Potty Training 2Yr Old Boy

2 is still very early. If he is saying no then I would wait. The fact that he is showing interest and a bit of understanding is the first step. If he will sit on or stand in front of the potty with his clothes on and pretend that is also a good first step. Eventually he will pull his pants down (probably won't do anything) and again pretend to go. Great second step. From there he will eventually go in the potty. All of this may take 3, 6, 9 months you just don't know. All kids are different but generally 2 1/2 - 3 is about the time that MOST boys start to train especially if he is the first child without any older siblings to watch. Don't rush him. Don't put unnecessary stain or stress on either of you. He will use the potty at some point. Pee usually comes first poop second.

When you do train: Use thick Gerber cloth training pants. Use 2 pair at a time to help catch it all. They need to feel the accident and gain an understanding there is not another option - use the potty or wet my clothes. Take them potty every 30 to 45 minutes. Only use pull ups for, naps, car rides, and away from home. They will train 2 times as fast if you do it this way. Pull ups, while convenient, are a glorified diaper and allow them to go ahead and wet if they don't feel like using the potty. They have to learn wetting in the pants results in an uncomfortable nasty mess and not acceptable.

I have 3 VERY different children and they all 3 learned to potty in 1 weekend using this method. Remember that accidents happen and it is a learning process.

S.
mom of 2 girls (3&4 yrs old both trained at 2 1/2) 1 boy (6 yrs old trained at 3)
Child Development Specialist

Hi B.! First of all, is he actually ready or are you ready for him to start? There are some signs: can he pull his pants up and down? Can he say pee pee or poo poo (or whatever you say)? Can he follow 2-3 step commmands? Does he give you obvious signs that he is having a BM? Is his diaper dry for more than two hours at a time? I have a 2 year old boy (26 months) and we are currently in the potty training stage. We too started out by taking him to the potty with us and I also asked my husband to sit on the toilet to pee (so our son could watch what he does with his "tee-tee--pretty funny, I know!) which he did. Anyway, a friend of ours bought us the Elmo Potty Time DVD (After watching it with him, I thought yeah, right, this thing isn't going to work--but afterwards, he wanted to watch it over and over again). Then one day he said, "mommy potty" so I took him to the toilet--we didn't have a potty chair for him at the time--and I took his diaper off and sat him on our toilet, I showed him how to hold on to the sides so he wouldn't fall in. Of course, nothing happened; but he was really proud he was able to do it, then we flushed and washed hands. We did this about 5x a day and nothing. I bought him pull ups (no underwear yet) and it made it easier for him and me to pull up and down (that is a sign that he is ready--being able to pull up or down or atleast attempting to). We have the book Potty Time for boys with the flushing toilet that he enjoys. We also use a sticker chart--I thought it wouldn't work, but it kind of did/does, I think it's more for me than him so I can keep up. The easiest tee-tee's you can catch are first thing in the morning and right after nap. After he wakes, wait aobut 2 or 3 minutes and then take him to the potty. The poop is harder to catch unless he gives you obvious signs (facial or grunting) We have caught it about 3 times since we started (July 7). I don't consider him to be potty trained by any means, but we are on our way. And oh, I bought him the Baby Bjorn potty chair that sits on the floor (after much research, this was the best reviewed); but he was so used to "going" or practicing on the big toilet that he didn't want the little potty, so I returned it. He has an elmo potty seat we put on the toilet that has a splash guard on it. A step stool is also essential. As I'm sure you know, at this age they are creatures of habit and the way he does something the first time, that is the way he is going to want to do it all the time. OH, and we dance like crazy when he goes tee tee or poo poo! What's funny is that right after he pees now, he points his finger and says "DANCE" and I do!

First off, boys are a little harder to get trained. They take longer to catch on apparently.

My boys - I put the potty in the bathroom near the tub. I started them at around 20 months with sitting on it just a few seconds every night before bathtime. It just became part of the routine. So when I wanted them to start sitting on it during the day it was no big deal. I would suggest you do that first. Don't ask if he wants to, just say this is part of the new routine, undress, sit on potty, get in tub. ;-)

Then after a week or two (depends on how long it takes your son to be comfortable with new things) you can expand. Sit on potty before naptime or afternoon playtime. A time that you know you are going to be able to say, 'Okay, time to go eat/play/sleep'. The key is the transitions from one thing to another so nothing is really too unpleasant or fearful.

You keep doing this until you are going to the bathroom 4 or 5 times a day. Then you just start saying it is time to put on big boy pants and you start taking him to the potty every hour. I did not make a big deal of them wetting at first because they dont' really know the difference yet. Once they feel it run down their legs a few times they start getting the idea. ;-) And yes, you want it to run down their legs! You want them to feel the icky feeling and see the difference. The one thing our wonderful disposables do for us is not let the kids feel that moisture so they have no sensations following when they wet their pants. That is part of the process.

Also...easy clothes are key once you get to full time training. My youngest had accidents at 4-5 until I discovered he was struggling with pants that have buttons and snaps. So we went to elastic or easy snaps for awhile till he could manage the others.

Good luck,
ts

Hi B.,
What we did, is set a timer for every 30mins. We would tell my son it's it's Potty Party time. He wasn't completely potty trained until he was 3yrs and 3mons. Kids are all different and they will go when they are ready, not when u are ready.

Good luck,
J.

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Hello, I have responded about potty training before, but I will just say again that both my kids, one boy and one girl, potty trained closer to 3, especially the BMs. Lots of praise when they would go (especially when THEY realized they should go) went a long way with my kids. I didn't really do anything special like treats or games. I did encourage them to have a book handy while needing to have a BM. (to this day my 9 year old son grabs a book sometimes)
Be patient, it's not a race.
Best wishes.

I have an almost 3 year old boy and we did everything you did, but I think they will just decide when they are ready. We didn't pressure our son, just occasionally showed him videos (Elmo's potty time) and read books (Too big for diapers and Everyone Poops, both of which he loved). When he was ready, it happened almost overnight. It helps to have underwear they can be proud of - my son loves his Spiderman and Lightening Mcqueen underwear, they also have Thomas the train etc. I really think one day it will click, but every kid has there own time table and you just have to be patient.

We took our son to Wal Mart when he was about 22 months and let him pick out his own big boy underwear. We told him that he couldn't wear them until he was ready to use the potty like a big boy...he was ready that afternoon. We went to the bathroom every 30 minutes and then every few days went a little longer between trips. He only had a couple accidents because he didn't want to "pee pee on mater's head". (he had Mater underwear from Cars) Just be consistant with whatever you do.

Offer him a prize every time he goes potty. Put it where he can see it but can't get it and praise him when he does use the potty. Explain to him that if he goes to the potty he'll get the prize and show it to him. Probably something like a sticker or something small.Also, use the pull ups when your out but use regular underwear when you are home so he can know that his diaper isn't going to help him anymore.