Potty Training - Kennesaw,GA

Hi M.,
I would just keep trying. 2 years and 3 months is really young for a boy- he probably isn't ready. What worked for me is when I knew my kids were ready, I did "bear bottom days" where we spent time in non-carpet areas with little potties in every room. Let the child initiate using the potty, with frequent reminders and rewards for when they succeed.
My son wasn't fully potty trained until 3 years, 3 months and we tried from the time he was about 2 1/2. He just wasn't ready.
Good Luck!
S.

Try to just stop putting diapers on him. When he is wet and doesn't like it the potty may seem more appealing. I also gave my son a little piece of candy or a fake tattoo, lots of high fives and calling daddy with the good news etc as an incentive when he went peepee on the potty. If he messed up I didn't make a big deal... just said OK, lets go get some dry clothes, we'll try to make it to the potty next time, etc. This worked very quickly for my son, but it was less work for me since it was summertime. It would demand more of you w/ it being winter - more clothes to wash. Good luck! Definitely worth the effort now... I think the older they get (esp over 3 years) the harder it gets.

There a lot of tricks to potty traning. However they have to be ready and boys take longer then girls (most of the time). There is a site that has some helpful items for potty training dontforgetbaby.com . Another thing is just spend a few days with nowhere to go and focus on just that potty traning.

Good luck It will happen I have done it four times with boys. They get it. However focus on day time and where pull up at night I would say not to worry about both at the same time.

As much as possible, let him be responsible for changing himself. This can be difficult with busy schedules, but it really works. If he can bring you the wipes and diaper, he can learn to clean himself. With complete emotional detachment, simply explain that it's not your job anymore, big boys go in the potty, if he chooses to continue using the diaper, he needs to clean it up himself.
This will be more work intensive for you than just changing him. But eventually he will get it and it will be way easier for you.
Sit calmly while he struggles to remove his own diaper and clean himself. Give him pointers, but be nonchalant!
Don't do for your child what he can do for himself and you will raise a confident, capable child!

I'm sure you wlil get a lot of responses to this, I can only say: DON'T rush it!! Take your time. Most boys I know were 3 before being fully trained. Let him lead and it will go much more easily! My son has only a few accidents here and there - mostly b/c he was too into whatever it was he was doing. Follow steps that you and he are most comfortable with, there is no real "right" way to do this. Good Luck!

I had the same problem with my daugther and she was older than your son..it took forever to potty train her. This was the only thing that worked.

I took a photo box (or you could use a shoe box) and went to the store and bought a bunch of little toys from the dollar spot at Target ( they also have a 1.99 section in their toy department) and filled the box with toys that my daughter loved. AC Moore also has little cheap toys. I told her it was her treasure box. You could even go as far and say he was a pirate. Little kids love pirates. I told her that everytime she went poopy or pee pee in the potty she would get a toy. It took about a week maybe two..but she got the hang of doing it all in the potty. And she loved her toys. Once she got the hang of it the tresure box was empty. I told her when it was empty it meant that she was big enough to do it on her own. I did start keeping up with it on a chart that we hung in the bathroom after that...that was she still felt rewarded each time. Eventually it becomes second nature and they will not care about the rewards.
I have also heard that putting cherrios in the water of the potty when they have to pee pee works, because they like seeing the cheerios swim all around.
Also let him drink as much as possible. That loosens up everything and he will have to pee pee alot and it will help his poop. Just choose water and healthy juices..nothing with caffeine.
I have a little baby boy now too...so I often wonder what it will be like potty training with him.
That is what worked for me..good luck and God bless you.

