Potty Training for 2.5 Old Boy

Hi C.~
I completely agree with Jennifer O. Let him run around naked. I did this with both of my boys and they were trained by age 2 (and I thought boys were harder than girls!) :) They loved being naked and now that they are 5 and almost 4 you would never know they spent almost the first two years of their life bare butt. Allowing him to do this lets him know when he is going so he understands the sensation of having to go potty. If you are restricting him in a diaper or pull up they don't know they are going until it is too late and b/c it is being soaked up by the diaper they don't think about it. When they pee on the floor it is a different story - they get to actually see what happens when they potty and can connect the sensation with the physicallity of going potty. Invest in a Bissell little Green Machine or something like that to clean up any accidents on carpet. I can almost guarantee you if he is showing signs of readiness and you do this he will be potty trained very shortly. Good Luck!

Hello,

You could try letting him go into the bathroom with you when you go the go potty. Let him see that you are doing it and he will want too to. Also the best way to do it is have him go into the bathroom with daddy while daddy is going. Since they both have the same equipment it will be eaiser for him to understand what needs to be done. I let my son do it himself by letting him run around the house in a t-shirt and nothing else. But he used to pee out the front door. Good thing I had a privacy fence.LOL.

Ok I have 2 little boys that I have potty trained now. My most resent one is going to me 3 in April. He is potty trained day and night. No diapers or pull ups just underwear on somedays. Otherwise how I got my boys potty trained is no underwesr at all. Just let it hang free and they would know they have to go to the bathroom. It also helped in the summer time to "water the lawn" that was pretty cool in their eyes. So I would just put pants on and when they had to go there was nothing really protecting the area so they ran do the bathroom. Its worked for me. I have another boy who is 16 months we will see if it will work for him. Good luck.
M.
Waukesha Wisconsin

Potty training can be a very exciting time! I have done it twice now-- with two boys-- and we had great success. My oldest was 2 years 9 months when he went through "potty learning" and my second was 2 years 4 months. Both were trained fully in two weeks! My secret? Lots of patience and encouragment and starting at the right time for them.
Once your son shows signs of interest and readiness, has shown the ability to use the potty or the desire to do so, you can assume it is the right time. Just make sure he isn't sick and that you can stick close to your home potty for a few days straight.
1. Go to the store the day before you plan to start. Let him pick out his favorite drinks (juice boxes, chocolate milk, water), a few packages of big boy underpants (you'll want at least 8 pair), and his favorite treat (for positive reinforcement). If you don't have a training seat, get one of these too!
2. Have a stack of activities and books by the potty.
3. First thing on training day, take of your sons LAST diaper! Have him sit on his potty for a few minutes. Then let him put on his first pair of big boy underwear. Stick close to the bathroom.
4. Give him lots of drinks (within reason) and have him try to go every 20 minutes or so. Drinks serve two purposes: the pee more and the do-do is softer to help it feel less uncomfortable. While he's on the potty, read stories so he isn't so bored or nervous.
5. When he has a success in the potty, give him one of his treats and praise, praise, praise! Have a dance or a celebration every time!
6. When he has an accident, it will wet his underwear and run down his legs onto the floor. This is good. Most kids don't like to feel wet and icky! Let him help you clean it up (paper towels in the trash, etc), then go to the potty. Put on clean underwear and keep going. It will help him learn the urge adn it will click, just keep being consistent!
7. At night time, put on his "Night time pants" as we called them. This means a pull-up. This is the only time from now on you should use a pull-up trainer. Encourage him to wake you when he needs to go potty at night.
8. Start the same thing the next morning.

To help keep him interested (because potty using loses its charm to them), set a fun goal for him when he is trained. We celebrated with ours at Chuck E Cheese's!

Be patient when there is an accident, it is part of learning. Do not cave and use pull-ups during the day! Your efforts with backfire! And if he decides midway through he hates it, just keep reassuring him and trying to make it fun. My second son let me know the second day that he would tell me when he had to go. He didn't want me asking him all the time.

Follow his cues and enjoy this experience! Good luck!!!
S.

I posted this to a lady before and it does work, I wish more parents would try it and not hesitate, I am currently starting it with my 16 month old, not really to potty train yet but to prep for when I do in the next month or 2.....

