Since My son turned two I started potty training him. But, riddle me this he’s going to be 4 in July two yrs later and I’m still trying to potty train him. I’ve done everything thing I could until today I hit my limit. For anybody that doesn’t know I have low income and paying for diapers and pull ups are not cheap. So I’m here asking everybody, how did you potty train your son?
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I’m about to start! I love this post, I need ideas too!
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My daughter was like this. And the only thing that motivates her was telling her that she was not going to be able to go to big girl school (preschool) if she could not go on the potty. From then on she was great. It was like flipping a light switch
Go buy a urinal for little ones and a potty seat for the toliet. Use positive reinforcement and start putting him in underwear during the day. Take to the potty like u do a puppy after feeding and water. And have them sit with a book. Or face towards the toliet with the seat up and have them draw using dry erase markers
You started WAY too early when he wasnt ready! Stop forcing him and let him tell you WHEN HE is ready. It definitely SHOULD NOT take 2 years to train. I had my kids fully night and day trained in just 3days at 2yrs, and 3yrs old because I WAITED UNTIL THEY SHOWED INTEREST AND SIGNS
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Every child is different. They know when they’re ready. I was worried my oldest wouldn’t be potty trained by kindergarten but as soon as he was ready and wanted to, it took a matter of days and he was set.
Just don’t buy anymore diapers. Our son was 3.5 when I finally just stoped buying diapers. The first couple days were rough but he got the hint.
Had a prize bucket. Every time she used the potty she was allowed to pick a prize. Worked so well she wanted to give me a prize when I used the potty
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I threw away the diapers and put on underwear…he was trained in 2 days…
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I did the naked method u poop or pee on my floor you cleaning it up works for my girls just a suggestion
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the trick with boys is that it has to be their idea. give it a rest, and let him decide he’s ready. offer positive reinforcement but don’t force it. and hang in there!
With my daughter, I got some of the training underwear. I understand how expensive the diapers and pull-ups are. I don’t have any advice on tricks for training though, because none that I tried worked. She just decided one day at 3 that she was gonna be potty trained, and was perfect after that.
We have pee down not poop! We will be four next week. It’s so frustrating. We can only have so many accidents at prek in fall so following this!
Stop wasting money on pull ups, put him in underwear that you can wash and that doesn’t feel like a diaper.i only use diapers at night but it’s only underwear during the day and it only took a couple of months for him to have it down.
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Stop putting him in diapers!! Itll get messy but just stop… He will learn to stop peeing on himself… My daughter is 2 1/2 and fully potty trained… I let her come in the bathroom with me and i told he big girls use the big potty… And now she does.
Mine I let run around the house naked and put him on the potty every so often until he got the hang of it then I started just asking him all the time then he started telling me when he needed to go
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I used cloth underwear and used the timer on the stove. I set it for 30 minutes. Once the timer went off I put him on the potty. Eventually he would go to the potty on his own when the timer went off
I legitimately told my daughter if she wanted to go to pre School she had to go potty In the potty. Haven’t had a problem since
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DONT BUY PULL-UPS! Especially if he’s not getting the hang of it… it’s like a diaper to them. My LO is 2 and he’s being potty trained now. He has minimal accidents so we put pull-ups on whenever he goes to bed or we go somewhere, and he still doesn’t pee in them. But he understands the concept. Take your guy to Walmart or target, even the dollar store, and let him pick out his own undies. I mean he’s gonna have accidents, it’s potty training.
Mine wears his undies through the day, has a candy jar and gets certain candy for peeing and certain candy and a sticker for pooping, we ask him about every 30 minutes if he has to go. Sometimes he’ll try but don’t have to, but it’s getting them in them used to it.
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Leave him alone and let him figure it out. He will when he’s ready.
