Need Advice on Potty Training Two-year-old Twin Boys

I know you already posted so what happened, but I think that the slow and steady approach you are doing is the way to go. This is the part of potty training the is most crucial and takes a while. Make sure they can tell you they have to go, that they are able to pull up and down their own pants and they are staying dry during naps and most nights. They are doing a great job but in my experience and seeing other moms rush the whole potty training thing the kids become even more stubborn and they end up not being potty trained at 5 years old (completely, like nighttime or they continue to have big issues with pooping). Honestly i would wait until they closer to three. Once they are ready and you take away the diapers for good they will be completely potty trained within two days.

The main thing I would add to this is that they don't have to do it at the same time. I have nearly 4 year old twin sons and one was ready way earlier than the other. There were never issues of competition or comparison and when the 2nd one was ready, he told me in the morning he wanted to go buy his underwear now. It was about 4-6 months after his twin had successfully potty trained. I didn't think about it at the time, but it was much easier on me to handle one at a time and just be able to concentrate on helping the one who was potty training.

A.,

It sounds like your sons are doing well so far in potty training. The hardest part about potty training is the fact that you need the child's cooperation for it to go well. Have you tried offering a reward for going on the potty? Maybe you could put them in underware (I wouldn't use pull ups) and tell them if they stay dry for the whole day they will get a small toy. I bought a couple of toys for my son and put them somewhere he could see them but not touch until he used the potty. If you can find your sons motivators, things should go smoothly. The hard part is finding what motivates them to cooperate.

Although you will see more cleanup initially, cloth training underwear is what you need to transition them into. To go on the potty they need to be aware of their bodies. Pull-ups and disposable diapers are made to keep the uncomfortable sensations of eliminating in your pants to a bare minimum and so they do not need to rely on that awareness. They also need to be involved in helping clean up any messes from accidents. Never punish or yell. Simply state where the poo or pee go, dump the poo in and flush. Never ask to put them on the potty. Matter of factly state "Let's go potty, I need you to sit down on your potty now." You can read them a book while they sit on the potty, sing, etc. It can be a very enjoyable experience. Just try to stay positive and take each potty oportunity at a time :-)

HI!
I am all for the speed it up method! I feel like if you keep them in diapers or pullups they will just keep "using" them. They totally seem ready to use the potty and if you are ready I would not give them a choice not to use it! My son is exactly the same age as your twins and about 6 months ago we went to underwear and never went back. He is stubborn as well, but I was just very matter of fact about it and ignored any arguments and "No"s. Now the pee went quickly with no accidents, but for us the pooh took a long time.(He was only going 1-2 times per week and was constipated). Just be prepared for accidents!! I was also potty training 2 other boys the same age in my home daycare at the same time. Just make them both "try" at the same time! Work on daytime first and the nighttime is different for each child. My son is totally trained at night too, but all kids are different on that one!!

Good luck!
L.

Good Luck!

Even if they are physically ready, they may not be emotionally mature enough. This is one of the few things they have control of in their little lives and if they are anything like my son they will not let go of that until they are good and ready. My son did not potty train until just recently...he is 4 1/2.....and I tried everything. If they are not willing, you can't really force them. Then all of a sudden went back and tried sticker chart and M and M's again and all of a sudden, it worked. I tried taking the diapers/pullups away and basically I just cleaned up alot of pee for a while until I couldn't take it anymore and potty training was totally controlling our relationship.

I put my son in regular big boy pants which he liked & set the potty in front of tv...lol! But it worked. Night time pull ups & set the alarm to wake him up. Good luck!

R.