maybe there's a purpose for potty training.

But it's frustrating. We can't go anywhere because we sit on the potty every 20-30 minutes. And he sits there for 5-10 minutes. I read a story (and another and another and another). I feed Squirt his bottle while sitting on the big toilet.

We've had no more than 2 episodes of success in a day (yesterday). The most frustrating thing is when we just got off the toilet and he goes to the living room or kitchen (wherever) and pees on the floor. Why couldn't he have done that a minute beforehand?

I honestly don't know that he understands. He can't answer questions (well) so when I ask him, "where do you need to put your pee-pee and poopie?" many times he says, "ummmm...." He isn't as upset as you would think when he has an accident.

The most frustrating thing is hearing how easy potty training is for others. How long does potty training take? Am I jumping the gun with my frustrations? I know we're only on Day 4 but I don't know how long it's supposed to take. A friend of ours from church said she did it in a week with her kids (and they were just over 2).

My worst fear is that I'm forcing him to do this when he's not ready. He doesn't communicate well enough for me to know one way or another. He does well sitting on the potty most of the time but sometimes he wants up after 2 minutes or so.

Am I the only one who has no idea what she's doing? Am I the only mom who gets frustrated and confused?

Comments

You are not the only one! My guess, he's probably not ready. At least he sits willingly! Give it another day maybe but if there's still really not a good percentage of successes, then I'd wait and try again later. It's sooo much easier when they're ready and it just "clicks"!
Rion said…
Well, I havent had any kids, but I did help potty train my moms dog, and I dont know what they say in real potty training books, but one thing they say in the dog books is to not make it a 'game' and if they dont do it, dont sit there and force them on end to do it when they wont. I know with a kid, its you have to make it 'fun/enjoyable' but maybe you are making it too enjoyable to where he thinks 'sitting on the potty means mom will read me a book!' vs 'going in the potty means a happy mom and a sticker and candy!'

Perhaps I am like the worst person ever to give any sort of advice for this thing being I have 0 experience, but perhaps limit the time to be on the potty to 5 minutes tops, else he'll end up like me --- spending a half hour on the toilet reading books! *grin*

Also, which I bet you've heard many times... I think boys are way harder to train than girls. (Probably because us girls are just too cute to do gross things like potty our princess panties)
Anonymous said…
Hey girl, saw you at the MOB society Blog Frog site and popped over. You're doing better than me with potty training!

My 3 1/2 year old refuses to go anywhere near the potty. When we put him in underwear, he tries to hold it until he just can't hold it anymore. One day, he held it in for over 4 hours!! I am so frustrated. He says he wants a sticker or treat or something, and races to the bathroom, only to balk at actually sitting on the toilet. Sometimes he sits for one second and then says he went potty. Accidents don't bother him - he looks forward to cleaning them up. GRR!!!

The thing is, I have a 9 year old and a 6 year old (both boys) and I cannot for the life of me remember what I did to get them going. So, hang in there. He'll figure it out. Eventually. At least that's what I tell myself. =)
Theresa said…
You are not the only one. I think if you are getting frustrated, he is probably not ready. I don't know how old he is, but I think I would wait until he shows more interest. I had to do that with my son and when he was ready he got it pretty fast.
EricaH said…
yea my youngest now is gonna be 3 in sept. and she is my fourth so I am honestly not in a hurry how I see it is as long as she is using the toilet by the time she has to go to kindergarten we are doing alright. :)
I have a friend who has twin girls and they were a little over two when she potty trained them and it only took her 3 days, and I think that's wonderful and what worked for her but every situation is different. :) Hope it gets better for you.
~Amanda~ said…
If you have to question whether or not he's ready, then he's probably not ready. Especially if it doesn't bother him to have an accident....he hasn't made the connection yet. If he isn't communicating to you that he is wet or dirty, it's probably a little too soon.

You really have to wait until they are ready. The more you try to force it, the less he'll be willing to do it. This is a hard age, they want to be independent and be big kids.....but they want to do it on their terms. Both of my boys were about 4 when they decided they'd had enough of diapers and they literally potty trained themselves. It was so much easier for all of us, because we waited.

Don't worry....I haven't met a high schooler yet that still wears diapers. :) (Believe me, I thought Harley would graduate in them..that kid is stubborn!)
Honey Mommy said…
You are definitely not the only mom who gets frustrated and confused. There are so many different takes on this topic!

You aren't going to like me because I potty trained my first boy in a week or so when he was just over two. But he was interested and could tell me where he needed to go. He even told me he wanted to wear underwear, so we went for it.

I can already tell it is not going to be that easy with my second one. He will sit on the potty, but has only peed once. I might give it a try in a month or so, but if it doens't work out then we'll wait a while and try again. There's nothing wrong with that either!
Erin said…
You know what's really funny, Thomas just turned 3 and when I tell people he is potty trained, they say "WOW, that's early for a boy"....it is? Is it? Jeeze my stupidity and ignorance told me that most kids are potty trained by 2...NOT SO!

Just be patient, it'll happen...and I swear most kids aren't really potty trained until they are like 5!!!!
Me said…
Potty-training is a months long process at my house. But mostly because we're lazy here and don't stay on top of it. I heard that if you do it boot-camp style) it takes 3-4 weeks and they'll be perfectly trained.
EmmaP said…
ummm... i HATED potty-training!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My boys took forever and all I kept hearing was "boys are sooo easy to potty train!" Not my boys. They were not focused, they had no desire, etc. I finally waited until they were each three. Once I re-started, it was much easier and faster. My daughter was my easy one. Of course, she has always been the over-achiever :)

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