Try letting him go potty outside or drop Cheerios in the potty for him to shoot
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I think every child is different cause I didn’t have any problems to train my first, son, at 2 1/2 and I started training my daughter from 2 but she didn’t start using the potty till she was 4 1/2
Play a game I used a ping pong ball in toilet an said every time u hit it you get a point and a reward and end of week if they hit the target take them to a toy shop or park 
just an idea ping pong balls are great because the float an don’t flush xxxx
My son is 3 and still trying to potty train we do the naked method which works cause he has no choice but use the potty when he has to go… Only thing we still gunna work on is him telling us when he needs to go when we are out and about or even when he is dressed in the house but he is also slightly speech delayed so he can’t tell us yet
He obviously hasn’t been ready. It’s not something you can force. It is not uncommon for a boy to be 4 before they are ready.
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My daughter was the same. She knew exactly when she needed to go but completely refused to use the toilet. Pretty sure she was just lazy and didn’t want to stop what she was doing. At my breaking point, I told myself I was done buying pull ups and bought the last pack ever. I told her these where special pull ups that would bite her butt if she peed or pooped in them. Never had an accident since. Lol.
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My son was potty trained by time he was 18 months!!!
Bribes does not work because once the bribes stop they think it’s ok to stop as well!!!
Try putting Cheerios or fruit loops in the toilet and tell him to aim through the hole I have heard that works but my son just basically potty trained himself by watching his daddy pee or poop my husband would take him with him every time that may be a great choice is have the dad show him how it’s done not by you momma
I spanked mine one good time. He never did peed on himself again. But then again i threw out all diapers and pull ups so he had no choice but to use the potty
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I bought a stick on target and a ping pong ball for my boys, aim at the target in the toilet or the ping pong ball when you wee worked for the men as well, find boys are harder to train than girls good luck
My daughter will go all day at school and be perfect and once home it’s like she forgets. So frustrating
I lived out in the country and let my little guy run around in his underwear…then he started getting the hang of it…but another one of mine we ended up putting him in underwear and when we would go places we would place a pad in his underwear so if he had an accident it didn’t go everywhere but at home it was just plain underwear
Your child is 4 he is not a baby he understands now . Since you have been doing this for 2yrs.
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Put a colored light in toliet
I took away the pull ups. They didn’t like how it felt when they went in their underwear.
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I have 4 children and they will not do it until they are ready. I would start by not buying diapers. Underwear only during the day. Pull ups only at night. Good luck!
I would leave my son in just a shirt and undies during the day and take him every 40 mins. He wouldn’t pee at first, but he got comfortable with the toilet. You have to watch them like a hawk. If they try to squat down behind any furniture or walls, take him to the bathroom immediately and sit him on the toilet. That’s the only way mine learned. Also, try to stay home for the first few weeks until they really get the hang of feeling when they need to go. Avoid public bathrooms for a while because the loud sound of the toilet flushing can be scary for them and make them not want to go again.
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I bribed my kids. We had “potty parties”. If they peed or pooped ON the potty then they got a candy out of the potty jar. 4 M&M’s. or whatever their favorite candy is. If you have more than one little kid then have the little one go in any time the older one does. Helps when they can teach each other. Make a BIG DEAL our of it when they go. Get the whole family into it. Clap, cheer, have a happy dance and song to play. Make them WANT to use the potty. Maybe when u pee in the potty u can have him cheer for you too. Then sit him on his to go so he can have the same experience
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My oldest was like this. I just stopped pullups . They knew when to go potty but as soon as the pull up was on, they’d pee it so I just said undie time. They had a few accidents but did great 
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Lots of praising, make a huge deal when he goes potty.
Stop buying pampers or pull ups completely. It will force you to train him. It confuses kids when u put diaper or pull up on while training
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My son is 4 and still trying to potty train him. I’ve done everything! Potty charts, rewards, treats, even letting him see how it feels to have wet underwear on hoping he would hate it and want to go potty. It doesn’t phase him one bit.
