Potty Training Any Advice on What Worked for Your Little Guys?

I am in the same boat with my 2 1/2 yr old boy. For about a year now he has followed me to the potty while I go (he says help mommy and hands me toilet paper...although I would rather have these few minutes tomyself! LOL). Then I bought a seat that attaches to the regular toilets so he could get used to seeing it. About 6 months ago I started asking if he wanted to use the potty. He always said no. I did not push it. Then about 3 months ago he asked to use the potty. I put him on. Nothing happened but that is okay. A few months went by and he never asked again. Now he has just started asking again. He sits on the potty at least twice a day. Sometimes he does pees and sometimes he doesn't. I don't push it.

My only problem right now is getting him to keep his clothes on! He thinks he has to be completely naked when he uses the potty. I don't know why. Its not like other people in this house are naked when they use the potty. He just has it in his head that his clothes have to be off. One habit I will have to break before we start using potties in public! LOL

Something to make it fun worked for my little one. We would throw some cheerios in the potty and let him aim at them. It was fun for him while also teaching him where to go and the ever important "AIM" lol Also we did do a reward system. For my some it was Skittles. One for going potty and two for going #2. Just a little something to motivate him to go more often. I think introducing him to it now is a great idea and one that i wish I would have thought of myself :) Good luck!!

OK. this may be a bit much for some, but I waited until my son was almost three years old. I did buy a potty and allowed him to sit on it daily from the age of 20 months until he was ready. Since I was patient and did not allow others to influence me (had him when I was 41), it only took two days to potty train him. He went from diapers to pull ups overnight and then into underpants within a couple of days. I also had a younger daughter (had her when I was 43) and as soon as I finished with him, she was nearly ready (girls seem to mature a bit faster than boys...or so I've heard and experienced). That's my story. I waited until he was good and ready and it didn't take long.

G. Hayes

that's pretty much what we did. We got the potty at about 18 mos, and just put it in the bathroom. He was curious and took right to it. Then we started asking before bathtime "Do you want to sit on your potty and try to pee pee?" he did and peed the first time. we made a huge deal out of it. So we started with potty before every bath, then potty before bed every night, then potty before naptime and so on. We always asked if he wanted to. If he said no, we didn't push it. When he got a little older 2 - 2.5 we started requiring him to go before bed and at least try.

Then we tried underwear until he got the hang of knowing when he needed to go. He did NOT like being wet :) in diapers, they can't feel it so it doesn't bother them. Same in pull ups too. So, a few messes later (not many) hes pretty consistant now. Poop was a litte more tricky, but once he saw that it was dangerous :) he's getting pretty good. He just turned 3 so we do this VERY gradually, but still I'm pretty proud of him for getting it down at 3! :) we have accidents every now and then, but it's getting more and more rare .

Good luck!! just be encouraging and make a big deal out of what a big boy he is now. Treats don't hurt either :) they don't have to be food, they can be extra play time or a special game/book with you :)

There is a great book called Early Start Potty Training - it is broken down by age so it is an easy read. It works. I sarted my son at 8mths and was totally out of diapers at night by 12 mths and then totally wearing big boy underwear even on long trips by 18mths. My friend used the same book and started her son too at the same time then her DS became sick and she had to stop she started again at 12 mths and long before he was 2 he was totally out of diapers too.

The whole "ready" thing if you will research comes from Dr and Psy who were funded by diaper comanys... that can really scew research.

Nontheless, if you do it before they get a huge will they will comply and it is less of a struggle. Make it fun, read books, tell stories, sing.. whatever makes your little guy happy.

I chose to use the potty inserts so that I could take the potty with me for consistancy. It worked very well. I never used the little potty, so my son was never afraid of the big potty.

On the last note. I now have a 3mth old girl who uses the potty (on an insert) all the time. I can not remember the last time she pooped in her diaper. She gives me great signals and will often hold it till she sits on the potty. It can be done if you are patient and determined.

