EEEEEEEK!!! Potty Training ...someone Help My Fears

We started at 3. Daycare took the lead and he was potty trained in less than a month with no problems. Have a little potty he can "practice" on. Let him go when you and daddy go so he can see pottying "in action".

:)

For us, it was when the daycare said, we are starting on Monday, bring him in regular pants. My son was 3y. You can also wait until he has woken up dry in the morning for a week.

The method that worked best for us is the 3 day. For a few days before, keep track of the # of diapers changed, and the times. You'll see a pattern. Then, pick a long weekend, stock up on food and floor cleaner and stay in. When he wakes up Sat. morning, show him the big boy potty on the floor, take the diaper off ... and go!

The thing to keep in mind is that you have to set a timer and keep taking him to the potty, especially around the time that he would normally go. Even if he is in the middle of playing or you are in the middle of shopping and running errands. If he messes, don't yell. Calmly take him to the bathroom, clean him up with a shower rinse if needed, and change his clothes, in the bathroom not his room or on the changing table.

In my experience you can start potty training at two and spend a year potty training, or you can start potty training at three and spend a week potty training. It depends on the child, of course, and it depends on how badly you need your child to be trained, and depends on how much effort you want to put into it. My boys were very regular when they were two, so they were only using about three diapers a day, ad rarely needed changes when we were away from home. I was in no rush to train, they didn't need to be trained until they went to pre-school. With both my boys they watched the potty training videos (Once Upon a Potty), we read all the potty training books, they had a potty Elmo, and they practiced removing their own pants before they turned three. For both boys I waited until their third birthdays and took away the diapers, and within a few days they were fully trained, day and night. I had a friend who started her boy at two. She insisted he was fully trained, yet she was having to take him to the toilet every half hour, take off his pants, put him on the toilet, wipe his bottom and wash his hands, yet he still had all kinds of accidents. She went through nearly a year of that. If your child seems interested, and seems physically able, then sure, go ahead, but otherwise, save everyone lots of frustration and wait. You'll be able to tell when he is ready.

Here's the potty training readiness checklist:

http://www.babycenter.com/0_potty-training-readiness-chec...

Our son was 3 1/2 when he was potty trained.
I let daycare take the lead on it.
Since we waited till he was ready, we had no power struggles.
He was 7 1/2 when he didn't need pullups at night anymore.

FORGET potty trained in 24 hours. Why would anyone wish that on a 2 year old?

Boys typically take longer than girls to train. A lot of boys train at 3.

Read about 2 year development, mom. It will help you to understand your child overall. That will help you know when he's ready to train...

I always was suspicious of the general statement that girls trained earlier adn easier than boys. Then I had a girl! LOL

My son wasn't fully potty trained until after his 3rd birthday. He was close, I just never really pushed it. Honestly, what pushed him to the "fully trained" status was I broke my arm and told him that is was very hard for me to change his pull ups with a broken arm. Lovely boy that he is he said, "o.k. Mommy!" and had VERY few accidents after that point. I do NOT recommend breaking an arm to encourage potty training though! :)

I used the seat that goes over the big seat and gave him a small stool to rest his feet on. For me it was a space issue, though. I did not have room for a stand alone potty seat.

Let him see you going to the bathroom and maybe sit him on it once in a while, but I would probably wait until he is showing you that he is ready to try it. Good luck!

My son was almost 3 years old before we started.

Do some reading and see what sounds reasonable.

don't pressure. Expect a mess. Go with the "flow."

My son was 2 1/2 when we started potty training and it was his idea. I read a potty book to him and after each time we read it together, I'd tell him that he can let me know when he's ready for big boy undies and going on the potty. One night he told me, no more diapers and that next day I didn't put a diaper on him and he did great! Sure, there will be some accidents but those were few and far between and we'd just clean them up without making a big deal. He did have trouble going #2 in the potty. Instead, I'd have him sit in his pull-up in the bathroom and go #2 in there -- with time he became more comfortable and eventually just went in the potty instead of in his pull-up.

