Potty Training - Mogadore, OH

T.,

I have a 4 year old boy and started potty training the same time you are. It is frustrating, but patience is the key, I think. If you switch back to diapers you will confuse him. It took me a few weeks to get my son to pee, then about another 2 weeks to get him to poop in the potty. You can try giving him treats... something special if he pees, then when he gets the hang of it, make him go potty 3 times and give him something. I put a paper on the frig and every time he went he got a sticker. He knew the treat and what he was working toward, so that made it more exciting. He also got excited to tell his Daddy at the end of the day if he had gone in the potty. The other piece of advice is to get overly excited when he does go in the potty and make no comment (even getting mad is attention) when he has an accident. Good luck! I know it is hard and seems to never end... but it will.

Honestly T.....the trick is not to try to early. If he hasn't responded in 2 days then put the diapers back on and try again in a few months. I am in a moms group and out of the 16 boys in the group 13 of them were not potty trained until right around their 3rd birthday. 2 is not a majic number and I think girls are usually ready before boys. If hes not ready no trick will fix it and you are just going to be frustrated. Try again in 2 months. If it takes more than 3 days, then they are NOT ready. Don't do it for 6 months...thats crazy..just wait the 6 months try again adn then it will only take a few days. Good luck. I know it is hard having 2 in diapers..and expensive too! ;-)
K.

It takes patience especially for boys. I started potty training my son at two and it took him about six months to get it. just maintain a potty time schedule and stick with it! make him feel like a big boy and reward him when he does go potty!

My son was also quite stubborn about the potty. I always say the first step is taking the diapers and pull-ups away because they just give the child an excuse to not use the potty. But when all else fails, I learned a method from Dr. Phil that actually worked with my boy! I purchased a doll that pees, and gave my son the task of teaching the doll to use the potty. We would feed the doll together (or sometimes i'd have her pre-loaded, lol), and then my son would sit her on the potty and be amazed at he results. You have to make sure to make a HUGE deal when the doll does it - hug the doll, scream, praisee, etc......After a few successful tries by the doll (and your son seeing the results), ask him if he could do it to. It may take a few times to persuade him, but when he does, make sure you give him the same (or better) HUGE praise :) Good luck.....

PS - My son was about 2.2 when he was trained, my daughter was under 2. Don't give up, It IS possible, it just takes a lot of patience.

You're going to think I'm crazy, but seriously, start your 4 month old on the potty now.

Do a google search for infant potty training or elimination communication (EC). There's also several books and a yahoo group. I have EC's all three of my girls from birth. The first was accident free by 14 months, the second one by 16 months, and the third is 7 months and uses the potty on a regular basis. I never have to change poopy diaper, though we do have pee misses. I just keep a diaper on her in between trips to the potty.

I was always told by my pediatrician that they will tell you when they want to potty train. My oldest trained when he started pre-school. He started in diapers, and his teachers showed him that his classmates were using the potty, so he started too. He still wets the bed at night, which i am told is a completely separate issue. Maybe, ease off the pushing a bit and let him decide. He's the oldest, and with the little one around he may view this as another way to get more attention from you when you change him. I am really not surprised he is not interested in it. Sounds a lotlike my oldest. He would do itas a novelty.
Good luck, and relax a little bit!!!!
K.

It sounds like your little guy just is not ready for potty training yet. Don't make a big deal out of it. Put him back in diapers, ask him to use the potty once an hour (praise him when he does, but don't insult or punish him when he uses the diaper.) Remember, Einstein himself was not potty-trained until he was 5. There is no correlation between IQ and using the toilet. Reduce his stress and yours and store the underwear for a while longer. He will get it; just be patient.

T.,
Keep in mind that all kids are different and that your son may just not be ready yet. I tried on several different occasions thru the coarse of at least a year to train my son, who is now almost 4. Every time we tried, I got more frustrated & I took that as my cue to try at a later time. A couple months would go by & we'd try again. Finally, in Aug. (I think), I told him that I wasn't buying anymore diapers. I started mentioning it 2-3 days before I ran out. I told him this everytime I changed him. It was a Mon. that we ran out. By Wed., he was peeing in the potty. By Fri., he was telling me he had to go. I know that I either got really lucky or my son was simply ready. Pooping took a couple weeks longer. I know that I got lucky here, because it has taken others I know several months. My point is that it needs to be fun & exciting for him & by us as parents getting frustrated, they get stressed. We also used M&Ms or chocolate as a treat. Until that stopped being good enough for him. But, he got a treat & LOTS of praise for going. As for the pooping, we stumbled upon a treat that meant alot to him & he gets excited still & it's been several weeks.
Maybe it's time to take a break & try again in a couple of weeks. Good luck.