You can do it and he can too. Good Luck .. Feel free to message me if you want more info..
God Bless

There's a wonderful book called Toilet Training in Less Than a Day (you can find it on amazon). It worked on my son when he was 27 months (in less than a day), and I'm sure it would have worked sooner if I had found it sooner.

Don't listen to all the naysayers who have four-year-olds still crapping their pants. All kids used to be potty trained by the time they were 2. If you wait too long, you are not only training them, you are also having to UNtrain them to not go in their pants... There's nothing wrong with having the potty seat in view. The book gives signs of readiness. Often kids will demonstrate the signs between 18 and 24 months, or they will at least be curious -which is the golden window of opportunity!!! If you've already read the book and highlighted the pertinent info, then it would be a breeze to implement it and do it in a day! Good luck, and kudos to you for recognizing the intelligence of your child!

hey J.

i did a similar thing, tho my son never really got into going on his potty. I trained at 2 years 7 mos, i had baby number 2 on the way in 5 mos so i wanted him done! I would say wait til you and your son can carry on a conversation of about 3 or 4 sentences in which he is actually coherently responding to what you ask i.e. "what do you want to play with today?"my blocks" not "what do you want to play with and the answer is I like dogs. That way you know he is understanding you when you say "can you pull your pants down" and "do you need to pee." I'd also start working with him on pulling his pants down at a diaper change so he gets the hang of it. Make his clothes easy for him to get off, after my son turned 2 we never had anymore cute little overalls because they were too hard to get off. Finally when the big day came we went cold turkey, no pullups(except at night that comes later) just undies. He got the concept in the first 24 hours after that it was just learning to control the muscles to hold it til he could race to the potty. After about a week he was doing just fine. I really think communication was the key, his ability to understand cause and affect and communicate with me.

good luck!
M.

He's too young. The best thing I did for my son at that age was use cloth diapers and let him go diaperless as much as possible. There were accidents but they were little and I occationally shampooed the carpet.

We introduced the potty at 18 months but didn't get serious until he was 2. He wore his last diaper at 2 1/2 and was fully independent at 3 even at night.

I loved the book "No Cry Potty Solution". It helped with my expectations and gave some ideas for getting through difficult spots.

My boys are grown now, but I was advised by their doctor to start potty training them when they could speak the words to you that they need to potty. Don't push them or make them sit on the potty. One of my sons was not fully potty trained until the summer of his 3rd birthday. Each child will potty train differently, so I would encourage you to be patient and try not to get frustrated. Let him begin the process when he is ready. Good luck!

Good for you for being prepared. Boys (generally) take longer to warm up to the idea of potty training so don't push him or he will resist and it will take even longer. To get my son to go wee in the potty, I put him on the potty and tickled his tummy. He would laugh and start to wee every time. Going poop in the potty is harder. I promise that he will not go away to college in a diaper, but you will begin to wonder!! Best wishes to you and your sweet little boy.

Introducing toilet training at this age can work. Like you are doing - first step is to get a child size one and give it a place in the bathroom. Let them be curious about it and then see what happens. We found that if a little one is in the habit of sitting on the toilet first thing in the AM and right before bathtime, by the time age 2 comes around with its challenges, there are not many times that going to the toilet these two times is challenged because it is part of the routine. I hope that helps.

J.,
My babysitter told me the best way to do it is make a game out of it. Set the time for 45 minutes and when it goes off make a big deal out of it. "it's time to go potty" "let's go on the big boy potty" etc. After while they start to learn what it feels like to have the "I gotta go feeling and they start telling you.