All kids learn different but I’ve always found no child likes to have pee pants it gets sore don’t put diapers or pull ups on get a cheap mattress cover (washable) eventually he will get embarrassed and not like the feeling and he should start going to the potty do not change him directly after and if it happens inside make him clean it up explain its nasty show no mercy and stick to it if you give up and keep putting diapers and pull ups (all the same to me) on him he will continue to give up too just an opinion
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Take away the option to pee on himself…my son was easy toss a cheerio in to pot and play target practice… The youngest daughter we had to line her bed do the wake ups to pee thing a few nights and remove the diaper/pullup. She pissed herself once without the wet guard and didnt like it one bit so she started going on the potty.
Naked time all the time at home. Peeing outside first was fun and easy to master the holding their pee and finding somewhere to go. Hang in there, Mama.
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When I potty trained my 3 kids:
I took about 2 weeks and cleared my calender off as much as possible before starting.
- I got about 10 pairs of underwear and if my child didn’t make it to the potty they had to clean themselves up (as best as age allows I would help of course) and wash out the dirty underwear (still with my supervision and help). Kids get tired of having to stop playing to change and nobody likes wet clothes on.
- I kept a few pull ups for road trips or if I absolutely had to go somewhere and wasn’t sure about bathroom situation.
- I cut all drinks off 2 hours before bed, except maybe a sip of water, and had plastic sheets on their beds.
- I bribed them with whatever the child wanted within reason for when they did learn to keep their pants dry.
Does he go potty when he doesn’t have a diaper on? My son would go potty all day long if he wasn’t wearing a diaper and as soon as I would put a diaper on he wouldn’t use the potty any more. We didn’t even bother buying pull ups. We eventually just completely stopped putting diapers on him because he was more than capable of going potty. Try no diapers and putting underwear on him. If he has an accident in his pants reassure him it’s okay but that he has to go to the potty because it’s not like a diaper. Do that repeatedly and I’m sure he’ll catch on. This is what we did.
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Naked training for mine. I just stopped putting anything on his bum, and made the bathroom easily available. 
Good luck!
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I went old school. But my daughter was super stubborn.
I put underwear on them during the day and would ask them every 20 minutes if they had to go. Then I would use pullups or diapers at bedtime. Good luck!
I got rid of all diapers and pullups, bought tiny boxers on amazon and a potty and he didn’t leave my eyesight for a whole weekend. I took him to watch me use the restroom, gave him treats when he went in the potty, I also made him sit on the potty till he went cause he had a few accidents, he threw a fit but eventually he went and i constantly asked hom if he needed to go. I repeatedly told him the word potty and he was potty trained at 18 months within 4 days BOOM!
he turned 4 on Valentine’s day and has had one, ONE accident at nite cause it was freezing cold.
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Stop buying diapers and pull ups…pull ups feel too much like diapers so the child doesn’t get the difference…go straight to underwear during the day…push fluids all day until supper and then nothing to drink after that for the rest of the night…get a plastic mattress cover and then you can also use underwear during the night too
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Have you talked to your kiddos doctor about any possible underlying issues preventing potty training?
Seems like you tried to train him too young. Some children just won’t use the toilet until they’re more aware of their bodies and more mature. My son wouldn’t potty train until 4 years old. He just wasn’t ready before that. So you might just be getting to the point where he is old enough to begin. But hopefully it will go easier since he has been “trying” since he was 2.
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That’s it no nappies! Had no choice then
I took a week off work and said “do you have to go potty” every 10 minutes. AND everyplace we went we had to visit the potty. Worked like a charm.
Try sitting him on the potty backwards with a dry erase marker or my kids always loved when i would put cheerios or fruit loops in there and they would try to aim to hit them. But they always took advantage of having a pull up on so i would let them run naked or in underwear.
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I put a long shirt on my son & he was naked under it bit the shirt covered everything. He would grab himself and start to whimper then I would put him on the toilet backward so he had something to hang onto & it worked like a charm!
