Potty Training Advise - Wilmington, NC

I am actually a Mom of a 19 month old boy and we are potty training. When he started telling me he had pooped and brought me the stuff to change him, I knew it was time. He has gotten where if he is going to go pee he'll pull his diaper before he goes. We rotate between the big potty and the little potty. May sound crazy, but we sit him backwards on the big potty (facing the wall) so he doesn't fall in and he feels like a big boy.

Potty training is different for every child. Age 2 can bring a lot of strong will and if possible I would suggest starting before then just to get a routine down. We started using the toilet first thing in the morning and just before bath time. If he does not empty his bladder in the toilet at those times it is not a big deal. Just get the routine down. Another tip is to put him on the toilet while the bath water is running, that seemed to work well for us. Happy toilet training!

Hi D.!
I have found with potty training, if you just wait until the child is ready, then it's so much easier than trying too early and getting stressed. My son has been potty trained for about 6 months (he's 3 and a half). I, also have a daughter that is 4 and a half. My son is actually doing consistantly better (mostly at night) than she is. And my son drinks like a fish, so I thought I would have a really hard time with it, but suprisingly not. Every child is different. Also, if you start in the summer, your son can be a little more free to go outside, if he needs to. I let my son wear just shorts or even nothing on the bottom (obviously when we were home)sometimes, in the beginning, to be able to feel and be aware of when he went.

Good luck!

I have a five year old and a six month old. My son Aiden who is now five was potty trained in three days when he turned two. What worked for me was turning all tv's off and limited the toys down to a few. (I know this sounds over doing it but it really worked for me). I would let him get up and play with just his big boy underwear on and sit him on the toilet every five minutes. He had plenty of accidents in the floor, but it's a good thing we have all hardwood floors. When he used the bathroom in the toilet even if it was just a drop, I gave him one m&m candy. While he was sitting on the potty chair I entertained him with a sticker book to keep his mind off trying to get up. He was completely potty trained in three days.
I knew he was ready to be potty trained because everytime his diaper got a little wet he would rip it off. He also talked really well at two years old and communicated that he didn't like to be wet. I hope this helps!! Good luck!

Didn't i just respond to your request about a toddler bed? LOL Anyways... most boys don't "show" signs they are ready to be potty trained until well after their 3rd birthday... sometimes later. Make it a game, have him sit on the potty and color on a white board or something. I had lots of problems potty-training my oldest son. I started when he was 2, but he wasn't trained until he was 4!! Mostly because I had a newborn and I wasn't as consistent as I needed to be. I finally put the potty in the hallway and put regular underwear on him so he could easily access his potty. He was completely trained within a week, and stopped having accidents at night within 6 months. I had one friend who would put her son on the potty every 10 minutes and had him trained within 3 months right after his 3rd birthday. The point is consistency once you get him used to the potty. Until then, just take him with you when you go potty and have him sit on his while you sit on the other one; with his clothes on at first, then just a diaper, then see if he will sit on it without a diaper. When he does this, then he's ready. But don't pressure him, that will only make him regress and not want to sit on the potty at all. I hope this works for you....

Hey D.,

I am on my fourth child of potty training! I have three boys and finally my girl and she is 2 1/2 and everyone told me girls are easier to potty train! HA! She has been peeing in the potty for a long time, when I her put on it. BUT, SHE hardly EVER tells me that she has to go, until it's too late! THEY HAVE TO BE ABLE TO SAY "I have to go pee" Also, when he is waking up from his naps or bedtime with a dry diaper that shows control and that is bladder can hold it for that long, until then he will continue to have accidents. He is a little young yet, but it never hurts to get them used to the potty! I use the seat on the toliet for little kids and a stool and she has NEVER been afraid of the toliet. But I don't push her and I don't punish her. I thought she was ready and got rid of the pull ups and just used underwear and we did good, if I took her in every 20-30 minutes, but I shouldn't have to do that. She needs to be able to tell me at some point, so we back to pull ups for now. Good Luck!!

I started training my daughter, who is 2 months shy of her 3rd birthday, at 18 months. I heard somewhere (can't remember where) that at this age start introducing the potty and the concept with no demands. So everytime I went I would bring her in with me and let her listen and view what I've done and then flush and let her flush. She has been verbal for quite some time and she would repeat what I'd say and eventually grasped meaning from the words. I started this early because she would stay dry during nap time and dry overnight and would squat in corners when she had a bowel movement so those were the typical signs of readiness. So after a while maybe a month she started to urinate in the potty ONLY when I took her. I took her every 2 hours and she would go almost everytime if she didn't I wouldn't let her flush which was her incentive. This worked for me because she loved to flush. The bowel movement concept came much later!! But she got the whole concept down and actually telling me she had to go by 2 years and 5 months. She has been going and telling me consistently for about 6 months and she won't be 3 until July!! I did the opposite with my son because he was my firstborn and it took me so much longer to train him. The earlier you start the earlier they'll get it!! Happy training! Remember be patient don't put any demands on him early on. Let him get the concept first.