Not to burst your bubble, but I started potty training my son when he was 2 1/2 yrs old. And now one year later (and one month) he is finally potty trained. Boys sometimes take longer to catch on. My advice is to not stress out about it, he won't be 18 and still having accidents. Just make it fun. Once you start stressing out about it and making it a negative experience I PROMISE you, you will not move forward in the "Potty Training Game". You will only move backwards.

But who knows, maybe your son will be the exception to the norm. I hope he is!!!

T.,

There will be a point for your son when it will just click and going to the potty will be what he has to do. I gave my son a reward system a piece of candy if he went #1 and a sucker if he went #2 in the potty and my husband and I promised if he went accident free for three days, we'd buy him anything 1 thing that he wanted.

I know a lot of mom's don't like reward systems (bribery), but it worked for us - he was potty trained within a week.

One other thing that we did was when he did have an accident I made him clean it up - he hated that the most. But then it made more sense to him to just go to the potty and then he didn't have to clean up a mess and put his clothes and or bed sheets in the laundry and take a bath.

My son is turning 3 next month. Both of my boys were potty trained by 3. At 2 it is very hard to make them trained. Childrens organs grow at different rates and psychologicially not every child is ready when you think they are. You will have many set backs during the year of 2. Some children aren't ready to even be trained by 3, it may take to 4. It is nothing that you are doing wrong as a mother. My son began training himself at 2, but it did not catch on completely until this summer. He also has the help that his brother is 10 years older and would watch him and go after him. Bottom line is, you child will be ready when he is ready, unfortunately not when you are. That can be a hard lesson for us mothers. My advice, put away the underwear, cause yourself less aggrivation, and move on. Pull-up are great! When he has to go, he can pull them down and if he doesn't want to wear them, well the reward is big boy pants when he will go to the potty. Good luck! and when the patients wears down, you have the security knowing we all have been there or will go through that. Keep up the great work.

When I switched my son (2 1/2) to underwear from pull ups it only took him about a week of having accidents to start to get that it was better to stay dry then walk around wet. When he has an accident do you change him right away? If so, let him sit in it for about half an hour... I know this sounds mean, but once his urine gets cold it's going to be pretty uncomfortable. It also helps if he has to sit in a chair that won't be hurt by the wetness so that he can't play. I was at the laundromat with my son about a month or so ago, not long after I'd switched him to underwear and he'd peed through all his pants and underwear, so he had to sit up in the chair because I didn't want him running around smelling like urine with other people being there. After we got home he got a bath and changed and went to bed and the next day he was doing 100% better. He very rarely has accidents and if he has to use the restroom, he'll go running through the house in order to make it. It may take yours a little longer, but he'll understand that it's yuckie to be wet. I also have a potty certificate that he can put 1 sticker on when he goes pee in the potty all day and 2 every time he poops. He gets to excited about getting to pick out and put the stickers on the certificate by himself. His Mema found the certificate at Michael's I think. Try to be patient! If you'd like to talk, let me know!

~{@ J.

He's simply not ready.

I heard a great phrase somewhere - "start PT'ing at 2.5 and be done by 3, or start at 3 and be done by 3".

I waited with both of my boys until they were ABSOLUTELY ready - and they were trained in a weekend. Maybe they could've been trained 3 months earlier? Dunno - but I put very little effort and work into it, and it was a great experience for them, instead of a frustrating one.

Just wait - he'll get it in time!

You're going to hate me for sayig this, but I don't know anyone who has successfully trained a boy at two. I wish you the best of luck, but it doesn't sound like he's ready. My doctor told me it was a waste of time to try with my son until he was at least 3 and he showed signs he was ready. He wasn't out of pull-up's til he was four, which is not unusual. My daughter was completely trained before she was two so it was a little frustrating, but the poor guy wasn't ready and there was nothing to do, but be patient. Don't worry - it will happen! Good luck!