I know exactly what you’re going through my son had turned two and I tried the potty training he’s 3 1/2 now and He’s been potty trained at least 3 months now. I tried and tried everything and we couldn’t afford pull ups anymore and we weren’t buying regular pull ups he’s a big kid and we had to get the big boy pull ups and just one day I told my husband that’s it no more I kept him commando in the house and as annoying as it was I constantly asked him do you have to pee or poo? I’ve learned it takes a whole lot of patience. At least he knows he has no other place to go but the potty and we’ve had accidents but don’t yell at them they get nervous and start to fear using the potty and you end up feeling guilty just be consistent and persistent he’ll get there
Well all I can say is boys are very lazy when it comes to potty training my eldest was about 4 and a half by the time he was dry day and night and my middle son was 7 and a half by the time he was dry day and night but my youngest son was just over 3 when he was completely dry day and night it just depends on the child you can get free diapers if you are on a low income you just have to talk to your local children’s services hope you sort this out soon good luck 
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My first son was less than 18 months old the last time he wore a diaper.Never wore pull ups.He just couldnt stand being wet.He would take his diaper off & pee out his baby bed. He started by peeing outside.lol. He went & peed everytime his dad did. He was extra smart. My 2nd son was 2 yrs.old but still pooped in his diaper alittle longer. It takes being on top of it- constantly taking them to bathroom. Some children just get ready before others. I can’t change a poopy diaper…“anymore” . After they start eating table food- wee…I was lucky I know.Good luck.
Sit him down on it, they usually have like a seat belt too put that on. Have him to sit there until he does #1 or # 2. Afterwards give him praise for doing what he did then let him up.
I did the 3 day no pants challenge and my son was literally potty trained day and night in 3 days it worked amazing for us
My oldest didn’t want anything to do with the potty for the longest time until I had my second son just before he turned 4. I tried everything including food color in the toilet so it would change color when he peed but no go. Was so happy when he finally got out of those pull ups. Diapers and pull ups just cost to much
I let my son run around naked outside.
Not the answer you want, but it is developmental and he will do it when he is ready. 2 years seems excessive and it likely has now become a battle of the wills.
It is something, one of the few things, they are in control of - their body.
There is no point in “potty training” if they aren’t telling you - for whatever reason, that they have to go before they go. That is a huge predictor in their being ready and able to actually connect the need to go to an action (ie - the feel the urge, know they need to hold it, know they need to tell you they have to go, AND get to the potty).
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Try putting a little bit of dish soap and water and his potty and tell him to make bubbles this is a tactic one of my relative used and it worked for her son
Throw a skittle in and make him aim… The oee will deteriate the color and change keep him entertained
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Straight to underwear
Tell him him if he wants to go to school , with his friend, he’ll have to go to the potty.
My son turned 4 in March and still struggles sometimes. For him it’s about control and he thinks he’s going to miss something so he doesn’t take the time to poop.
Try letting pee outside. Mine loved to pee on flowers - trees and rocks…It works for boys.
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Leave the pull ups off when hes home.
Does he go to early intervention or a head start program? Maybe they can work with him
Don’t buy pullups, those are a waste of money. You can use diapers like pullups. Take him to the potty every 15 min. Then after a few days, every 30 min, and so on. He’ll get used to it. And if he refuses, say ok, and 5 min later take him again. Don’t get upset or mad or he wont want to use the potty. Take him whenever you go and show him.
My son was also a late bloomer on potty training we would let him go pee in back yard or on a tree seemed to get a kick out of doing it, since he’s a little bit mischievous but it worked 
I took his diapers off and said "if you pee in your pants your going to be wet ". It took 2 or 3 times for him to be wet ,then he realized the bathroom is a good place for his pee and poop then he liked going in the bathroom…ps he hated being wet and I made him wait to be changed for about 10 mins. …OMG he hated it
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My son watched his older cousins use the bathroom nd started picking up the habit on his own then later I tried him on underwear nd 5-10 min after he drinks or eats I take him to the bathroom nd see if he has to pee
My friends with boys used to let them pee on cheerios in the toilet… It actually worked. It likes a game to them.
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Following. Currently potty training my almost (in 6 days) 4 year old. He was speech delayed until a few months ago and is able to tell me when he needs to go now. So, following for tips/tricks!
