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need advice.. how do we get our 3yr old boy potty trained? What is an appropriate bedtime?

dsngrl's picture

HI all.. need advice. My SS is 3.. from what I hear that is getting pretty old to not be trained yet.. any advice you can give me? he does better, but when i put him in underwear around the house he still have accidents and it is very frustrating.. I have even tried taking him to a store and he will have accidents, which shows me he still needs pullups.. what are your tips/tricks that you did with your boys?

Second question. What is an approprate bed time for a 3 year old.. i have every intention of getting him to bed around 830 at the latest, but then he wants to watch a movie, read books, needs a drink.. etc. etc.. before I know it it is 9:30! Please help.. i need some guidance.

Totalybogus's picture

Stick with the pullups and reward him for using the potty. This is hard because the more you try to force them, the more they will regress. He will do it in his own time.

Bedtime... I say 7:30, but definitely no later than 8. He is three. He doesn't always get what he wants.

dsngrl's picture

in regards to bed time, he is at school all day, we dont pick him up until 515 ish.. so 2 hours with him before bedtime is not much!

Totalybogus's picture

He is still a baby and needs his rest. I'm sure you probably have to wake him early to take him to daycare. 8:00 give you plenty of time to feed him bath him, play with him for a little bit and then get him calmed down to go to bed by reading him a story. All quality time.

dsngrl's picture

k.. i will try it.. he just doesnt seem to be tired at 8. Although he is sooo grumpy when i wake him in the morning, so putting him to bed at 8 may be less stressful for me in the morning in regards to his grumpiness.. plus, if i get him to bed by then, more time to myself. Smile

soverysad's picture

Boys often take longer than girls to potty train. Try not to make a big deal about the accidents and do rewards for going on the potty. Also, if he isn't giving you a hard time, try asking him to try to use the potty every two hours or so. Make it fun and put a cheerio in there for him to aim at.

Studies show that children at that age NEED 12 hours of sleep to learn properly. I know its tough because he doesn't have much time to play, but he plays all day in day care. Put him to bed and let him know he it is okay for him to sing to himself, play with stuffed animals or whatever, but he must stay in bed. You'll find that he'll fall asleep faster than you'd think once he is there and calmed down.

"God is great, beer is good, and people are crazy" and you can't change crazy!!

StepChicka's picture

Stores have these little flush-proof shapes SS can learn to pee on but regular ol frootloops works too.

8pm should be lights out IMO. Plan to read to him before hand. Set a small cup of water by his bedside. Possibly get a nightlight. Someone on here puts glow in the dark stars on their kids ceiling.

Good luck Smile

bearcub25's picture

We always sent BS to the bathroom with Dad. That worked best for us and with the grandkid too.

dsngrl's picture

thanks guys! very helpful... im going to try putting him to bed early tonight and see what happens.. good advice on the cheerios too!

Red-headed_Stepmom's picture

The bedtime thing is hare, particularly if it isn't enforced at the other parents home.

We live 30-45 minutes (depending on traffic) away from the boys daycare (it's around the corner from BM) so it feels like we have time to get home, do homework (SS6 is in 1st grade) and eat dinner and it's bedtime! We've started some routines to make bedtime easier ... we try to start about 7PM and get their pajamas on and pick out clothes for the next day (makes mornings much easier!), then we all pile on the sofa and watch something like Muppet Show, or Fraggle Rock, (things that are outside of todays normal culture, but things their Dad and I enjoyed when we were kids, we've looked for shows that are 1/2 hour or less), then potty time and into bed for a story, one of us leaves, the other stays and cuddles for about 5 minutes and (if necessary) the bedtime rules are reminded (1 - Be quiet, 2 - Don't pester your brother, 3 - Stay in the room, 4 - Sweet dreams) (this allows SS4 who tends to stay up a little longer the ability to quietly play with stuffed animals in bed, or look through a book, and has cut down on him keeping his brother SS6 awake) and we leave the room. Usually, it is 8:00 or a little before when the last adult leaves the room.

We've noticed a significant difference in their moods when they wake up in the morning since we got this timing down. Now, if we could just convince BM that it makes a difference!

BTW - even when it's not a school night, we make an effort to have them in bed no later than 1/2 an hour off their normal bedtime - the body does better with routine sleep habits.

On a final note, our goal with SS4 was for him to be potty trained and not in pull-ups by his 4th birthday. Part of that was based on the day-care requirements and moving him into the next level class. We talked with him about the idea of getting big-boy underwear for his birthday, and how great it would be ... and he took care of the rest about 2 weeks before his birthday! (And he got a bunch of batman underpants - his favorite superhero!)

Good luck.