I'd wait until he shows interest and always keep in mind this is a big learning experience for him and each day may be a little different!

I tried at 3 with my son and he wasn't ready. We tried again at 31/2 and he was trained in about a week. When he was physically ready and he wanted to wear the cool Spider-Man undies, it happened. I'd wait!

There are way too many potty training books and videos. I wonder if we averaged potty training in 24 hours, potty training in 3 days, if we could start our own book.

Truth is, I would talk to your pediatrician and read up on signs of readiness: Is he interested in the potty? Is he dry for several hours? Etc.

You will get tons of opinions on here and from friends, etc. It's a touchy subject among parents, some may brag, others may feel shame!

Don't let that stop you.

My pediatrician said, it's really up to them. It's the truth.

The only universal advice I can give you is POSITIVE reinforcement. Make the potty fun, exciting, but never negative. Two steps forward, one step back.

"Toilet Training in Less Than a Day" by Azrin was my bible. It is awesome. A bit outdated, but the method and lessons still hold true.

Also, I would definitely suggest waiting until your son is absolutely ready for potty training. Meaning, he meets ALL of the requirements outlined in the book. My oldest was 30 months. My youngest was 27 months. They were both potty trained within a few days. No accident after the 7th day. And they were both night trained by the age of 3.

I am currently watching my girlfriend potty train her 2 year old who is decidedly NOT ready. It is a ridiculous battle that has been going on for months. He was taking his diaper off first thing in the morning so she decided he was ready. Um, no. If a battle is what you want, then start super early.

I also highly suggest peeing and pooping in front of your son. Sounds gross and weird, but it shows them that it's not a big deal and doesn't hurt and makes them want to do what you do. So many of my friends have kids that won't poop in the potty. I think watching you do it goes a long way in them wanting to. In fact, both of my kids pooped in their potties before peeing in them.

And, it's good for boys to sit when they start to pee. They have to push "it" down, but makes things easier for them. And cleaner for you!

I completely got rid of diapers from the start. Moved to underwear and used "night-time pants" aka night pullups until they were night trained. And I bought the Bjorn potty. It's very nice.

Finally, if you little one pees on the floor or seat, have him clean it with a wet wipe. He will learn to pee properly or have to clean it himself and it will save you from stinky boy bathroom!

Best of luck!

The truth is that every child is different so the methods that work for one child and his or her parents may be totally useless for another child and his or her parents. That said, there are a couple of things which will simply cause more harm than good and they are as follows: 1. Pressuring a child or forcing a child is ineffective and potentially harmful. I knew a child whose step mom tried to potty train her in a very forceful manner, the child simply stopped moving her bowels. She had to be taken to a doctor and given weekly enemas because she would flat out refuse to have a bowel movement. There are a variety of other unintended side effects of forced potty training which a child may suffer from, none of them are worth it. If you are dealing with a child who is just not ready to potty train or who is actively resisting efforts to potty train him just back off and wait another month, that means for a whole month just keep him in diapers and don't even try to get him to use the potty. After that month is up, he may be more ready and/or more willing. 2. Don't punish your child or shame him for accidents. Every child WILL have potty training accidents, it is a fact of life. Never yell at him or punish him for having an accident. Even children in Kindergarten have potty accidents, when my older kids were in preschool and Kindergarten they had to have spare clothes kept in their cubbies just in case of accidents, this was a rule for every child in the class.

So, if you keep that very short list of "don'ts" in mind you can really just pick the method that you feel most comfortable with. I used a little potty seat for my first child but I hated having to clean it all the time so with my second and third children I used one of those seats that fits on the big toilet, both ways worked just fine. I have used small treats like M&M's as a reward for going potty and I have used sticker charts, both are pretty effective. I have started potty training at 18 months and I have waited until 3 years to start, my child who started later potty trained lightening fast and my early starter was a slow go, but they are both perfectly trained now and neither is emotionally scarred so it's all good. Best of luck to you!

