Potty Training - Rivesville,WV

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I found that the whole process goes much quicker when your child is really ready & wants to go on the potty. I just wnet thru the process for the 3rd time in July & within a month my 3 year old Sarah was going on the potty & staying dry thru the night.
She told me that she wanted to go on the potty, she could pull her pants up & down with some help. At first I would take her to the potty every half an hour or so. After a while I would wait an hour. It took a week or so before she was telling me herself she needed to go. There were some accidents, but mostly at first it was because I lost track of time & it had been too long since she had gone to the potty.
I also used cloth training pants & plastic pants. I found that my children, all three of them, did not like to be wet or dirty. The Pull Ups just didn't have the same effect & were expensive. I got packages of training pants & plastic pants that were preety cheap. I got about 14 pairs, just so I wasn't washing all the time, plus kept some at Grandmas's & in the daiper bag. I kept a bucket with Oxyclean in the laundy tub & just put the dirty pants in to soak.
I still used diapers at night for the first week or so, then switched to training pants. I made sure to tell my daughter that the diapers were "just for nightime" & stuck to not switching back to diapers at all during the day. Ym son & other daughter were in daycare & they didn't mind that I used training pants instead of pull ups.
As I said, I really believe all 3 of my children were really ready because after about a month, they were even staying dry at night. My daughter goes to preschool & has yet to have an accident at school.
It does take some patience & pushing them when they aren't ready doesn't work well. At first, I had to encourage my children, but once they had success, it seemed to encourage them.
Buying "Big Boy" pants can be a great incentive & I did that with all of my children.
Good luck!

C.,
You've gotten some great advice so far. I just wanted to address something yo said in your post:

"His speech isn't good enough yet to carry on a full conversation (his is only into one word things and only a few select words) so I can't jsut sit him down and explain it to him and carry on a conversation."

Of course you can!! Just because your son can't answer you back in complete sentences, he can still nod in agreement, or disagreement, and even smile, frown, grunt, or yell, and don't forget laugh to let you know he understands you. He understands what you're telling him, he just can't communicate that back the way we would expect a grown-up to.

Wishing you the best with your little guy. Mine is 22 months and we're having so much fun discovering the potty.

Blessings,
Rolinda
Wife, Mother, Friend

I agree with Barbara, make sure you wait until he is ready. My pediatrician told me that if it takes longer than 2 weeks, than it is too early. Parents need to remember that not only does your child have to be mentally ready to train, but physically. In other words if his bladder is incapable of the contol process than it doesn't matter how diligent you are, you can NOT change mother nature! Make sure that he doesn't continually feel a sense of failure simply because his body isn't ready. When my boys hit three, it took me a week with both. I put them directly in underwear and did a lot of laundry. We bought little treats and praised the heck out of them when they went in the toilet. I have had no regrets and frankly it was nice not to have to labor over this for more than 1 or 2 weeks.

C....
I have 3 children and all of mine(2boys and a girl)where completely potty trained by 2.When they started walking they followed me everywhere even into the bathroom so i got them a potty chair and started with them sitting on it with their diaper on,than we started to take it off when they came with us into the bathroom and when they started to pee in the potty we ditched the diapers for good.

I think my boys where easier than my girl(2boys/1girl.)The only thing my youngest would so was carried his potty chair with him(into the living room)and would sit on it for hours while watching tv.I didn't like it but it worked..

But onething my dr told me was it's easier to train boys to sit down to pee and first because than it's not as confusing when they have to sit down to poop.My boys learned to sit and than they learned the standing and missing the hole of the toilet seat.

But good luck to you
J.

Hi C.,
With my son he was afraid of the potty but knew he had to go so a friend told me about what she did and it worked. We got a glass or plastic bottle he would pee pee in there and then we would dump it the toilet and he would flush it! After a few weeks the sound of the toilet did not bother him any more and he started to go by himeself with out the pee pee jar...........lol. I hope this will help!

Hi

When my son showed signs of being interested in the potty, we just kept putting him on the toilet every hour. Sat in the bathroom with him and read him stories about potty training (these books were only read while he was on the potty). Potty training for us was a very long process. Some kids are trained in a weekend and some take longer. In the warmer months, we kept him bottomless which seemed to make him more aware of his need to go...there was a lot of time spent on the deck to avoid clean ups inside. We never used little pottys...just bought the rings and step stools.

Think you have to find what he would be excited about as a reward (m&ms, trinkets, stickers)...make it special, lots of praise, and keep the reward related only to the potty. If it is small toys or stickers you can keep them in the bathroom so he is excited to go in the bathroom. Even if you do it at night and on the weekends he'll get the idea what to do.

Good luck - and get ready to have a lot of patience!

I am in the exact same boat. My son will be 21 months on November 1st. He is the same way too. I tried potty training him, but he just gets mad. He slams down the lid of his potty chair every time I bring it up. I need advice too.

Hi. Sure you can talk to him and carry on a conversation!! My youngest didn't say more than a couple of words at a time until she was three. But she could carry on a complete conversation with you if you watched her...she was great with non-verbal communication. If he knows all about when he needs changed etc. then buy those pull-ups and have at. I personally never used a "potty chair" I bought those little seats that you just put on the regular toilet seat and a step stool. It worked great and there were no ucky messes to clean up!! Plus my girls loved to flush! LOL :D

You can tell him to come and get you and take you to the bathroom when he has to go, or he can call you to the potty...talk to your daycare folks too. I am sure they have a million and one ways to do this as well.

