Using "Toilet Training in Less than a Day"

I'll make this quick since I haven't used the approach you are asking about. But.. My son was 3 when he finally potty trained. And he did? Cause we backed off. I realized for whatever reason I felt he had to be trained before three, he didn't feel the same apparently! Once he made the decision that he was ready? It was a total cakewalk, no bed wetting (3x in 2 years now..), no accidents. He was just ready.. I recomend, as I am doing with my 2.5 year old, wait for him to be ready. They're only little once.

I know this probably isn't what you want to hear....having been there done that myself with two kids in diapers, I completely get where you are at......but the very best thing you can do is lay off the "training". Boys are notorious for being late bloomers in the potty department and he has had a major disruption to his life in the last year. At this point you are right, this is a power struggle and one he can actually win. Two things we cannot control about our kids....what they will actually eat (so what goes in) and what (or rather how/when) it comes back out. :D

Like I said, I totally understand your frustration and irritation with the diaper thing but if he is still 35 months he isn't even 3 yet and there are LOTS and lots of kids that don't potty train until they are over 3. At least you didn't have him trained and then end up with regression when your younger son was born! That said, this would be the approach I would take. I would try really hard to stamp down the irritation and aggravation that helps him know he is getting to you and just talk about how much of a big boy thing it is to go in the potty. That so an so (someone he might look up to) goes potty in the potty and I would really do that completely out of context....like when you are driving the car for example or in the grocery store rather than when you are changing the fifth diaper of the day. Make it something big kids do. Also I would take him to purchase some really COOL underwear, something he picks out that he would want really badly to wear and then make it clear that when he goes pee pee in the potty he can wear them.
All of that will pay off one day, in the not to distant future when voila! he is potty 'trained'. Now this is really just my personal opinion, and I know a lot of people do, buI wouldn't link food to rewards. I think it sets up some really tricky issues for later in their lives, but again that is my personal opinion and you can take it or leave it :).

Hang in there, it WILL get better and you will look back and ask yourself why you were in such a rush for him to grow up.

Hi A.,

I just sucessfully potty trained my son (3yrs 3 months), and he is very wilful too.

*Get Rid of the Diapers* - for good - don't just put them away - have him throw them away - *Do NOT get Pull Ups* - they just confuse the situation.

Go out and purchase about 40 (yes, I said 40) pairs of underware - you are going to need them. Then, carve a weekend out where you do *nothing* but hang out with your child - no cooking, no laundry, nothing. Put your child in underware, and start playing (put down a tarp if you need to for accidents). Then, when he starts to go, pick him up and rush him to the toilet - make it fun! If he gets his underware all wet, just change it - and say - let's try and keep this pair dry. Do not put pants on - just the underware. At this time of year, it's perfect!

Yes, cleaning dirty underware is gross - but inevitable, *all* kids end up with an accident at some point.

After the weekend, my son was running to the toilet- he didn't always make it, but boy did we cheer when he did! It took about 6 weeks for him to completely get it, but now we don't even know he needs to go, until we hear the toilet flush - such relief!

Remember - NO PULL UPS OR DIAPERS - not even in the car - you can get the puppy training pads to put on the car seat, in case he has an accident in the car - when you are in a store, make sure you have plenty of pairs of underware and at least two changes of clothes, and know where the bathrooms are. Suggest trying to go before and after trips, and *anywhere* that has a bathroom. Don't force him to go, just suggest.

You can do it! I call this Potty Training Boot Camp - it's great!

I also have never used this method you mentioned but my best friend has 5 boys and used the transition to underwear with diapers no longer an option and they never went back to diapers. I tried it with my daughter at 2 and we had a few accidents, but after two days she refused to wear a diaper even to bed. My trick was using princess underwear and she would not give them up. We never punished her and gave her stickers for using the potty and she didn't even care about the stickers after a week. Good luck!

I tried this approach with my verbal 3-year old son as well. It was miserable. He thought the doll was riduculous and tried to use it as a hammer. The trial runs after an accident were torture for him and just made him miserable.

From my experience, this approach was the worst idea ever created. It took about a week to two weeks to train my boy, the old fashioned way. Rewards for successes, an "oh no, we'll get it right next time" for accidents. I recommend lots of towels, training underpants help prevent making too much of a mess.

This way makes no struggle, a little extra work for cleanup. I also brought the potty with me into every room we were in. I made sure the potty was always in sight and never too far away. Once he started getting the hang of it, I moved the potty to bathroom and he's been using it ever since.

Good luck. As they say, Rome was not built in a day. And from all the moms I've talked with, none have succeeded in potty training in a day.

S.

I haven't read that book but I read this one- http://www.amazon.com/Potty-Train-Your-Child-Just/dp/0743...
and it sounds similiar, we used the doll and it helped because the focus was taken off of her. I directed her to show the doll how to go and teach the doll and made a big deal about the whole process. In the book I read they did have a few suggestions for older partly trained kids. My girl really responded well. Good luck!

I am not sure about that method either! There are other Potty Training in One Day Methods. One I carry in my store is basically this. You and your son have a little talk about him being a big boy and being ready to be potty trained. Have him pick a day on the calender and let him understand that after that day, no more diapers. Every day point out the day on the calender and make it exciting! Have him involved in picking out his potty seat, training pants, etc. Let him be involved and make decisions. He will feel like he has control over something and he will love the feeling of being responsible his "Big Day."

One the day of no more diapers, do as suggested by other moms. Put him in either cloth training pants or underwear. DO not use disposables as they are way too confusing. He needs to feel like there is a true difference. Take him to the potty all day and don't make a big deal out of accidents. But be sure to praise his successes. It can make for a long day or weekend, but in the end it's totally worth it!

In regards to the doll. You can use a teddy bear or something around the house right now to see if it would be worth it. Have him take the teddy bear to go potty. Have him show the bear how to go potty, etc. These are fun activities to do in preparation of your son being potty trained and it allows him to practice without pressure. If he enjoys helping the bear, the bear may work just fine, but if he thinks it's silly to train a bear and not a baby, the doll might be good. If he wants nothing to do with it, then I wouldn't bother.

I know it seems like he is old enough, but boys do take longer then girls and up to 4 years is the age given for potty training. We had issues with my son at that age, and I just put him back in diapers. When he was about 3 1/4 we tried again by just putting him in underpants. A friend had done this with HER 2 year old boy and it took a week of constant accidents but he did finally catch on. MY son, due I think to his age and readiness, took right to peeing in the toilet. We gave out treats, I know many dont like food rewards but that was what he was into, as candy is a rare thing in our house and it took one little piece. He had maybe 4 accidents AT ALL. Now we are dealing with pooping in the toilet and its a whole new thing.
(we still used diapers at night, which is when he would have his BM, but when he was dry all but 1 day a week we took the diapers away completely)
My children are also close, 21 months, and I am having to put off her training until he is done just for the availability of the toilet LOL.
Good luck!

This may not help, because I never used that method. What worked for my kids was just dressing them in underwear and sweats. I did a lot of laundry for a couple days. They always got a sticker for going, and never punished them for having an accident, just cleaned up without saying anything. It worked for us. Good luck!