Potty Training Advice- Please! - Nyack,NY

I think you've talked about the potty and sat on the potty, both kinds, and now you need to set a timer and take him whether he is wanting to go or not. Set it for 15-30 min. and when it goes off take him. Don't ask, just take him. Have him sit for a bit and then repeat with the timer. I think that makes it become a conscious thought in his mind. Then when he goes praise him and start again. No diapers or pull ups at all. If he's waking dry he's ready to do this. You are the one who will do the most work at it and need to be consistent. Once you start this don't go back or give it to it. Clean up messes and say 'I know you'll do better next time' and keep going. I would try nap times when you are home too with only underwear too. It shouldn't take but a day or two be potty trained. You will have to keep on it though and remind if he forgets but I bet he won't.

We talked about the potty, had the potty out to sit on, had a potty Elmo toy, and potty books and videos the boys watched before they turned three. My favourite book and video was "Once Upon a Potty". The day after they turned three we took away the diapers, and they were fully trained in a couple of days.

Waking up dry is GREAT! To me, that is a huge clue that he is ready!

It is going to take a LOT more attention on your part to make this happen. You have made this last a loooong time! Potty training is more of a chore for the parents than it is for the child. So when you are ready, you need to pick some time when you can devote solely to PT and be done with it. He is not going to be able to tell you when he needs to go, you are going to have to tell him when he has to go! You are teaching him how to listen to his body! You have to watch him like a hawk, look for his 'pee pee dance/wiggle' (every kid has one) and tell him (don't ask him) it's time to go potty.

Cold turkey is the only way I have ever done it and it has worked for me 3x over! All 3 of my kids were completely potty trained (night and day) right at or @ 2y/o. and it only took a couple days with each one. 2 boys and 1 girl.
* I also bribed them with Dum-Dum suckers...they are the perfect size!

Good Luck!

I would start with pull-ups for a few days. He may not be ready yet, he is not getting the message or urge to go just yet. I started potty trianing all 4 of mine around 2 but none of them was actually trained until they were within about 2 weeks of their 3rd birthday.

You can get the thick heavy training pants and plastic pants to cover them. The plastic pants are available at Amish stores and some online stores. I liked this method better than pull-ups because the training pants can be washed and re-used. The pull-ups should be thrown out after one day of wearing them even if they don't have an accident. It just always seemed wasteful to me.

You're on the right track. Here are some more ideas:
1. Make going potty look as natural as breathing by letting him see M. and Daddy go potty. I know it sounds crazy and might feel funny to you, but sometimes it helps them see that everybody does it. They really don't understand that what you are doing when you close the bathroom door. That's what my hubby and I did with our son. It's really no different than some people taking a bath with their kid, which we never did.
2. Play sink the Cherrios. Put Cherrios in the toilet and have him try to aim his urine at them. (Cherrios don't sink and their small, so they're perfect.)
3. Explain how you feel when you have to go potty. Explain about feeling the pressure of the urine and the pain of the gas from the poop. Once I explained to my son what a "poopoo belly" felt like, he had no problems making it to the potty for poop duty.

I don't want to discourage you but with my kids it was a much longer process than a few days. I think you are off to a good start. Once you have taught the basic concepts it is a good idea to do a few days at home working on it. But even at 3.5 my son had a few weeks of accidents when we went to underwear full time. Also after a while both my kids started arguing about going to the potty all the time. With my kids more than once an hour was too much--they could stay dry 2-3 hours at age 3 unl3ess they were drinking a lot. Try natural breaks in the day and if it has been more than and hour and a half or 2 hours since the last time. Also if your child is sick, overtired or otherwise stressed they will regress and have accidents so expect it.

I would find a time, like maybe spring break, when you can really sit down and work on it (no puns intended). Put him in underpants only and go for it. NO daytime diapers/pull ups. Get Nature's Miracle or other pet cleanup stuff.

If your son is waking up dry, Bravo! That means he *can* be dry. My DD is still in pullups at night but is trained for the day.

I also found that a timer didn't work for me. I was always wrong. So I had her try for "sneaky pee" anytime she might need to go. First thing in the AM. Before bed or bath. Before or after a meal. Before we go out. When I need to use a public restroom. That seemed to help more than every 30 minutes.

My DD did pee in her underwear at first. We did a LOT of laundry. But she got it within a few weeks and I eventually stopped carrying so many supplies. When you first leave the house without a diaper cover or similar, bring new everything - shirt, socks, underwear and even shoes. I put a few pairs of underwear in the bag (with a plastic bag for laundry) and a pullup in there. If we got through all the underwear, the pull up would get us home. If he pees in the store, park your cart over it and get an employee. Not much else you can do. I got that tip from a friend.

You have to be willing to dedicate about 3-4 days to this process. On the next long weekend, as long as you don't have any big plans to leave the house, just dedicate yourselves to it and get it done. What I found was that actually, having them run around naked from the waist down was the way to go. Think about it - he has always had a diaper on, his whole life. He pees in it, he poops in it, that's just what he does with that thing you wrap around his butt! So you put on underwear... which is just another thing that's wrapped around his butt. Right? But if he's naked, he feels the air on him, and it feels different. If he pees, he will immediately see that he's peeing (uh-oh, better get to the potty!). I have girls, but they both hated peeing on their feet, and the first time that happened, it made a big impression on them. Anyway, you're doing all the right stuff, but I would just add to it that he needs to be naked from the waist down. Yeah, you'll have to clean your carpets when the process is over (all the more incentive to watch him like a hawk for signals that he has to go!). It will take a good 3 days to really get in the groove on this. Just be consistent, and don't get frustrated. He's just a little guy, and is figuring this out for the first time. It's a new skill, just like learning to eat with a spoon, or putting his own clothes on. He will have some failures, but just be calm and help him succeed the next time. It sounds like he is willing and eager, which is great! That's more than half the battle!