Hi D.!

My son is 12 and I've been there. All it took was him going to the bathroom with his Dad a few times. Let's face it, we don't have the right equipment and a picture is worth a thousand words! Moms tend to try and do everything thenselves and this is one of those times where we just don't have the "right stuff". Hopefully, his dad will think this is an important job and help you out. Good luck! L.

go to this website http://thepottytrainer.com/ it truly works as ive been told havent tried it but heard about it

I would wait until he decides he is ready. It will be so much easier. I have 2 boys ages 5 and 2. When my oldest was about 2 1/2 his daycare teacher would sit him on the potty some during the day, usually just before and after nap. I never bothered with it since I wasn't at home with him all the time. About 2 weeks after his 3rd birthday, he kept asking for a red care bear. I kept telling him no because he had just had his party, but he wouldn't give up. I got tired of hearing it after a week so one Friday when I picked him up from school, he asked again and I told him if he would wear big boy underwear for 2 days and go pee and poop in the potty without having any accidents, I would take him to the toy store and he could have whatever toy he wanted. The next morning, he got up and went to the bathroom and asked for underwear. He did just what I had asked and has NEVER had an accident. This worked for us, but it just depends on the child. My younger son is a bit more stubborn. He's 2 1/2 and his teacher, who is the same one my older son had, can't even get him to sit on the potty.

I have 3 kids (one girl and two boys). The girl was the easiest but then again she was the oldest and was easiest for everything! With my sons I started in the spring with both because when they are outside playing, I give them a certain tree that they can use "to be men" and "be just like dad" and pee outside! They love this! Being able to just go outside and not having to come in worked very well. We had some accidents with stinky, but I would reward my boys with something they really liked. My oldest boy LOVED m&ms and I would give him a small pack of M&Ms when he went stinky in the potty. The youngest loved the Dollar Tree and if he went stinky 5 times in the potty he was rewarded with a trip to the Dollar Tree. I really think the key is letting them go outside and teaching them the right way to go outside. You can't face the road, you can only use the backyard. You should go away from the house and have your back to people, etc. Even now that my boys are 8 and 4 they still love to go outside!!

To see if they are ready you can bring him into the bathroom when you are getting a bath ready. Sit him in the potty chair while you fill up the bathtub (the sound of water can make kids have to go) and just talk with him. If he goes reward him. If not, he's probably not ready for full time potty training. If you do this every time he takes a bath he will start to figure it out after a couple of times of accidently going in the potty chair. Remember no pressure.

D.,
I would not recommend potty training and moving to a toddler bed at the same time, those are huge milestones to have so close together. Also, with boys it is very typical to not be potty trained til almost 3 or after that. I have two perfect examples in my own house! ha ha 19 mos is way early for boys, but it is possible...so good luck, but I know from many that it is rare. Just relax and enjoy the time with your young son, they grow soooo fast! Take each step slowly...

my daughter is just now 2 and we are starting to potty train a little
once they know what peepee and poop are and call tell when they are doing it, then they are ready to start...but be patient, it's one sep forward, 2 steps back ordeal.

A great resource is "Early Start Potty Training" this book gives good advice for anyone starting and you only need to read the age appropriate section. Do not worry about all that sign stuff, children can be potty trained with lots of patience. We never made the potty a bad experience and always started with the easy times (ie after naps..) My son started at 8mths and we were totally out of diapers by 18mths. That may sound like a long time, but given I reduced the number of diapers by 1/2 within just a cople of months it really helps. He is doing great ..no regression or problems as many critics would advise would happen. When his doctor said that boys do not have enough controll until they are 18mths I just nodded my head and continued with out diapers as usual. Most of the early training will be about what you are willing to do, not what he is ready for. Just remember the longer you leave him in diapers the longer you train him to pee and poo in them!

Good luck.. you can do it, being out of diapers is soooo worth it, trust me! Happy training

Potty Training 1-2-3 inexpensive book and used it with both kids. I would get him used to peeing in the potty first-- reward him for it with something yummy. Then pick a day and go forward with it-- my son was 2.5 and he was peeing in the potty sometimes and we went diapers at naptime and bedtime only and 2 days of training and he got it! My daughter was 18 months and a second child-- learned in less than an hour.... just depends on the kid. Good luck

Mel