Go for it girl. It sounds like your son is ready. There are plenty of boys that potty train at that age. Just be prepared for a rough week. If you start this, I would recommend that you fully commit and don't do the pull ups. I can tell you the things that worked for us but every kid is so differnet that I don't know that it would help. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. ____@____.com

For the first 3 years my daughter has watched me use the bathroom some times. They learn by copying us...so what can I say?! Anyway, she is in daycare and they would put them on the potty with one of those cushiony seats every 2 hours. But, still we were having problems. We told her that in 2 weeks she would not be able to go to big kid's class if she didn't tee tee and poopy in the potty. She started going and since then has done very well. She refuses to wear a pullup at night and has not had but one accident. She is now 3 and she just started going and letting us now about 4 months ago. He will do it on his own time. I know it is frustrating but I think each age has it's many wonderful moments and just a few frustrating. Best of luck and how blessed we all are to have these problems - because they only come with children.

M.-

I have two boys, one is 5 1/2 and the other is 18 months. Both boys are capable at 18-24 months to know when they are pooping and peeing as well as tell you and tell you potty. I am expecting my third child in Dec. I would love for my youngest son to train earlier than my first but I am not expecting it.

In my experience and in talking to multiple moms who have boys, most boys don't really potty train until they are closer to 3 yrs. old. (Of course each child is different) I have heard of girls who train as early as 18 months.

It is good to introduce the potty and a praise/reward system for using it at 2 yrs. old. It is also a smart choice not to make it a big deal. I have seen moms who decided their children should be trained at 2 1/2 and they fought the potty training battle until their children were four years old. It is also my opinion that boys don't like to interrupt their play to use the bathroom.

My advice is to provide the tools for your son to use the bathroom. Get your husband to allow your son to see him going to the bathroom as often as possible. Praise and reward for the use of the potty. Encourage him with "look at these big boy underwear with Thomas (or his favorite character), when you start going potty you get to wear big boy underwear." Just don't make it an issue or it will take a lot longer to complete. Keep taking him to the bathroom to try as long as he doesn't protest every hour or so and sooner or later he will get the hang of it. We also used the "potty Elmo" toy for fun to help introduce the concept.

Good luck!

M.,

Hello. My boys are a little older now. They are 13,11 and 9. My oldest son struggled learning to potty in his own potty. We bought a portable potty. We encouraged him to sit on it during his favorite tv show and if he went, great and if he didn't that was ok too because it was helping him become comfortable with it. After awhile, instead of his tv show, we read books while he was on it and before long, he was so comfortable with the potty that he finally gave it a try and went in the potty. After many successes with this, we eventually moved his books to our bathroom and began the same process there until he was comfortable and we made such a big deal when he went praising him. We let him flush the potty as well. Now, sometimes we would hear the potty flush and he wasn't going to the bathroom. However, we could see those brain wheels spinning as he was exploring the idea that flushing makes our body gifts go away. By 2 1/2 he was fully potty trained. My middle son was potty-trained by a year and my youngest was potty-trained at 10 months.

The secret to that is the fact that they got to see Mommy, Daddy, and big brother or brothers using the potty they just caught on faster.

I don't know if this helps or not.

Joyfully,
C.

He is still a tad on the young side to be too pushy about potty training. My son is 2 1/2yrs old and sometimes he sits on the potty and other times he won't. When I'm changing him he'll tell me potty or when we are at the store and it is hit and miss. Just stay positive when he does go or tries to go. That will help keep him on the right track and attitude about the potty.

Good luck!!
S.

Relax is my best advice. Boys are much slower than girls. My son was 'in the process' of potty training for a year until I finally realized at 3.5 that he was ready and we had a ceremony to say 'goodbye' to the diapers and that was it. He never peed again except a few accidents.
My daughter is 18 mo. and is already using the potty but not every time.
Just feel it out. But he has plenty of time. If you think he is ready then throw the diapers away and go straight to cool big boy underwear. Pull ups prolonged it all for my son. Kinda pointless.
Goodluck.

Try emptying his "poopy" diapers into the potty so he sees where he is supposed to do his business and tell him that he needs to tell you before he goes next time. Its kind of the whole show and tell process. Years ago when I was training my daughter, I would tell her it was potty time, bring her with me when I went, show her, make a big deal about flushing, then tell her it was her turn.