My first son actually kind of potty trained himself at about 18 mos - he's now 3 years old. His dad and I went through the same thing, taking him to the potty every 20 - 30 minutes and he would not go, he even cried sometimes - then we went to pull ups - he enjoyed those because they were like big boy underpants and finally he started just telling us when he had to go potty - we bought a little stool to put in front of the toilet, because he did not want to sit down on it - he wanted to go like daddy. He just started going in there alone and putting the stool up there. I am now going through the potty training thing with my 20 month old - he will only go potty while I am running bath water at night and first thing in the morning when I am getting him a fresh diaper. He did not do well with the pull ups - he didn't care too much for them. I learned that they will go when they are ready and when we stopped pushing him to go - that's when he decided to go on his own.

Good Luck !!

T. I totally understand where you are coming from I have a 2 year old and I am 5 months pregnent. I think that the best thing that I have learned is that it takes time and to be consistant. He also loves the potty but does not care if he pees in his underware either soo.... know that you are not alone and I am right there with you....a Work from home mom at 25 and expecting!! I feel your pain but I know that it will get better...we learned how so will they!!

It has been my experience (with my own son, nephews and friend's sons) that boys seem to take longer and start later in potty training. Every child is different. Our oldest daughter was a breeze before her 3rd birthday, we thought we were going to have to send our son to kindergarten in diapers, and right now, our 23 mo old is very interested and occasionally uses the potty. Praise and patience worked with the oldest, but we had to resort to a straight up bribe of a new lightsaber for the boy.
Maybe you should think about giving it a break for a little while. I know it is hard to have two in diapers, but the little guy may simply not be ready.
Check out askdrsears.com. It is a wonderful resource that our family has relied on since early in my first pregnancy. Just search "potty training" and off you go.
One last thing-if you do decide to take a break, I have seen waiting for the weather to be warm, letting a child wear a t-shirt that covers past the waist, and allowing him to urinate outside work many times for little boys. Granted, I grew up in the country so we really didn't have to worry what the neighbors thought, but I can't say I didn't let my own son do it. Good luck to you.

They say that boys are usually harder to potty train then girls are. I was also told that you can try using things like cheerios and put them in the toliet and make them a target. Let him try to hit them as he pees. I didn't try any of those methods. It was just a matter of me trying to get it right down to the T on how often he was going. Eventually it came down to me putting him on the potty every 10 mins for as long as I can handle it. I also praised and rewarded him everytime he went on the potty. I also think that this makes it a little easier. His dad would also let him go into the bathroom with him to show him how its done and he just kind of picked up on it.
Don't get frustrated just yet. He is still only 2 and every child does things at their own pace. Children also knows what makes their parents mad and they seem to care less about it. So be patient and it will happen. Just remember PRAISE, PRAISE, PRAISE, AND REWARDS FOR A JOB WELL DONE!

I think that he is not ready yet. My son is almost three and just starting so you might want to wait a little longer. I disagree with the cheerios thing my son just thought it was funny to throw it in the toliet and try to play with them and guess what now he wants to put everything in the toliet, from toys to his lunch. So I do not recommend that.Try telling a three year old you don't put food or toys in the potty when you are the one that showed him that. Plus he has just had a big change that can set them back. The move he needs to adjust to. I think it is hard for children if they have to many new things going on at once. If he isn't showing the signs just put it off and wait till he does. I just know that my son will not be going to school in a diaper so I will let him lead and tell me when he is ready. Thats one thing to remember listen to your children. Good luck

Don't lose hope! You've only been working on this for 2 *days* (that's only 48 hours) - he's been trained to pee in his diaper for the last 2 YEARS (years = many, many, many hours). It's what he is used to (peeing in the pants, not on the potty), so please don't get frustrated with him. He's trying to learn!

The best thing I can think of to keep yourself in a good mindset and keep both of you relaxed, with the goal of learning in mind: think of how your son learned to walk. Did he do it all at once? Never a bobble, a fall, a misstep? Of course not! It took him some time to learn to stand without assistance, to get his balance, to take those first few steps, then to take more steps in a row, etc. *This* is what potty training is like. Please be gentle with yourself (set realistic expectations) and with your son (remember, he's NOT doing this because he "doesn't care").