Let him be naked, nothing on bottom just a shirt, remove the pull up, keep the potty close, remind every half hour, walk him there if he needs that, get a cute cover for the lid of the toilet, it makes it more inviting. By letting him be naked he learns/feels exactly what his body is warning him of and what will happen next, we know he gets the concept that the poopy goes in the potty but know he needs to feel how to get it there. Pull ups offer a false sence of security, you will have some mess, get some carpet cleaner, when he has an accident make it no big deal, walk him to the potty and let him know next time you hope he gets there fast enough, have him help clean it up, kids really don't want to mess themselves, but diapers and pull ups restrict just how "dirty" they get. If you have more questions feel free to message!

AFTERNOTE....Letting your child run around naked is not demeaning, they in fact love it, just like after a bath, not to mention you are in your own home, you don't go out in public with them naked. I have trained almost all of my kids this was and I have 7, and have had them done by 2 and 1 month. It takes 1 week tops instead of a month or two of "struggling" to help them reach thier goal! I hate diapers which is why I do it early, good luck no matter which direction you go!

Moms will probably GASP at my advice, but we put our potty chair in the living room to start. We weren't really training yet, just getting him used to sitting on it, hoping that while he was preoccupied with something else, he would accidentally go. Once he started training we moved it to the bathroom and there was never a problem of him wondering where it went.

Just a thought...good luck!
~L.

My granddaughter loved to sit on her potty, but nothing ever happened, She showed all signs of readiness - we couldn't figure it out. Finally I had a thought. While she was on her potty, I sat down and peed on 'my potty'. She went nuts, screaming, "You peed in there!" I calmly explained that's what we are supposed to in our potties. She said, "Oh.". Then she had a 'lightbulb!' moment, sat back down on her potty, and peed! 100% trained in that area from that day forward. We keep interesting books and magazines in the bathroom for poop time. She runs a bit on the constipated side. Reading takes the edge and fear of pain off. Then we go eat fruit!
Teach by example!

Hello. We just recently potty trained our 2.5 year old and found just putting her in underwear worked best. She did have a ton of accidents the first day, started to get a little better the second day, and then by day three she was completely potty trained. Just a tip-have your carpet cleaner ready for day one and two. I carpet cleaned after her "accidents" and my carpet was good as new. Good luck!!! Hope this helps.

HI! I think you are doing a good job with what you are doing. I just completed potty-training my son. I remember it took him a couple of days before he learned how to turn on his sprinkler system. If you think about it, it is a new trick they have to learn - they've never went pee on demand before. They have to figure out how to do it. I had to sit him on the potty for longer than what I liked to for the first couple of days, but as he 'accidently' went potty more and more he learned what he had to do to pee on demand. You will do just fine, just go with what works for you. When you are ready - take the diaper away and put him in underwear so he feels it when he goes. He will have accidents for the first couple of days - but it is a LOT quicker that way!

Your child has to be ready and so do you, at whatever age you decide to potty train. I started training my oldest at 10 months. She went a full week in underware with only one accident. Then she changed her mind and would hold her pee for 8 to 10 hours. For her health, I went back to diapers. I tried again at 18 months, which was a bad mistake on my part, because I weened her of her night time nursing at the same time. After weening her from nursing in the middle of the night, she potty trained very well.
I haven't decided when I am going to potty train my youngest. She already goes poop in the potty. She has been since she was 7 months old. (I use cloth diapers and hate washing them out.) And she always sits and goes pee before she gets in the bath tub. So I know she can go on command, if she wants too. But she still doesnt know when she needs to go. Usually she tells me after she wets her diaper, but not before. I am hoping she will catch on by herself soon. Training this early really is training me more then my child. It is a lot of work, more so then if you just wait until your child is older. But for me it has saved a lot of money on diapers and time washing diapers.
litte reminder: dont leave your son in the bathroom alone. What is coming out of them is something they are curious about and will want to investigate.

I had a really hard time potty training my son a few years ago and the old "they're not going to potty train until they're ready" is true, although frustrating. Here are a few things you can try, though. I've had multiple friends have a lot of success with the book "Toilet Training your child in one day". (I'm not sure that is the exact title, but really close!) What we did with our son is, we gave him a sticker on a chart every time he went in the potty and when he received 10 stickers, he could pick out a little prize (we bought them at the dollar store). Another thing he really thought was great was when we put Cheerios in the toilet and he used them as target practice. He thought that was hilarious! Good luck and have patience! I can say from experience that boys are typically harder than girls to toilet train, but not impossible!