Literally once every hour take him to the potty and teach him from example(pretend you have same bits) how to wee wee and then teach him to sit to go poopie;go through the motions of wiping his butt & then have him flush & wash his hands.My son was the easiest for me but this is exactly how I did it.I even taught him how you go before bed and woke him up at night too just to get him acclimated,etc.And always be encouraging even if he has an accident.Repetition is key 
My mom let my brother pee outside
My son had reg underwear he peed right away took a littke whike to poop in the toilet though
Put some type of cereal in your toilet (not a lot just like 6 pieces) and tell him to aim act like its a game. have candy or a fruit gummies on hand and every time he uses the bathroom give him a gummie or candy. Let him run around naked that helps too.
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I made it a game. 1st, put them in underwear. Second, i put Cheerios or Fruit loops in the toliet and made it a game lol. It worked.
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I threw cheerios in the toilet and had my boys aim for them
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Naked baby method. Screw pull ups they are nothing but a money grab and confuses the child. Sounds like the frustration may be hindering. Let them be naked. Lots of potty’s (even pots or buckets will work if needed) all around where the child is. It will take constant watching and lots of kind words. When they do go in a pot make a huge deal about it. They will want to do it to make you happy. It’s natural psychology. They want our love. Patience. It will be hard but when you relax and let it happen it will. Only use diapers at night.
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I made my son rinse his dirty underwear out and small prize box for going in potty
I let my kid run butt naked for 3 weeks. We had A LOT of accidents but he finally got it. He still gets accidents every now and then but hes good now…
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I never bought pullups because to me its like still wearing a diaper. I bought underwear and those plastic underwear to go over the underwear. I believe my son was about 4 when he was finally potty trained.
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Also i got him underwear from cartoons he likes like blazed, paw patrol and thomas.
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I didnt, we lived in the country and my male dog, would lift his keg and pee, so my son started pulling his diaper down and peeing too!!
Cheerios or fruit loops in the toilet & make them aim.
My son refused to go to the potty for anything. My so had a safe filled with different hunting rifles and my son was OBSESSED with looking in it. So I used that. Everytime he would go pee pee in the potty we could open it and look. If he pooped in the potty he could touch one. (Not hold it didnt even come out of the safe) with in one day of my “rules” that dude was pooping and peeing as much as he could in the potty.
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Save the pull ups for night/sleeping and use underwear for the rest. Be on top of him about taking him to the potty OFTEN, stay outside as much as possible in case an accident does happen.
My son… We tried everything. He’d sit on his little potty for a while then get up, pull up his pull ups, and pee in them. We partnered with daycare. Nothing worked. He was a few days before his 4th birthday when he walked up to me and told me he wanted to wear underwear. Then, he was fine. No more accidents.
I know it’s frustrating, but keep trying. When he’s ready, he’ll do it.
We went cold turkey to undies. No pull-ups and no going back to diapers. My daughter picked it up in a couple days literally. Obviously she was over ready. My son potty trained earlier than her and was done in a month or so by the time he stopped having any accidents. You just keep at it. Be consistent. Throw the diapers and pull-ups out! No more. Good luck!
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I put my son in underwear, no pull ups. I put him on the toilet every 15-20 mins, he lasted about 3 days before hot tired of getting on there so much so he could me when he had to go!!
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took him camping and let him pee and poo in the bushes.
since then my son loves to pee outside.
What exactly have you done? For my son, I took a whole weekend and trained him. Did not put pull ups on him because he knew he could go in them. I think that’s the mistake we all make. I put him in the toilet every 30 minutes so he could get used to going. The best advice I could give is get rid of the pull ups.
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I let my son wear pull ups til he was ready to get out, if you push your kid too hard they get scared of getting in trouble. But I had him go potty when I went. Then I put chonies on him and he liked the free feeling. He was about almost 3. So when he had an accident I told him “you are gonna where the baby diapers now” and he would get sooooo upset so he tried hard
We ran out of diapers one night and the stores were closed before I noticed so I told him had to use the potty from now on because there’s no more diapers. He’s been using the potty ever since lol
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