You guys can absolutely do this - be a team, help him learn his body's signals that he has to pee/poop (pressure in his bottom, antsy-ness, etc.) and then increase his chances for success (keep little plastic potties in every room). When an accident occurs, remain calm and cool and matter-of-factly clean it up together as a team, throw the undies and pants in the wash together, wipe up the floor together, talk about how next time, it's more comfortable for him to go in the potty. Make potty visits together - you on the adult toilet, him on a little potty.

It's totally do-able. It's just that our culture seems to think that kids will train themselves if we just wait long enough (uh, right!). Did you know that in other countries and cultures (and in our own 100 yrs ago), babies are using the potty reliably by 18 months? This is NOT to put pressure on you AT ALL - it is NOT a race - it's just to tell you that the vast majority of babies & toddlers are capable of learning to use the potty *before* age 2. While I'm sure some kids do "train themselves" (a small percentage), most do not (how many moms are posting to boards with 3 & 4 yr olds who still need a diaper to poop in because they don't want to use the toilet --> lots!). The physiological truth is that kids are capable of being toilet independent *much* earlier as long as we parents look at learning how to use the toilet as a *process* that requires teamwork and patience (remember, it's like learning how to walk, or learning how to eat neatly using your own fork and spoon).

Potty training can be a wonderful way to really connect with your child! If you really want to do it as a family, you can even gently potty your 4-month old (I bet you know "the poop face" already!) and avoid cleaning up those ungodly messy blowout poops. Here are some tips that apply to babies AND toddlers - hope it gives you some useful ideas!
http://www.viviente.com/2005/10/how_to_do_parttime_pottyt...

He may just not be ready. It can take boys longer. I have twin boys who will be 3 in December; I have never pushed potty training or given them any rigid schedule. I waited until they showed an interest and we have been working at their pace. They do best when they are naked (which you could try). I think 20 minute intervals are too close together,also. He may just be tired of having to stop what he is into that frequently to go potty so he just doesn't bother. I suggest laying off of it for a week or two, and follow his lead.

if you are dead set on trying to potty train a boy at 2 years try putting fruit loops or cherrios on the potty and have him try to "hit" them. but my nephew wasn't potty trained until he was 3 or so. I learned in my developmental psyshology class whether you start at 24 months, 27 or 29 they will always end up being potty triained at the same time (for boys closer to3) but it is always easier for both you and the child if you wait until around 2.5. it's not always like that(about above info but it is an average) good luck!

Is he showing signs he's ready? Staying dry for 2 hours or more at a time, using words like I'm wet or I just peed or pooped, staying dry through the night? If not then he is not ready to be potty trained. If he is, try it for two weeks. Research has shown that if they don't learn in two weeks then they are really not ready. If he's not making ANY progress at all in one week I would give up completely, go back to diapers or pull ups and try again in 2-3 months. The more frusterated you get the less likely he will potty train. They do it when they are ready. My son is going to be 4 in March and he just got it completely down during the day about 3 weeks ago, including poop. :) It's wonderful, but if he's not ready you will just go crazy yourself. TRUST ME...I started at 2 and I was insane at the end. RELAX! Let him let you know when HE'S ready. You just can't force someone to learn to potty. That's all there is to it.

T.,

All I can say is that my little guy has been going on the potty since he was one - but has never mastered staying dry throughout the day or night consistently. We've been panicking as he's approaching four, but more and more people we've talked to have said that in his time he will make the transition. If he doesn't by the time our second one is due (in April) I am definitely seeing someone at Children's (which my pediatrician recommended to do). I can only hope that your little guy comes around a bit quicker. It is exhausting!

T.

Hi T.,
I know what your are going through. My daughter is 2 and she will go sit on potty and do a great job one ti me then stand right in front of me and pee the next. She will tell you she went pee pee. She will tell you about #2, then still go in her pants. She don't mind sitting in it either.
I just keep right on going. I count to 10 a lot.
I did seem to catch her intrest when I told her about all her family members and all her cartoon heros that all go to the potty. She seems alot into now. She wants to go to the big party when she gets to the potty on time. Her favorite bear is wearing her new Dora big girl panties until she can learn to go potty like a big girl.
I just keep trying to find ways that I think will get her interested in going. Some days it works and some it don't
We just can't let them see us sweat.
Good luck to you.