C.,

actually 2.5 is the perfect age to start potty training. I usually start about 18 months with my little ones and see how they do. My oldest was trained by 3 and my middle was trained by two and the third is almost trained and he is 2.5. They are all different and will all train different ways. My favorite method is what I call the naked method. I basically just let them run around naked with maybe a shirt on especially this time of yr. I fill them up with plenty of juice or water and go at it. I keep the potty chair in the living room or the room that we spend the most time in. I live in a quad and we have four different chairs. one for each level. I feel that easy access is the best. I also let them watch there favorite show when they are sitting on the potty. This is a treat because we don't watch much tv. I don't usually pressure them
to sit on it I just occasionally remind them that if they have to go that they need to sit on the potty. I know this method seems to be messy but for me it works because we have hardwood floors in most main areas of my house. I also use treats of candy and stickers, I never use pull-up unless I'm leaving my house and I call them bye-bye underwear. and once there pretty well trained I use them at night. I feel they are too much like a diaper and don't work.. hope this helps..

Dear C.,

Another hint I've used is that when I had one girl on the potty, and she just couldn't figure out what I wanted her to do, and the running water trick wasn't working; I wrapped a warm wash cloth around her naked foot while she sat there. That released the flood gates! We danced and clapped. After her initial shock at what had happened to her, she realized we were all happy. It clicked! I'm willing to try anything within reason.

i started both of my kids one boy one girl at 2 and this is what I did....pick a week to start and be committed. No pull ups no diapers. Stay home. I put the potty in the family room or kitchen where it is visable. Gave them water/milk and asked about every 15 minutes if they had to go. My son was starting in a warm month so I also had few clothes on him to aid in the speed of undressing. When they did go it was cheers, M & M's, a call to Thomas for my son (called a friend who is always home or at work to act like Thomas), and a sticker. After a week we ventured out to stores. I would walk around places like Target for a couple of hours so that they eventually had to go. I always brought a full change of clothes (inluding shoes) and a plastic bag for the wet clothes (it will happen). Also bring along those antibactial wipes for the toliet because if he is still sitting he will be touching the toliet so wipe it down. You may also bring along the toliet ring (in a plastic bag) that fits on top of big toliets if he is more comfortable (I don't know how often you go out so it may not be an issue). Then of course if you bring all of this you may need something more then a diaper bag. FYI, both of my kids felt more comfortable stratelling the big toliet so I would have to take one pant leg off so they could do this (still do with my 2 1/2 year old daughter). P.S. eventually he will stand up (you may want to get his father involved in this one for visual aid). Remind him to "shake" off the extra urine or else it drips all over the place. I think that is all I have for you. Good Luck.

Question: Has he shown signs that he is ready? From what I understand there are 3 stages to "readiness" (Awareness of the toilet, Awareness of their body's ability, Awareness of their body's need to "go") There, I believe, is the 4th stage of "Omigosh - he's not ready for preschool!!!"

Have you tried the uber-practical, giving plenty of liquids (desirable flav waters and juices) and putting them on the potty every 15-20 min? Get your eggtimer ready! Consistency is key. Plan for about 3 days of potty partying :) Also, try to make sure other major events are out of the way (new baby, big move, etc..)

Finally have FUN!!! Remember that many boys don't actually finish pottie training until 4, even 5. It's difficult to keep your own identity as a "successful" mommy out of the arena-but it is wisdom. You child will not be pooping his diaper at age 13.

He's too young! Wait for him to show interest on his own. Chill! He'll get it.

I deffinately don't think that is too young at all my daughter was fully potty trained by 2.5yrs. I started out by(and this was advice given to me by a number of mommies)everytime I had to go potty I would bring her in there w/me and explain what I was doing then give her "her turn" even if she didn't go and then tell her good try every time. I also cloth diapered her wich helped alot because I could tell when she was going to have to pee cause the diaper would get really warm. I would take her in after she ate before we took baths literally EVERY time you have a chance sit him on the toilet it takes a LOT of dedication it isn't going to happen over night, another easy way to get them use to the fact that the potty is where you go pee and poop is when you see him starting to push or do his potty ritual(most kids do something before they are going to poop, like go to a corner or a special place in the house)take him in the bathroom and put him on the toilet so he can poo in there. He may get scared the first time he has to poo on the toilet but whatever you do hold him gently and speek softly while making eye contact and let him know (smiling) that everything is OK and he's doing a great job, don't give up and keep encouraging him, alot of moms freek out cause their baby will start to get unsure of himself and take the baby off the toilet and coddle the baby after wards which really isn't effective at all it just makes the child think that whenever he gets on there and gets that feeling of being unsure of himslef he needs to be rescued. Positive encouragement and explanation is the best key here.