My son is almost three and still does it, everyone tells me boys just take longer. Dont stress 3 is the magic number all the moms keep giving me. My son will use the potty but wont tell us he has to go unless its to get out of bed or to keep from doing something he doesnt want to do. He fights me putting him on there but uses it fine if I am successful getting him to sit down. Good luck!

Try some old fasiond training pants with a pair of rubber pants over them.He will not like being wet or stinky.This worked for my granddaughter,she knew about the potty and how to use it,but would rather have her diaper or pullup changed for her.I got the training pants and rubber pants,one week later she was going to the potty on her owne.Good Luck!!

Take your time... boys I think do take longer and 2 years is still young. I have potty trained two boys and my oldest was harder. He wasn't completely potty trained, meaning wearing underwear all the time with no accidents, until four. And that wasn't for lack of trying. My second was easier, he started waking up dry after sleeping at 2, and then was trained by 3 completely. I began training him when I noticed he was keeping himself dry. The going number 2 can be an issue, and from what I understand from other moms it is for a lot of boys. I did the potty dance, gave small rewards for success, and let them take their time on the potty. So don't stress, be patient, and he will get it:)

I think it's early to get pushy about it too... he is obviously showing signs of being ready. Has he ever gone in the potty? I think I'd start with just introducing him to it... Make a big deal if he goes. Once he's comfortable with HOW to go in the potty, you can think about ditching the diapers. I also thought pullups were a waste of time. Good luck.

No rush! He's doing just fine. He's right on schedule and moving along well. Acknowledging that there's something in the diaper and wanting it out ASAP is key. You can try giving him some days of nothing on from the waist down -- but, in the cold weather, that's harder to do. I say keep praising him for what he does and letting him see you and his dad go in the potty. Talk to him about putting pee and poop in the potty instead of the diaper. Ask all the time, do you need to go potty? Praise, praise, praise! Positive, positive, positive! By three (and probably before) he should be potty trained.

You have plenty of time for potty-training your son, until he is 3 years old.
P. S

2 yrs and 3 months is very ambitious... especially for a little boy! I have a son that just turned 3 and we are still having some ssues. He still tells us pee for poop, but I am just happy he is telling us something! I don't really have any tips other than wait it out. I did think it was wrong when I saw other parents put their children in time out for wetting their pants, however we have been potty training since July and I knew my son was wetting his pants b/c he was being lazy. When he wet his pants for the 100th time I asked him why and he said "b/c I am playing with toys." Since he fully understood what he was doing I did put him in time out and that did really seem to work for me. My son HATES time out, however I know it is not as effective with some kids. Wish I could tell you the magic tip, but I wouldn't still be having trouble if I knew!
I am from 3 girls and a boy and my mom told me that my brother was much harder to potty train than any of us girls... I have heard that from soooo many people and they have definitely been right!! Yours is still pretty young... just try to be patient...I know it is frustrating!!! Good luck!!!

Your son may still be just a little young for potty training. I have 2 girls and 2 boys. The girls potty trained much earlier and easier than the boys. He's probably getting close though. Some tricks I tried were to let my little boys run around in the back yard with out any undies on, on a nice day, so they could watch themselves go pee and get the jist of it. Or, get them to drink a lot of fluids, wait an hour or so, and then sit them on the potty and have them stay there until they went. Once, my boys put two and two together of how the pee comes out they potty trained much quicker.

Don't push it. 2 years three months is very young for a boy. They will do it when they're really ready. My elder son was over three before he wanted to do it. The younger son was two and half and really wanted to be a "big boy." If you try to make a big transition and he's not ready, you're going to be in for the power struggle of your life (and it's not one you want to be in.)

Don't rush him. He's pretty young to be trying in earnest to potty train. Boys are usually a little slower than girls, anyway. We made the mistake of pushing my daughter which didn't seem to harm her in the long run, but she was about 3 and a half before she was completely potty trained. At the time, I asked my mom how she potty trained us, and she said she didn't. We started walking to the potty and showing interest in it, at which point she started putting us on it. And my brother and I have NO bathroom issues!