Hope this helps,
Jen

J.,
Many are going to say he's too young but my oldest son, now 8, was potty trained by the time he was 26 months old. We started when he was able to walk and go to the bathroom. I think first he needs to know the difference in pee-pee and a poo. We taught our oldest son that as early as 15 months. It takes a lot of time, dedication, and consistency. Since he's just a little over one year old I would teach him the difference in the two. I know my 15 month old always pee's in the bath tub when he's getting a bath so I'll say "Tucker pee-pee in bath". He now says pee-pee every time he pees in the bath. He's now going and hiding when he does a poo so I'm going to start emphasizing that he is pooing when he does this. Their schedules are also important. Keep him on a pretty routine schedule with eating and drinking. During warm weather it's harder to control since they drink more when they're hot. But once you get a eating and drinking schedule down - start getting him familiar with the concept of pottying. Take him to the potty 30 mintues after he eats or drinks. He will not understand it at first but it won't take long. Also, I wasn't one that used pull-ups while we were at home during the day. While we were home my son wore underwear. I found that he didn't like being wet so he would go to the bathroom and pee after a few times of peeing on himself. We used pull-ups when we were away from the house and overnight. All in all, it's really up to your son when he wants to do it but I don't think he's too young for you to introduce this to him. People in 3rd world countries start training their chiildren as early as 9 months, depending on how soon their children begin to walk. They usually have their children potty trained by 18 months. It doesn't scar their children for life. Also, potty training takes a lot of dedication and patience so train at a pace that is good for him but don't be afraid to push him to go to potty. Be realistic and don't forget he's still a little fella. If you keep this attitude you won't get frustrated and give up. Good luck.

Hi J.,
I have a five year old and a 7 month old. Obviously my 7 month old is no where near ready. (: However, for my five year old...I started training when he was almost two years. It was probably a couple of months before he turned two. I knew he was ready though because he started taking him pamper off on his own. Especially, when he had a number 2 (Yes it was a mess! Lol!) But, I knew he was ready. Number 2 was no problem when it came to the potty, but he would not push the issue if he only had to do number 1. I purchased some character underwear (Spider-man) I said, "Now, make sure you do not get Spidey wet. Spidey does not like to be wet." I had no problem after that. It worked for me, but do not get discouraged if you try it and it does not work. Continue the motivation and he will definitely get it. It only took my little on 4 months to catch on to the whole idea of the potty. Good luck to you!!

When they are ready they will let you know. Watch the signs when they are interested in going potty. My little girl who is 21-month now just finished her potty training.

I didn't push her but she herself initiate it so eventually I started the potty training. It took me only a couple of hours to do so so. The second day she had one accident and the third day she had another accident. That's it. There is no more since then. It is a little surprise to me because I've heard a lot about the headaches that people have had potty training their kids.

Good luck to you as my mother-in-law told me before I started the potty training :)

yes, you are right on going for it now. My Mom had all of us, and neices and nephews potty trained within a month of starting to walk. She always figured if they can walk, they can walk to the potty. Made it fun and rewarded when they did good. They all learned very quickly.

Bless you for starting early!! I know there's lots of advice to 'let it ride', but in the olden days of cloth diapers and large families, this just wasn't practical. It's also a huge expense nowadays, paying for disposables. I think it's better to expect a lot of a kid and help them accomplish it than to teach him/her that s/he can just do everything in life 'when s/he feels like it'.

I raised 4 kids (now all 21+) and all were potty trained by age 2. I love potty training (and am now practicing on my grandkids) -- starting any time they wake up DRY from a nap or overnight (one of my kids did this before age 1) AND any time you 'go potty'.

Have him sit on his whenever you go, and if there's ever any pee in the potty, praise him with a potty song and dance or whatever. Once they get the 'feel' of it coming out w/o a diaper, it gets easier and easier. Some kids are easier than others, so just take it at his pace and make it fun. My granddaughter will be 2 in August, and (whenever I'm with her, which isn't nearly often enough!) I can tell her, "sit there til you pee, then you can get up!" and she'll squeeze out a teaspoon or two (or however much she's got). That's success! She doesn't tell us when she needs to go, yet, but just keep taking them and keeping the mood happy. Practice songs, naming body parts, colors, shapes, looking at pictures, etc while he's on his potty.

