Potty Training - La Mesa,CA

If you havent started trying yet..I'd start introducing that potty now before it becomes an object he is scared of. I started putting my daughter on the potty every night right before she took her bath since 9 months cause I was aftraid she'd become scared of the potty like lots of my friends kids. I never pushed or anything just let her sit there before bath time..Try starting that way with him, just so he gets used to the potty being around. After he seems used to it and is not scared of it..try putting him on it during times ofthe day when he generally pees and poops... eventually he will surprise the both of you and pee or poop in it and the bigger and better the excitement is and the reward he gets that first time the more likely he will go and go an get better and better. Lucky for you that you have a boy cause teaching them to pee standing up is the easiest thing when you use targets. What little boy doesnt want to pee at something. They sell flushable targets but with all the daycare boys and family I have helped potty train..Cheerios is the way to go..throw some in there and tell him to shoot them. No matter how you do it..it's definatly time to start introducing him to it now. make it fun,. dont get upset when he has an accident and just keep at it..it will work out. My daughter just turned 2 last week and after a long while of getting her used to it..she is just about done with this phase.thank goodness I am 5m onths pregnant with the next kid...LOL.
P.s. As for pull ups.. I felt it was a waste of money cause my little girl figured out they pretty much were diapers too...so go get some cool boy underwear and some plastic cover pants and go with the "dont dirty your cool underwear" approach. GOOD LUCK!!!!

Dear T.,

The other mommies know lots more than I do about this, but I would say to you, why don't you just start to potty train - in an introductory way - and see what happens. That hiding when they need to poop is so cute. I remember my gr grandson going behind a chair and just standing there with a funny look on his face. He will be 3 on October 24th, and is finally out of diapers, the whole family is estatic. We tell each other - coast to coast - Rhys is out of diapers !!

Good luck, C. N.

I was a single mom when I potty trianed my son. I lived alone with him which made having open doors easier. I would keep his potty chair next to mine and have him come sit with me everytime I went. We would talk for a bit & I would sit as long as he wanted to. I would also take him to the potty in between times...every chance I had. It was a game to him. It took less than two months to train him this way.

I had a hard time with the whole potty training thing too. I wondered how long it would take my now three and a half year old who still has accidents. Boys take much longer than girls to potty train. I tried the whole "cool underwear" thing and it didn't work. The one thing, though that I think is important is to allow your son to go into the pott with you and to talk about using the potty, books are good too. Take him to walmart or wherever and let him pick out his own potty from the mini kid potties to the coushy rings that sit on the big potty. Do whatever you can to make him feel comfortable with the potty and using it, don't force it. I didn't believe this, but he really will do it when he's ready. My son just decided one day, "mommy, I have to go poo poo on the potty!" and off he went. Poo poo is much harder to accomplish by the way. Also, I let my son run around naked in a private backyard as much as possible so he could become aware of his plumming. You should check out www.askdrsears.com it's a good website for ready signs and ways to go about it all.

I learned the hard way. Kids are ready when THEY are ready, not when WE are ready. I tried to train my son at 2 as well, because everything looked like "a sign" that he wanted to. Well 9 months of wishful thinking on my part, way too many packs of pull-ups later, and lots of tears (his and mine), he decided 3 weeks after his baby sister was born, that he didn't want to be the baby of the family anymore and was potty trained in 3 days. If I had waited a bit and been more patient, this whole process wouldn't have been as traumatic (for me). I say try it. If he doesn't respond well, let it go for a few months then try again. Good luck and deep breaths....

Start potty training right away. All you need is a potty chair or a stool to stand on so it is easier to use the big toilet for your toilet and a small seat cover for the toilet so he does not feel like he will fall in. It all depends on what is more comfortable for you and your toddler. My son used his potty chair for one week, then decided to use the big toilet with the seat cover. To help him pee in the toilet, tell him that it is time to make bubbles, or tell him it is time to pee and show him how his pee makes bubbles in the toilet. Kids love bubbles, so this makes going pee in the potty fun. Also, a potty chart is always helpful with stickers or something cheap for a prize for every time he goes potty. When you are potty training, really keep an eye on him, especially if you decide to let him wear underwear. Some kids will hide and pee and or poop in their pants, and thats not fun. Granted, accidents will happen.
Good Luck!

M. *~