I have trained lots of little ones over the years. You really need to check for signs that he is developmentally ready. Once he is ready, it should only take about a week. I always use underwear during waking hours. The little ones help me pick them out. Then you can explain that we don't want to pee and poop on our new big boy underwear. I set the timer for every half hour and we go sit on the potty for just a few minutes each time. Each time they go we cheer and praise. After a day or two they usually have it mastered. The big thing is that we don't push until they are ready developmentally.

First, don't let this stress you. No matter what anyone tells you, they all eventually train, and it is on THEIR time schedule, rarely on yours. (I have five kids and they all were different.) The best thing to do at this point is introduce the whole concept to him. Sit him on the toilet before baths, after a diaper change, before naps and before you put his PJS on him at night. He may even "produce" something for you sometime. He may not be physically ready yet. When he is staying dry for extended periods of time in his diapers, that is often a better sign of readiness. Also, if he HATES being wet/stinky that is a good sign he is getting closer. For now, relax and let it come naturally to him.

Hi C.,
I am a mother of 2 boys. They are 9 and 11 now. Everyone will tell you to wait until they are older, but both of my boys were poddy trained by two 1/2. My mother who had 5 children had this wisdom for me," Watch for their diaper to be dry in the early morning, than you will know that they are ready to make it through the night, and poddy training in general."
I started putting them on the poddy consistently every 2 to 3 hours. Also, I paid attention to what time they usually had a stool in their diaper and that is when I put them on to go # 2.
Here's what else: I made a fun rewards chart and they got to earn a m&m when they went in the poddy. I also let them try standing up and "hitting the target" (broken pieces of toilet paper or cheerios in the poddy) I made up a poddy song that we would sing together to help them stay on the poddy longer. But even with all, that we had accidents and tears. I did let grandpa and daddy take them poddy a lot so they felt like it was a big boy bonding thing.
The biggest truth I found was pull-ups do not work! Go to the store and buy as many training underwear you can find. I'm talking 10 or more pairs. Commit to staying home for two weeks and have accidents until they are poddy trained. Each time they make a mistake, wash the dirty underwear and put on the new underwear. Remind him that he is a big boy and can go in the poddy now. Reward and praise their efforts. The tears will be from you being tired of washing underwear, but it will be worth it. And it may be from your child who is trying to learn a new skill that can be frustrating. Persevere and love your little boy. You will have good days and bad. If you go out a lot or send them to daycare in pull ups they will not poddy train. Pull Ups feel the same as diapers to them. Stick with staying home and using the underwear. Best wishes!
Jen

Hi, C.,

When your little guy decides it's time for him to start using the potty, he'll use it. It takes time. All kids are different, no matter if they are girls or boys. I had 8 kids and they were all so different. Some were completely potty trained by the age of two, some a little later. If he knows that you won't make a fuss whether he goes in the potty or not, he'll decide that he wants to use it. Then he'll realize that wet,nasty diapers aren't any fun.

My best advice is to wait until Summertime! Hang out outside without diapers, the mess is so much easier to deal with! My son potty trained a few months before his 3rd birthday, much to my surprise, while on a week long camping trip at a lake. We were in and out of the water so much that he just had his swim trunks on most of the day. We assigned a certain rock near the beach to be his "pee rock" which he loved and never missed a chance to use. We also brought his potty chair, which he would sit on every night after dinner to have a BM. We put it right on the beach and he loved sitting out there looking out at the lake. Luckily we had the beach pretty much to ourselves! By the time we got home, his body had developed the patterns he needed and he transitioned to using the inside bathroom without missing a beat.

