Potty Training Boys

my first boy i started potty training at 18 mo by the end of the week he was daytime trained it took awhile longer for nighttime i just put underware on him and took him every couple of hour through the day maybe it was just because he was ready not sure but i had just brought home 2 more babies and could not afford 3 in diapers. best luck in this new journey into your childs growing up years.

i wish i could help you. i have a 2 year old who turnes 3 in july. he just started potty training and in his case it was easy as pie. just keep introducing the potty everyday whether he's interested or not. eventually it will all fall into place. my oldest son on the other hand took a real long time. he has cerebral palsy and didnt learn till he was 6. maybe thats why it seemed so easy. good luck

My son was about that age when we started. For the first 6 months, it is far more about you training yourself and not being forgetful than it is about them deing trained. A good way to start is to monitor their eating and drinking habits. Try to get it on a schedule. Then take him to the potty once per hour, every hour that he is awake. You MUST be consistant. If he goes, praise praise praise him. If he doesn't, praise him for trying. You must not get frustrated or expect immediate results. Keep it positive. Our dr. said that they don't really "feel" or understand the sensation that they have to go to the potty until they are between 2 and 3 yrs. old. It doesn't mean that practice doesn't help. If you have the time, start now. Also remember that they will go back and forth. Your son may go on the potty for a couple of days and then not for a period of time and go in his pull up/diaper/undies...

I say not until he's expressing interest - either in seeing you or your husband use the toilet or by announcing the need for a new diaper. My 6 year old would say "pee" and "poo" all the time around 18-20 months when she had just gone in her diaper. So I put the potty out for her to see and then would tell her when I felt like using the bathroom. She wanted to mimmick me, and practically potty trained herself it seemed. She was fully trained and in underwear every day by about 2 years and 4 months. I now have 22 month old girl/boy twins. They both always tell me "poo" BEFORE they go in their diapers, and my boy tells me "pee" before going. So he was introduced to the potty and will ask to use it (only for pee) every day, but not consistently every time. My pediatrician suggested we praise him for going, but not try to push him unless he's really showing progress (mainly pooping on the toilet), making it dry for over 4 hours, or turns 2 1/2 - whatever of those comes first. He hasn't done any of those things yet, so I just ask him if he has to go when I'm about to go. He usually says yes, and pees almost on command. My girl twin thinks the potty is great to sit on, but too scared to go on. She's done almost everything about 4 months after her brother (who has done everything early for his age like his big sis). It truly is different for every kid. But expect lapses and relapses and accidents and messes. I was frustrated at one point with my older daughter and our pediatrician said something like, "Relax and it will happen. I've yet to see a kindergartner in diapers!" From my own experience, it does happen, and it seems to go more smoothly when you LET it happen rather than try to force it by X age. Be patient. Oh, and my son already thinks it's great to STAND on a step stool and pee "like dada" directly into the toilet. Have fun with that. He has stood in front of the toilet and peed AT the outside of the bowl so many times already I can't tell you. He must think he's taller. I think boys just have the potential to be messier, not necessarily harder. My friend's son will whip it out, aim randomly, and spray half the bathroom wall before getting close enough to the toilet to have even a chance at a direct shot. Good luck!

In general whe people say that boys are harder to train, it's because girls will usually "be ready" to train earlier than boys. While some (few) girls are ready before 2, boys are generally not ready till 2 1/2 - 3yrs old. it's biology and maturity. The two sexes mature at different times and this is one of those things that you don't want to start too early because it can cause quite a few problems, because their brains can't tell them to hold it, and their bodies are not ready to let them know it's time. I'd talk to your ped about it, and when is a better time, and what are the signs to look for that your child is ready to start. We have started letting my son also 18mos, go into the bathroom with my husband to see what daddy does and he gets it to some degree, and we let him flush the toilet because he has started to show an interest in the toilet, but he is not by any means ready to hold it, or to sit on the toilet yet. Most doctors will tell you not even to try until 2 with a boy, but most people I have talked to didn't have much success with boys till 2 or 3 with their sons. Don't stress about it. It will happen when he's ready.