My guy was fully trained by 27 months, it's not impossible. You can work on getting your son ready to train until you're ready to train.
http://domanmom.com/2012/07/things-you-can-do-with-your-b...

My son turned 2 in April, around 20 months we bought a little potty (Baby Bjorn) and talked it up as his. I'm a SAHM so he's used to seeing me use the bathroom and knows what peepee and poo are. We made it a big deal, "this is YOUR potty, just for you", etc. For awhile he would just sit there (I'd ask if he wanted to, if he did then we sat, if not, then we didn't). After awhile he started peeing in the potty, he loves to flush and is still quite proud when he gets to empty is own potty and flush ("bye bye, pee-pee!). Now he wants to sit on the big potty, so the little one is old news. I just check to see if he's still dry and then suggest we potty. Some days he does great and others he doesn't. No pressure, he'll get it in his own time. Just make it something that your little one can be proud of for doing, don't punish or belittle accidents, and don't put too much pressure on him (or you). They won't get it overnight, and there will be accidents, but they WILL get it!

First thing to watch for is when you son starts waking up consistently from naps and night time with a dry diaper then he is about ready. Probably around the age of 3-4 is when they say boys are ready.
I would buy a toilet seat that attaches to the toilet, we bought one that would lift up for adults, but stayed attached. The last thing you want to do is have them be scared because their toilet seat slipped a little.
Don't do pullups unless you are planning on going to town and running a bunch of errands and he may have an accident. It is cheaper and faster to just go buy the plain white underwear and if there is a BM accident you can just throw them away because they only cost you 25cents a pair.
When your son is ready you need to make sure that you spend the entire day at home on the first day. Have him wear only a T-shirt and his big boy underwear. First thing is to have him feel his underwear and tell him "dry" then every 15 minutes ask him if his underwear are dry. Every hour put him on the potty, let him sit and get comfortable, if he does it tell him "good job" and then have him wipe and flush etc. By the way teaching boys to sit is a lot faster and better, then if you want to teach them to stand, it will be better and cleaner. Continue the 15 minutes and hour practice all day. If he goes in his underwear make him clean it up, tell him yucky, and that he needs to potty in the big boy potty. By the end of the day he should have the concept.
For the rest of the week keep asking him if he is dry, and then every 2 hours make him go in and sit on the potty. By the end of the week he should have this concept down, and you can reward him by going to the store and having him pick out his favorite character underwear. Then you start him with the character underwear, tell him to make sure they stay dry, and if he messes in them, then move to the plain white underwear.
You are going to have to make sure every 2 hours that you make sure he goes in and goes to the bathroom, just by telling him. Then very soon, you will all of a sudden hear a toilet flush, and you won't have to remind him again.
I know this is long, but I did this with my first boy and my twins and it worked extremely fast :)

Hello and congrats to you it will be an interesting ride for the both of you i have 4 boys and my first son i was terrified i was so afraid what if im not doing this right what do i do i was stressing it so bad but i had to realize i just needed to relax after all it was new to my son to have fun with it take your time make him a potty chart give him a star every time he goes potty sit on the toilet next to him give him show him this is where you go potty start off with pull ups or you're going to be washing his undies constantly i have never heard of 24 hr potty training you have to remember all kids are different some catch on right away others don't you have to be consistent in your potty training eventually he will get it take your time mom and try and make it fun and interesting to him you will be just fine keep up the good work that your doing and good luck to you

I loved Toilet Training in less than a Day by Azrin. Used it with all three of my kids. My oldest son was 27 months, but second son was 30 months, but we weren't settled at the time, and my daughter was 21 months. Between all three of them, w had just a handful of accidents, and most were sure to long road trips, our parties and other exciting adventures. Good luck! Oh, we've had no bed wetting issues or other things, other than our middle son didn't stay dry at night until his sister was, but he was difficult all the way through that stage.