Potty Training a child that will not even sit on his potty?

We bought him a seat for the toilet but he must think that he's going to fall into the hole or something. He freaks when I sit him on it. He understands when he is dirty & will actually bring us a diaper & wipes to change him when he is & he knows what the toilet is for since he's seen us since he's been born. Is there a trick that I can use to get him to at least sit on the seat? I honestly don't want to go the bribing with candy route. DS is 28 months.

Re: Potty Training a child that will not even sit on his potty?

Honestly, if he won't even sit on the potty, it sounds like he's not ready. Do you have a little potty? DS went through phases where he preferred the little potty and refused to sit on the regular toilet and then phases where he preferred the other.

I wouldn't force him on the potty. If you have a little potty, bring it out and let him sit on it. Read stories to him while he sits there. If he won't sit there, then I'd back off for a few months and try again when he's a little older.

Re: Potty Training a child that will not even sit on his potty?

I was told NEVER reward with candy - it sets up for bad eating/self image issues.

Put his seat on the floor so he can practice just sitting on it. Or have him sit on the regular toilet with the seat closed. I used to have to hold DS some times even on his eat.

Re: Potty Training a child that will not even sit on his potty?

I would start with a separate little potty. We have the Elmo potty. It's much less intimidating than the big, cavernous hole that is in the bottom of the regular toilet.

Re: Potty Training a child that will not even sit on his potty?

at 28 months, he might not be ready.

my son is 24 months and although he sometimes asks to sit on the potty (which we do) he isnt ready. boy ususally take longer than girls and for the most part, train closer to 3+

this just proves that my 24 month old doesnt get it -

last night, after his bath, he told me he wanted to "peepee on potty" so we took his diaper off and he sat. after about two minutes, he passed gas and he jumped up with excitement and said "i did it!!" He doesnt even really understand yet the difference between pee and poop but the fact that he felt some urge to do something was good!

give it time!

ETA - he knows when his diaper is dirty and asks to be changed but that doesnt mean he is ready to train i dont think. it is an early sign though

Message edited 5/16/2012 8:55:45 AM.

Re: Potty Training a child that will not even sit on his potty?

My dd is 17 months. We bought her a little potty that sits on the floor a few weeks ago. I started just having her sit on it with her clothes on in the bathroom and reading books. Then the next week I took her diaper off and she sat on it while I used the big potty lol. And now this week she has been peeing in it every night before bed and once or twice during the day. I am going very slow since she is so young but she seems liek she is pretty ready. I always have a ton of books in the bathroom and I even taught her how to push her pee pee out lol. No rewards other than a silly potty dance and a high five. Good luck

Re: Potty Training a child that will not even sit on his potty?

Re: Potty Training a child that will not even sit on his potty?

My DS was the exact same way. I realized he was just not ready. A lesson that I have learned in training both DD and DS is wait until they are ready otherwise it causes too much frustration for you. They can also sense your frustration and it delays it even more. This is the one thing that you have zero control over and if I were you I would just sit back and wait for him. BTW my DS was one week shy of 3.

Re: Potty Training a child that will not even sit on his potty?

I think the interest is there but I'll start off slowly with just leaving the seat lying around, I guess. Hopefully, he'll go over to it & sit on his own while dressed as a start.