Pull-ups won't help, OP. Kids know they're just pull-on diapers. Do the long-weekend drill (put a potty in front of the TV, no underwear at all, and let him watch as much Elmo as he wants. Make a huge happy deal every time he uses the potty. Repeat until he gets it.) If he hasn't "shown signs of readiness" by now he never will, so get to it. GL!

Anonymous wrote:OP, it sounds to me like your child_is_ ready.

And as a teacher who has helped potty train many, please trust me that your child's teacher is NOT being lazy. It's quite the opposite. It's way easier to leave a child in a wet pull up all day than it is to change clothes they've peed in.

I agree. Potty training can be a lot more work (especially in the beginning) than allowing a child to sit in a diaper for a couple hours.

My daughter's preschool will not take 3 year olds who are not potty trained. Yes, the kids have occasional accidents, but are out of diapers and in underwear. I also share your philosophy of waiting until a child shows signs of readiness before potty training, but at a certain age you have to encourage them to get ready, I think.

OP, it sounds to me like your child_is_ ready.

And as a teacher who has helped potty train many, please trust me that your child's teacher is NOT being lazy. It's quite the opposite. It's way easier to leave a child in a wet pull up all day than it is to change clothes they've peed in.

^ Some People are rude as hell. Fuck them. If you don't wanna potty train your child because he's not ready, then expect to keep him in the 3 year old class when he turns 4.

I say take the opportunity and let the teacher, who is an expert at potty training, give you and your son a head start on the whole thing. The teacher knows what she is doing when she's asking you to send in underwear and she's more experienced at this sort of thing then the average parent. Trying it out wouldn't hurt, would it? It will only lead to more opportunities for your child, who will gain more independence and achieve his potential in a higher classroom, when he turns 4 years old. Just give it a chance.

If you want, tell your son, when he comes home, he can still wear diapers if he wants to but at school he can't. I have a 4 year old son, who was diagnosed with severe encopresis at 3 years old, who is in Pre-K and is 'potty trained.' He has worn underwear there successfully since he was 3.5 years old and never had an accident. The only thing is, when he comes home, he asks for a diaper when he goes #2 (poop) because he is still deathly afriad of going #2 in the toilet. He is very good at peeing in the toilet and is a regular 4 year old kid, with the exception of not pooping in the toilet. Like you're child, he's smart too and we are very proud of him. Screw the pp that said a non-potty trained child is not smart and the one that called you lazy. Every child is different. Every parenting experience is different. One day he'll be a regular Tom or Joe taking the subway to work or runs his own business. Don't stress it. And take the opportunity to work with the teacher to help your son catch up to his peers. It will only help him in the long run. He will be OK

Anonymous wrote:On a related note, my 3.5 year old takes bigger dumps than I do. How long do you want to be wiping that off his back and legs? Treat yo' self to some potty training.

Word.

OP, take advantage of this opportunity. It's so much easier when you have childcare providers and his peers helping to make it happen.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's shocking that they allowed him in a 3 year old classroom without being potty trained. And you're thinking it's unreasonable to have him plan to train by Pre-K?

Not everything should be on the child's timetable.

This is bullshit. 1/2 of my kid's 3 class was in diapers at year start. 2 still are.
People don't lie on an anonymous forum!

Not the PP, but zero kids in my son's 3 class were in (daytime) diapers at year start. "Shocking" is an exaggeration, but I know plenty of schools that at least nominally require potty-training be complete before entering the 3 year old program.

same here. If a kid does not potty train then they stay in the 2 yr old class until they are trained. The 3yr old class does not even have a diaper changing station in it; the requirement to move up i being potty trained, not age.
OP i have 2 boys. My oldest never showed signs of readiness, but once we forced him by putting him in underwear (pull-up were/are just a glorified diaper and did nothing to help him potty train) he was fully trained in a week. Kids are a lot more capable than you think. Time to give your son more credit and get him out of diapers. Not to mention that if he goes into pre-k in diaper kids will notice and make fun of him.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's shocking that they allowed him in a 3 year old classroom without being potty trained. And you're thinking it's unreasonable to have him plan to train by Pre-K?

Not everything should be on the child's timetable.

This is bullshit. 1/2 of my kid's 3 class was in diapers at year start. 2 still are.
People don't lie on an anonymous forum!

Not the PP, but zero kids in my son's 3 class were in (daytime) diapers at year start. "Shocking" is an exaggeration, but I know plenty of schools that at least nominally require potty-training be complete before entering the 3 year old program.

ZERO kids in DD's preschool were still in diapers - zero. It was a prerequisite of acceptance.

The first "ZERO" in all caps made your point. No need for repetition.

Anonymous wrote:Not sure how you figure that your kid is "very smart" when he still poops his pants.

No dog in the fight, as my kid trained at a usual age, but any idiot can be potty trained. No correlation with being "smart" at all. If a kid gets mixed signals, he or she may well keep doing the easy thing -- use the pull ups or whatever.

Anonymous wrote:I used to very happy with my sons preschool until they are basically trying to force him to potty train. My 3.5 year old does not show the signs of readiness. Yes he tells you when he goes pee or poop but has shown no interest in the actual potty. His teacher approached me about potty training about a month ago and I agreed to send in pull-ups but I'm not going to force him to go at home. Well today she sent an email stating that she wants to start full potty training him(underwear only) no later than June so he can be potty trained before he goes to pre-k. My child is very smart and I know he will potty train when he is ready and I feel it doesn't have to be on their time table. Am I wrong in feeling like this? My husband says I'm being unreasonable. I think the teacher is just being lazy and doesn't want to change diapers anymore since my son is the only one still in diapers.

Troll. Sorry but no mother is this stupid.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's shocking that they allowed him in a 3 year old classroom without being potty trained. And you're thinking it's unreasonable to have him plan to train by Pre-K?

Not everything should be on the child's timetable.

This is bullshit. 1/2 of my kid's 3 class was in diapers at year start. 2 still are.
People don't lie on an anonymous forum!

Not the PP, but zero kids in my son's 3 class were in (daytime) diapers at year start. "Shocking" is an exaggeration, but I know plenty of schools that at least nominally require potty-training be complete before entering the 3 year old program.

ZERO kids in DD's preschool were still in diapers - zero. It was a prerequisite of acceptance.

You do realize that your son is old enough for other kids to make fun of him for pooping in his diapers, don't you?

How can you do that to your poor son? You should have toilet trained him a year and a half ago. You are lazy and it is now going to have a very negative effect on your poor little boy.

When I read the subject line I thought you were talking about something like holding a child down on the toilet or punishing them or something like that, not toilet training a 3 1/2 year old child.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's shocking that they allowed him in a 3 year old classroom without being potty trained. And you're thinking it's unreasonable to have him plan to train by Pre-K?

Not everything should be on the child's timetable.

This is bullshit. 1/2 of my kid's 3 class was in diapers at year start. 2 still are.
People don't lie on an anonymous forum!

Not the PP, but zero kids in my son's 3 class were in (daytime) diapers at year start. "Shocking" is an exaggeration, but I know plenty of schools that at least nominally require potty-training be complete before entering the 3 year old program.

I agree. the only kids in our preschool who were still in diapers were the 2.5 yo class. Once 3, they must be potty trained. I sure wouldnt want to be a teacher changing diapers. bad enough in daycare when I have had to change diapers on the kids who were 3-4 because they were either not being taught at home or parents decided they werent ready. it is nasty changing a diaper on a kid whos legs are long and lanky and here you are trying to hold them up while cleaning them. Nasty!