Potty Training - Centerville, MA

I am not an expert because my son isn't in potty training mode yet, but I do know that they suggest boys sit when they first learn. You stated that he stands in front of the potty. My nieces had a little sticker chart, so each time they went on the potty they would get a sticker. It got them excited and seemed to help out.

Not much advice just someone in the same spot. My son will be 3 next week and we have him in pullups, the potty is out, we ask him if he needs to go etc. I don't mind taking the extra time to let him lead me in this case. He has peed a couple times in the potty and yesterday he did a bit of poop..we are on our way! yay!

first i'd like to say....relax!! no child has gone to kindergarten with a diaper on. your son will go on the potty when he's ready. summertime is a great time of year to start. let him run around naked. put the potty wherever he spends most his time so it's easy to get to quickly.
do ask now and then if he needs to go potty but please don't do it too frequently. i made up a song for potty times and my kids and now grandaughters really enjoy it. :) and of course, big hoorahs are needed whenever there's success! keep some towels handy for any mishaps. pull ups rather than diapers might be helpfull in this stage also. and again, relax. don't stress yourself or your child over potty training. it WILL happen, and when it does, most times it does so very quickly. good luck!

It sounds like your son may not be ready to be potty trained yet. He may be picking up on your (and your husband's) anxiousness in having him potty trained and that is causing him to have little or no interest as a way of avoiding the issue. Why not give up for a bit and try again in a couple of months? Yes, it's inconvenient and expensive to still use diapers but I found that when I let them (I have three sons 8,9&13) use the potty on their own time schedule, we had much better success. We still talked about using the potty when we changed a diaper or when we used the bathroom and had them pick out their new underwear but didn't press the issue too much. We just got out of nighttime pullups earlier this summer so give yourself a break and spend your energy on respect or manners or any of the million other things to stress about! Good luck!

I am also training my almost three year old and it's going pretty well. The advice I heard is plan to be home for 4 days or more (with a two week training window in mind) and toss the diapers. Get cotton training pants not pullups. Find a small reward like M&Ms - we're giving 1 for trying and 2 for a successful trip to the potty. Plan for lots of clean up at first. Don't judge -- you don't need to. When there's a puddle just say - "Oh dear lets clean you up". Change your child and clean the floor and go on. But you need to have your child try to go every :15-:20 at first and then maybe every :30 and gradually your child will run for the potty when he needs to go. Teach him how to pull down his pants and pull up his pants and wipe the whole routine. All the practice really works! At night layer fitted sheets and disposable waterproof pads like four or five to be ready for night wetting (lots of PJs at the ready). Put a potty close to the bedroom so he can access it fast at night. We stopped drinks after dinner, just a sip when we brush teeth.

It's going well. He's peeing in the potty and asking to go after just a week. Night time accidents are not much of a problem. He's pooping in the training pants but I hear that can be slower to transition for some kids. I'm hoping this week he starts trying to poop on the potty as well. But the peeing happened pretty quick. Email me if you have more specific questions. And good luck! Don't be anxious, your child will figure it out.

You have to be consistent and patient. No attention for the accidents, but make a huge deal when he goes on the potty. They want to please you so badly as this age so you need to use that to your advantage. You have got to be consistent about it too. Also try encouraging him to go frequently. Sometimes it actually helps to have the potty where he is the majority of his time. Kids hate stopping what they are doing to go potty so if it's more convenient for them then they might be more willing to go. Be prepared for some set backs. It's not a perfect science. Every child is different and you have to find what works for him, but consistency is definitely key on your part.

Hi,

We are currently in the process of training our son too. He's 2 years, 7 months. Actually, we started really early...I don't think the best decision to introduce him to the potty. So the training has been going on for about a year. Recently, though, he's made a break in the training. Some days, he goes almost all day in either underwear or naked from the waist down. Understand that there will be accidents, but it's worth it to clean up and redirect him to the potty.

A few things that have been helpful to the potty training have been: a rewards system- I chart his potty progress and give him a sticker for each potty. Once he's achieved 10-15 potties, he gets a prize. Lately, his favorite toys have been Thomas the Train. So, we bought him a few trains to store away for 10 successful potties. Another thing that has helped is watching the potty videos together. He loves to watch the Elmo potty video and then wants to immitate Elmo. So, that helps! We also read books together on using the potty. If no one else is in the house, I leave the door open when using the bathroom-that way he can learn by example. He seems to learn better though watching his father pee in the toilet and now stands to pee in front of the potty as well.

The trickiest part is going out for the day. We can bring him to the bathroom and remind him to go, but sometimes he just forgets and uses his pull-ups. They get distracted easily at this age.

I hope some of these tips are helpful. We've had some success, unfortunately not as much as I'd like to have. The inconsistency doesn't really help in our case either...good luck:)

Hello,
We had some conversations on this topic a few days ago. But here is my advice. Make him be very proud of his even little accomplishments and give him a pleasing reword for every try. Keep him with out a pull up for a while and when he tries to go on a toilet let him hear water running in a sink. That will help him to go. Never make any disappointing remarks when he makes an accident. Just have extra clothes handy. Even at a time you go out. My son loves to pee on the back yard on rocks or on a tree like a doggy. Make it easy and special. And see where that will take you. I also wanted to add for people who say that the child might not be ready. YOU might not be ready to deal with it. Our brains are amazing and as soon as you start training your child you will see how the brain works. My son is 2.8 and I started poopy train him since he was 8 months old. By his first birthday he had about 5 poopy accidents and that was it. He never questioned if he should go on a toilet or go in his diaper. Toilet is where all people go. It came to him very natural. And the same thing with pee-pee. I got read off pull-ups this summer and it took him two months to be totally pee trained. If you don't start training your child it means he will go to preschool in pull-ups. And it will be embarrassing at some point for him and that will affect him later in life. It is your job mamas to get your child’s brain get ready for it and not wait when he will ask you to go.
Sorry if I have offended any one. But when you are 3 years of age you have all your brain abilities to get ready.
Good luck.