I recommend the Amer Acad of Peds book on potty training. It is a wonderful resource with great suggestions, etc. I have a boy and a girl and there was no difference in training success with them for me - just remember each child is different.

Hi T....Cortney's advice was really good. I will tell you my experience. I didn't start my little guy full force until he turned 3. He still would go on occasion after he turned 2, but didn't show much interest at all. So, we made it all about being 3 and had a weekend of nakedness. It was really fun! He did a great job and was pretty well off after that weekend with a few accidents here and there. We still used pull ups at naptime and bedtime. He's now 4 and fully potty trained with a rare accident at night. If your child is showing that he's ready, by all means use the potty seat. But, if he doesn't show readiness wait it out a little bit. Also, I have a 20 month old boy who doesn't show signs of readiness. He's not even hiding when he poo's or telling me, so I'll wait it out with him until he starts hiding or telling me that he went in his diaper. I hope this helps. But, do what's right for your little guy and don't let it become a stressor for you or him.

For me the thing that happened was my son got out of the shower at 18months (taken with his dad) and wanted on the toliet he was good from then on out during the day. At night we still used a pull up for accidents. He just started on his own. Having daddy help him was alot of it. Put the potty chair in the bathroom now. When daddy goes have your son start going with him. Like daddy like son!

Hi T.. My son is 21mo. old. We started potty training him at 18 1/2 mo. In my opinion, the age doesn't matter nearly as much as his readiness signals. Is he showing signs of being ready? My son had been saying "pee pee" & "poo poo" for months, both b/4 and after going. We always took him into the potty w/ us & he knew early on what it was for, how to flush, etc. Anyway, he had all the signs so we started. We've been taking it slowly, but he's doing great. I started by taking him at certain times every day (first thing in the a.m, b/4 nap, after nap, b/4 bed). Then after a week or so I added b/4 lunch and then later added mid-morning & mid-afternoon. Consistency is key. He goes on the potty several times per day, but he doesn't run there on his own yet. He goes when I take him. Most of his poops are on the potty b/c he always says "poop" b/4 he goes. I'm working on getting both of us to recognize when he has to pee. He's still in diapers, I'm not sure when/if I'll do pullups. My goal is to have him trained at 2. Give him something to occupy himself while he's on the potty. My son & I read books on the potty, or sing songs, or things like that. I always let him flush, then we do a potty dance/song after he goes. Be consistent & patient, and start him now only if he is showing readiness signs. If he's not, it will take a lot longer to train him & maybe be more frustrating for you. Good luck!

P.S. I also think if you are lucky enough to be able to start younger, the child will have less fear of pooping on the potty. I think kids seem to get this fear as they get older. My son never exhibited any fear of the potty or pooping on it whatsoever, and I think it's b/c of his age.

T.,

I work full-time as well, and I waited until my son was ready to potty train versus trying to train him on my schedule, because 1) I figured it would be too hard to do over a weekend and 2) so many friends had shared their tales of woe with me that honestly I was really dreading the process. We did have a little potty chair in the house from the time he was a year old -- my nanny was Eastern European and said that's when they start training where she's from, so she asked me to get one -- but we never really encouraged or pressured him to use it. I did buy the potty books and a video when he was around 2-1/2, but again, just read and watched them with him, never really made a big deal about him using the potty.

When we were on a two-week family vacation with my parents last summer, one night he just announced that he wanted to use the potty, so we took him in and he went poop. We made a big to-do about it, the whole family coming in and cheering, and that was that - he was trained in a day at 3 years, 2 months old. No bribes, no battles, no drama. We had him in Pull-Ups at night for about a month, but other than that he's had maybe 2 or 3 accidents ever. He's never had any issues with going poop and even can wipe himself pretty successfully (thanks to his fantastic pre-school teachers!).

Every child is different, so your son may well get there way before mine did, but my advice is to educate him about it now but wait until he is clearly ready to use the potty before you start taking action. It made the experience so much more pleasant and stress-free than I ever imagined it would be. I have a 22 month-old daughter who hasn't demonstrated any signs of readiness yet, and that's my plan with her as well.

Good luck!