HI J., I too purchased a potty at 14 months. I figured as a SAHM he went everywhere with me, bathroom included. He showed minor interest at first, but it faded when he learned how to flush the regular toilet. He was fascinated with flushing when I was done. At 18 months he learned how to straddle a regular toilet backwards. I walked into the bathroom and there he was. I quickly switched to trainer underwear during the day. Every 15 minutes we would break and go potty. I would give him a m&m even if it was a drop. It meant he has using the right muscles.

In the beginning there were lots of accidents. The good thing was he noticed really fast when he was wet or messy. He was daytimed potty trained by 2, although we didn't venture out of the house without a diaper. He had a slight relapse when me moved out of state, but for the last 6 weeks he is back to being trained during the day. On short trips we have been leaving him in underwear and he's doing pretty well. I'm really glad we did it this way. I didn't have to wean him off a little potty or deal with pull-ups. He's almost 2 1/2 and some moms won't even start until 3-4. I think the earlier you start, the earlier they grasp it. Good Luck!

If I were you (knowing what I know now after potty training two sons and two daughters) I would put it on a high shelf for a year to year and a half and NOT mention it. This is actually for your sake! Boys take longer than girls (my first wasn't potty trained until after 3 years old despite our best efforts, although my girls were almost trained by their 2nd birthdays.) If you "start" now, it will seem like FOREVER! Please do yourself (and your son) a favor and postpone the mention of it. It will likely put pressure on him before he is even able to control his bladder and may end up making him believe he can't do it, which could create a problem when he really can!

Once he's older, I would just start by changing his diaper without great fanfare (no tickling or making it a really fun event that he might miss) and then add great fanfare for every time he sits on the potty... but I would start this well past two!

Good luck!

There is an old thought - you can teach a three year old child to tie their shoes in six months or wait until they are five and teach them in five minutes. The same thing is true with poddy training from my experience.

A wise nurse told me (for I was very frustrated at the time with my two year old child)... to try it for two or three days -and if you see no progress - put the seat away for a few months and then try again. She said "When they are ready you can teach them in a week."

She was SO right - saved so much stress for him and his brother - not to mention me. I taught them in ONE week...and since candy was almost non existent in our house - M&M's did it. Three for BM and one for wet. It was great.

There is a ton of proof that little boys are not ready til near three. I know a lady that trained ALL of her children before age one!!!! I say - they were not trained - she was !!!...trained to take them to the pot at the right time.

J. B.
www.joyboudreau.com

I feel like early potty training is the best approach - we started our little girl when she was about 9 months. We just place her on the potty and say "do you have to use the bathroom.." or something similar. She now, 13mnths, will instantly pee/poop if she has to, and get up if she doesn't. Obviously she can't ask to go at this point, but, it does help the transition to full-potty training because they don't get used to going in their diaper. If you stop them from thinking the diaper is the only place, it is easier to transition.

I am working on my near 2 year old. I think videos are great...if there's one that he'll watch. It's a great way for them to see other kids using the potty and also some songs about it. The pull ups with the cool alert are good too. It starts makeing them realize that they just went. Now my boy is letting me know before he's peed or even before he's pooped! Getting him to relax and stay on the potty is a different battle. I am trying to read him books to have him sit and relax. I actually prefer using the little seat on the big potty because he can't just stand up and try to leave.

I'm interested in everyone elses responses also! Keep 'em coming!

Get potty books to read to him. Let him help pick out big boy underwear and keep them by the diaper area. Just expose him to the idea but don't force. Both of mine let me know when they wanted to switch to undies, and we never looked back - no pull-ups. We just kept a clean up bag with us when we went out, and did not have to use it often. I did have them help clean up - I removed most and then had them use a Clorox wipe. My daughter trained at 2 years 3 months and my son just 2 weeks before he turned 3. I am lucky that both are dry sleepers. Just keep it positive and don't stress. He will be ready when he is ready, and no sooner. ( :