It is really important to wait until they are ready to potty train. Pushing them to train too early is just as bad as waiting too long. My three potty trained all around the age of 3. I know that may seem late to you, but my doctor assured me that as long as they were train before they were 4 it was not considered late. The best part about waiting for me was that there were next to no "accidents". None of my girls have ever wet the bed...their "accidents" always happened when they were really involved in something and just forgot about it until they had to do the "mad dash", which isn't easy when you live in a two story house and the bathroom is upstairs....ooops! So, relax, let common sense be your guide and all will be cool!! (or should I say dry?)

Hi C.. When my boys showed signs of being ready (grabbing their fronts, wanting to sit on the potty, wanting their diapers changed) I bought a potty seat and encouraged them to sit on it as often as possible, especially at bed time.
He may not be able to have a conversation with you but he will understand what you tell him. Sit him down and explain in simple terms what is going on. The more you talk to kids the more they understand. It just might help make potty training easier if you explain to him what you expect. Good luck. Let me know how it goes. I'm just starting the same process with my 23 month old boy (he doesn't talk much either). We can cheer each other on.
D.

First of all my daughter was trained by age 2 and my boys at 2 1/2 so don't let anyone tell you he's too young. I personly feel parents are lazy nowadays.You need to familiarize him with the potty and let him see you going to use it .After each meal and after drinks you will have him sit on the potty. Have him watch a potty video or read a story about using the potty while on potty. I have used rewards like one M&M (little ones love 'em!) after each time he pees or poops on the potty.Make sure before and right after naps you place him on the potty too. It may seem like you are doing this a lot during training and you are but it will be worth it when you no longer have to buy those expensive nappies and don't have to change them and wash your child's bedding from pee and poop accidents.Make sure the daycare knows he is training and ask if they are encouraging him to go as you do at home. Good Luck!!

Well - i started with the feel/learn pull ups on my son (he is 3.5 now) - it seemed to help. Then i made sure that he watched my husband going "potty" so he sort of got the concept. Then i just started putting him up to the potty or on it (depending if you are going to train sitting or standing - i suggest standing b/c then you don't have to retrain later) at certain times each day - almost like a routine. We "went potty" (tried for about 10-15mins each time - praise the effort too) first thing when we woke up; each time i changed a diaper/pull up - would make him "go potty" before he got clean pants on; before bath; after bath; before bed; before/after nap. Then after a few weeks -maybe less - he would start to have a trickle at least once per day at one of those times - and then it becme more frequent - so i would add a time or two. I also started "encouraging" him to go at other times - "if you want to watch barney you need to go potty first" - that type thing. OH and ALWAYS ALWAYS before we left to go anywhere!!! I also started taking any BMs that were in diapers/pull ups - and he and i would go to the potty and put them into the potty, and HE would flush them. Emphasizing "big boy" activities in conjuction with being a "big boy" going potty also helped - like for example if he wanted to stay up and watch a show - instead of just letting him the conversation would be: "well i don't know - big boys are allowed to stay up - but big boys go potty in the potty - do you do that? maybe if you show mommy how you do that, you can stay up like a big boy" - then he would try and often times go. Also - start to look for cues - boys tend to grab the front of their pants when they feel in coming - so rush them to the potty. Also even if they have an accident but they still try or still trickle at all in the potty treat it like a success. My son didn't seem to care about the little rewards and he didn't do well with criticizing accidents - he did well with allowing hiim to do more things - making associations with other "big boy" things - does that make sense.

Sorry if i rambled on - feel free to email me with more questions: ____@____.com!

Hope you weren't too confused! Good Luck and God Bless!

S. W.

That is great news. Boys are usually the late potty trainers! I have been told that it is best to start as soon as they are ready because you could miss the opportunity and then it gets difficult.
I recommend talking to your daycare. They have probably found a way that works for them and be sure you are consistant, consistant, consistant, with what they are teaching.
I would also try to find a way to make it a positive rewarding experience for them, like having yourchild bring in a little sack with a treat or a thank you each day for teaching me how to use the toilet. Sometimes just a little incentive to make a caregiver know how special they are is all it takes.
It won't take long! I have a cousin that did her potty training in a weekend with each child. She simply loaded up on their favorite juice boxes (give them lots of fun things to drink so they can feel successful when they get it right). Drink lots, let them run naked, set timer, take them to the toilet every 1/2 hour. Everytime they were successful she did a fun/crazy potty dance and come Monday they were 90% there.
Good luck and have fun with it! They only potty train once. Also, don't worry if they don't get it the first time, you can always try again in a few more months. It's best to keep it a positive/fun experience. Good Luck!

Although your son doesn't speak much yet, he can understand you. You should talk to him about the potty, what it is and why we use it. Then watch for his cues. Most children have a routine they go to a place in the room or they stop what they are doing before they go. If you don't catch his cues before he goes put him on the potty after for just a second or 2 tell him before you "tinkle" tell mommy and we will use the potty. Try the cool alert pull ups. Remember that your son is very young to potty train. Don't pressure. My daughter is 3 years old she wears underwear all day including at nap time but wears a pull up at night. She has been working on potty training for about a full year. We took it slow and that is what worked for all of us. No headaches involved. So in short my advice is take your time let him take his time and it will happen.

G.

If you do not already have a potty, take him to the store and let him help to pick it out, let him decorate it with stickers is an idea too. Get a book and/or video with his favorite carachters that talk about the potty. On the sesame street web site Elmo has a potty game which my 30 month old loves. Let him come in the poty with you and is dad, potty needs to be topic of comversation. Sit him on the potty at every daiper change, and before and after sleeping. That way he gets used to a routine. If he is resistant he can sit on it fully clothed, then slowly start removing layers as he becomes comfortable. You can also do prizes for making on the potty, being dry, asking to use the potty. I use mostly stickers and play jewelry, sometimes a very special prize for a milestone like asking to go. It can be a long process but stay consistant(sp?) and eventually he will be in undies! Good Luck!!!!! L.