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This is such a toughie. I potty trained one girl, now 8, and am potty training a second, now 3. The younger one started just before she turned 3. The older one....we started way too early, and it was a nightmare for a few years.

I know there is an unspoken pressure to potty train quick, particularly if the child is 3. But go with his cues. Don't pressure him. You know his personality - work with what is of interest to him. Get some special books for him that he can read only on the potty? Give him something to "aim for" in the potty? (I've heard boys like this one!) And/or put blue food coloring in the toilet and let him see it turn green?

We have been using a cute "potty train" chart. We had older sister draw and cut out a train engine and a train station building. We stuck them to magnets, and made a train track. Younger daughter gets to put one sticker on the track if she pees in the potty, and two if she poops. Then she moves the train along the track as it fills with stickers. When the train gets to the station, she gets a special prize. We've worked our way from a dozen spaces on the track up to around 30 right now. Eventually, once she goes several days in a row with no accidents, and is ready for a new chart, we'll make each space for accident-free days. (And a bigger prize!)

One other piece of advice: once he starts getting the hang of things, if he does have an accident don't make a big deal and scold him for it. Just have him practice going to the potty, pulling his pants down, etc. Do this a few times in a row. If he resists, don't push it. He will probably do real well, then regress a little, then progress again. You will get way more stressed out over it than he will!

Good luck!!!!

Well I don't have a boy but I hae a 3 year od girl who still pee's her pants she will poop in the potty but thats it. We use a sticker method, make a chart of like 10 spaces long and 5 down tell him if he goes he will get a sticker, when he gets 10 he gets a little prize when hefills the char givve him a big prize, use prizes of somehing that intrests him, my gir loves stickers and little dinosaurs so we use those and small playdough containers for big prizes, butmake it fun , get really excited when he goes. Also consistantly put him onto the potty, it's a lot of work but it's the best way, and if he goes while your puttin him on give him a sticker! Good luck!

I Have 5 boys. We used fruit loops and had them "aim" for them like an arcade game and the reward mini marshmallows for each one they got. Sounds like potty playing but it also gives them a positive reward. It also removes the big transition to the potty and gives them some focus. You can even reinforce color and number learning skills. After you make #1 a fun experience #2's fill follow since the doo travel together.

First of take him out of diapers and put him in his big boy underwear. He will see what is happening and won't like being wet. It will take a good month before he starts going all on his own. When I first started to train my son the only time I used diapers was bed time and pullups when we went out. The hardest part is keeping up with cleaning the underwear.

you can try rewards and encouragement, talk of being a "big boy" and "using the grown up's toilet", etc.

Sometimes a little of this kind of encouragement will help, but, if gentle motivation doesn't work, don't get all worked about it and certainly don't stress the child about it. If you keep pushing the child who isn't ready, He may dig in his heels and just deliberately NOT get motivated. Too much encouragement, ie, pushing too hard can lead to all-out resistance.

Just relax and wait... I promise you, he'll eventually get motivated to going into the toilet all on his own.

Just like walking and talking... they will do it when they are ready.

i have 2 boys my oldest got it right away and was trained by 2 1/2 my second took til he was almost 4, i know what worked for him was other kids wearing big boy underwear and the cheerios in the toilet, whe took him to store and let him pick out scooby doo underwear and told him he didnt want to potty on scooby!! the thought of poopin on scooby was not ok for him but your boy will get it when hes ready. just not soon enough for us..lol

have you tried games with him? For example, to get my brothers to potty train my mom would get a couple cheerios and they would try to aim for them (might sound funny, but it worked)