It's not happening. Any advice?

Charlie has just turned 3. I have tried on numerous occasions to toilet train him but he just won't. He'll tell me we wants to use the toilet and sometimes he either clams up and just stands at the door saying no or he gets on his little step and just stands there staring at the bowl. We have a ping pong ball so he can 'aim' at it but nope nothing. He probably just has no idea what were on about however he sees DH go all the time so i don't know. Also he never tells us when he needs a nappy change, either wet or soiled. Which is mostly the reason i want him TT so i dont have to check his nappy every 10 minutes.

Is he intimidated by the "big person" toilet? Tried a potty at all? A mother was telling me once that her little boy was scared by the big toilet because it was so tall but quite happily used a potty.

hth

My ds was around 3 when he tt'd. I tried all sorts of things, but until he was actually put in the situation of no choice nothing really happened. By that I mean, I was cleaning a massive mess in the bathroom, he was running around naked, yelled that he needed to wee so I called back to use the potty....... and he did!

With the warmer weather coming, it should be easier to let him run around outside in the nuddy to get used to the sensation and then go from there.

Poos for us were another story, took about another 3-4 months before he would poo on the toilet (would insist on a nappy back on for them and hold them unless we did) We broke that one through bribery! Took ds to the shop, he chose a toy, came home and we put it on the fridge. Where he could clearly see it but not get to it. Explained to him that when he does poo on the toilet he can have the toy. Didn't take too long, maybe a week? We went backwards a few times, each time we did the toy went on the fridge again until the next time he did a poo on the toilet.

Sorry for the massive ramble on my sons bowl habits! HTH! :D

sharon, I like that idea. I think I might try that.

My DD was just like that. I tried everything I could think of to get her to toilet train - star charts, bribed her with toys, even got her ears pierced to signify her becoming a 'big girl'. NOTHING WORKED! I had successfully toilet trained 2 other kids before her but I just had no idea how to go about training this one. She was going to be starting Kinder and I was determined that she would be TT by then....she was not so determined though. I went to an 'early intervention' centre who gave me a few tips, they even made a book about her toilet training which we had to read etc....didn't work.

In the end I just threw my hands up into the air and gave up! I was over it! I figured she wouldn't be wearing nappies on her 21st birthday so I just left it.

One day we were going swimming, she was a month off 4 and she wanted to wear her bathers before we went. I let her, mainly just to stop her whinging about it. Then out of the blue at the pool she ran up to me and ASKED me to take her to the toilet!!!! Of course I made a big deal of it and she did her very first poo on the toilet at the swimming pool. She was toilet trained both day and night from that moment on.

SO my advice to you is to let it go, don't make an issue of it and he will do it himself naturally. After all he won't still be wearing nappies on his 21st birthday! ;)

I'd just wait until he's ready hun. Kids are all different at different ages, and apparently it is common for boys to be ready later. My 4 1/2 year old took quite a while and I was despairing of him ever "getting it". Then DS2 basically trained himself in one day when he was ready, and I now understand what people mean when they say it is easier when they are ready.