This is a great time to start. I would just make it part of your routine at certain times of the day. After you get up, before lunch, before nap, after nap, before dinner, before bed... Maybe if he goes he gets a sticker up on a chart or an M&M. Mayby after 5 stickers he gets to go to the store and pick out a small toy - like a matchbox car. Then once he's getting excited about the game let him pick out big boy underwear and encourage him to try them on, wear them, show them to everyone...

C.
Have you considered that he may just do it himself when he is ready?
When my son was almost 3 , he pulled on his diaper and said, " i don't need this.' I said well, maybe we should have it on at night. He said, no, never. He had seen everyone else using the toilet, and he knew he could do that too. He wore the diaper for two more nights, but never wet it, so after that he never had to contend with that uncomfortable thing again. It was all his idea. At 25, he is now a very independent self directed young man who continues to make his own decisions.

C., It sounds like you are on the right track in introducing the potty with out being to forceful. Potty training can be a challenging time for both parent and child but when all is said and done you will both feel good. I feel pretty confident rightnow as I am at the end of ptty training my 3 year old son. I would say he did it himself and I just gave support and praise. We live in Wisconsin and with a 4 month old have not really been leaving the house, my son stephen did not really like the little potty so we got him one of those seats that sit on top, he is now standing up, he says that is how big boys go potty. A few suggestions, use underwear not pull- ups, I did this with my daughter who is now 5 and with Stephen and yes it can be messy and I have thrown out a pair or two but I swear it works. I love the training pants by Gerber they have two types one with cotton on the inside and a rubberpant outdside and then cotto ones that are a little more paded. The absorb more when accidents happen, then as your son gets more confident take him to buy his own big boy underwear. This is huge.Stephen loved it. I do use pull - ups when we go out for long arrends and night time. On rewards... Emma loved doing the peepee dance, Stephen did not, he gets 2 skittles for peeand 3 for poop and 5 for both. We do not have a lot of treats on our house and this has worked really well. I wish you and your son the best and be prepared to smile at poop, Stephen will not flush till I see it. One of the great joys of motherhood, but his smile and pride makes it all worth it.

You are doing everything you should be doing right now by having the potty seat and encouraging him to sit on it. There are several books and videos available to encourage potty training also. My son loved the elmo's potty time video. Remember though, that he is still young, and you should be careful not to push. No child potty trains before they are ready, and too much working with him will only make him want it less. As frustrating as it is to continue to change diapers, he WILL potty train, but at his own pace.
You are doing a great job C., continue it. Just remember that even though you are ready to have no diapers, the day he gets rid of the diapers, he loses one more piece of being a baby. Take your time and allow him his. You'll get through it all.

Hi my little boy just turned 3 and I thought he would never get potty trained! I finally just made him go bottomless, no diaper, pull up or under wear. It took a week, he only peed on the floor a couple times, then I would put Thomas under wear (whatever their into you know) on then if he pooped in them I would make him go back to nothing on again. It went quicker then I thought it would, and he never pooped on the floor either.I also found that he enjoyed sitting on the big potty like daddy, so we go one of the little rings that go on the big toilet instead of the potty chair.
Good luck!
S.

I'm probably going to get shot down for this but I heartily disagree with the naked potty training. I think it is demeaning to the child. It sounds like you are off to a good start. Don't push it and he will give up diapers all in good time! I would dance all around the bathroom when my son went on the potty and he would want to go just to see the "potty dance"! Good luck!
~Edit~ I will explain my postion. It has NOTHING to do with nudity! My kids LOVE to be naked! My son always runs through the house after bath yelling "naked jungle boy!". What I am trying to convey is that kids develope a sense of modesty early on about going potty. My son would have felt HUMILIATED if I had forced him to go without anything on the bottom and he went potty by accident. I NEVER made him feel bad for accidents and he still was embarrassed when had them. They were rare because we potty trained when he was ready. Personally I liked the idea of having the potty in the livingroom then they do not have so far to go to the potty if they run out of time.
I really struggled with posting what I did because I did not want to hurt the people who choose this- by the way Jennifer O, I really love some of the things that you have posted prior to this issue. It seems like you are a blessing to your 5 kids.

Hi C.,

You can't rush potty training. Make the potty available and praise him if he goes. What you don't want is a power struggle. Most of the time it is the parent that is trained and not the child. Don't let pressure on yourself become pressure on him. He will go when he is ready. 2 1/2 is a little young still.

L. :)

I think you are doing a good job doing that. Eventually he will get it. My daughter took awhile to potty train and I thought she would never get it but after she turned 3 she eventually got it. Pretty soon you will see the signs of when he needs to go. I have heard that cheerios in the potty works for boys. That might be something to try!!

First thing is make sure he's ready. If he's not ready, nothing you do will make him want to use the potty. You can find the signs of readiness at any diaper website or babycenter.com

If he is ready, then you are headed in the right direction. He should feel comfortable sitting on the potty. I used the Potty Train Your Child in One Day method (it's a book but you can also get the basic plot on drphil.com under advice) and it worked (although it took about a week to be fully trained).

If he's not ready, then I would just let it go for another month or two and try again. Sometimes it helps to just bring it up casually. But whatever you do, don't try to force it, otherwise you'll just spend months of the two of you being miserable. It's a lot easier if they want to do it. It also helps if there is something to really motivate him - a particular toy or event or activity. For my son, it was preschool. He was so excited to go, but knew he couldn't go until he used the potty. We took him to the school to see how much fun it was and the next day we started potty training.

Good luck!

C.,

I see you have quite a few responses, but I wanted to let you know that I am going through this right now. My son just turned 2 about 2 weeks ago, and is almost potty trained. We introduced him to it when he was 20 months old, so it has been a long process, but he is doing great right now. He only wears diapers at night, and if we will be out for awhile. While we are out I tell him that if he needs to potty to tell me. If there is a restroom around I take him. I agree with the others that Pull-ups do not help. I have noticed that my son thinks they are the same as diapers. I have about 10 pairs of big boy undies, and as much as possible he is wearing those. He also gets one M&M everytime he goes, and that means alot to him... LOL. Your son is not to young for you to introduce him to it, and just be patient.

Also if he is in Daycare ask them to also make sure he is in the underwear. Just make sure to be prepared for accidents.

Let me know if you have any other questions as we are going through the same thing.

I started with my son about the same age. It helped him to have water running. We started by putting him on the toilet while we ran his bath. Sometimes I still turn on the faucet when I know he needs to go but isnt' relaxing enough to let it come out.

Don't know if this would work for everyone,but the year we had a huge grasshopper infestation, I dropped a 'victim' into the potty and told my son to "Sink the Bismark!" Worked like a charm. I found him outside capturing his own. In fact, his older brother was so enthralled with the system that he stored up. Later when I moved stuff in the freezer, I found a line up of grasshoppers frozen for future use. On the other end we "bombed" them. Now, of course, there are cute little things to toss into the potty. Cheerios would always work...maybe. There was something really appealing about the grasshopper doing the back stroke across the "pool".

I dont think he is too young to start now. My son is 18 months and can pee on cue! I just tell him go pee pee, and you can see his little tummy pushing then out it comes! You have to make it exciting for them, if you just sit him on the potty with nothing to do he's probably not going to get into it right away. I show my son the big toilet and we put a few pieces of paper in it to flush and he thinks thats so cool! And I get very excited and clap and cheer him when he goes when I tell him too and he claps right along with me with a big smile. So, definitely try him, with plenty of encouragement and patience he will be peeing with the big boys!! (or girls!)
Shane

I have twin boys who are now 4 and I pottied trained them when they were about 2, so I don't think that you are starting too early.
ABout 10-15 mintues after he eats, sit him in the potty and rigt when he gets up in the morning and right before he goes to bed. Don't give him liquids at least an hour before he goes to bed, either. Another thing that I did as just let them run round the house naked. I also put underwear on and thy didn't like feeling wet all the time, so they leared pretty quickly. These are suggestions that worked for my two littl guys. I heard putting cheerios in thetoliet, and telling them that it is a game. Appraising them after they go or at least try to go will make them want to please you as well. Good luck
L.

hi ok it might not work for ya but it work for all my kids I took car of um have you tryed to play sink the cheerios lol it helps with aming also for every time he goes in his big boy pottygiv him a sticker to put on a chart when he gets so meny he gets a rewordhe could stay up lattor or a toy it can be eney tinhg and 2.5 is a good asge to start them good luch hugs G.

I wouldn't even think about it until he's 3 to 3.5 years old. It's fun to get him thinking about it, but don't pressure him. And don't let other moms pressure you to get him trained. It is really easier when their a little older.