Potty Time - Bakersfield, CA

When my son potty trained, he too had his own potty, but it was more of a toy for him. What I ended up doing, when I felt he was ready and able to tell me when he had to go..
I created a "Good Noodle" chart. I just bought a posterboard, and with marker, I drew up the 7 days in the week horizontally and vertically I drew down the dates of the week, as 1 row would be 5/7-5/13 so that way I knew his progress each day.
I bought little star stickers and each time he went potty in the toilet, I have him a star to put on his chart.
It motivated him. And at first, I chose 10 stars, if he reached 10 stars, we could go to the store and pick out a prize. It took awhile to reach those first 10 stars but he did it.
Once he got better and stars came quickly. I bumped up the amount of stars in order to get a prize....needless to say as he became a pro, I couldn't do the prize bribe...so a congratulations and a candy of his choice at the store...the transition was great for me.
*Oh for the stars, I cut up construction paper for play money, and put a star on each construction dollar, so each star dollar represented a star on his chart. I even gave it to him to hand the cashier at the store (to pay for his prize) I would explain to the cashier without him hearing me what his money was, and to please accept it...as I secretly swiped my credit card for payment...:)
This worked great for me, and I hope it is some help to you. Good Luck.

hi-
what worked for my son is reading while he sat on the potty. Now I have books by our toilets, so he can 'read', while he sits. It's a good way to get them to stay. Also, I have a great book to recommend. It's called Diaper free before three. By Jill M. Lekivic. This book has great ideas and methods to use to potty train. Good Luck! K.

Positive reinforcement!!
The system with my son was simple: Peeing on the potty earned a gummy bear for each hand, pooping on the potty earned an ice cream cone leveled to the to of the cone with his favorite ice cream.
Things to note:
1. My son never gets candy and very rarely gets something so sugary as chocolate ice cream. That is what made it so enticing. Make your treat something very special that he only gets at that time.
2. Children are amazingly satisfied with their hands full (my grandmother taught me this). A child with 10 gummy bears in one hand will not be as satisfied as a child with one in each hand. It is amazing. It works with everything; treats toys anything!
Accidents: no big deal. Do not be mad and/or frustrated with your child (not in front of him, at least!). It is a part of potty training and will make this not-such-a-fun-process if he is afraid to tell you everytime he has an accident. This is why children end up hiding their accidents and crying when you ask them what happened. If you child knows that you are not angry, he is more likely to help you with the "why". Did he just not get there in time? Did he have trouble getting his shorts down? If there is just a discussion and not an interragation, this will go much smoother.
TIME: We went to the store and bought toys that were his "potty toys". These were toys that he could ONLY play with on the potty. We bought the best small books, a small magnadoodle and few other things that mde his eyes light up. Sometimes my son would sit on the potty JUST to play with that magnadoodle. Again, because these were so special (ONLY on the potty), it made them more enticing and made "potty training" a very positive experience for him.
Don't get too frustrated!!! If it isn't going smoothly, STOP!! Try again in 3-4 months. Children's bodies develop at different time. MANY times a cihldren who has frequent accidents has a body that is UNABLE to "hold it" as opposed to UNWILLING. Some little boys can potty train by 2. For some 3 is more an realitic age. Listen to you child!

Hi T.,

Potty training are some good times, let me tell ya! From what you've written, it sounds like your little one is showing interest to do his thing on the toilet. When my son, who is almost 6 now, did the same thing as you described, I took some advice from a mom friend of mine and it worked well. What I did was put a sheet next to the potty and would let him put stickers on the sheet when he would sit and do his thing on the potty. Just tell him that he only gets to put a sticker on if he goes ca-ca or pee in the potty, and stick with it. Sometimes it worked, sometimes not, but patience is the key of course above all else. It took me about a week with consistency. All the best of luck!

Hi T.,

I just want to start by telling you not to be to worried, he's only 2. And 2 minutes is a long time for a 2 year old to sit. I have a three year old who just rescently desided the toilet was a good place to put her peepee and poopoo. Until now she was not interested. I had bought her a potty chair when she was about 18 months. Imagine my dismay when at three years and two months she still was not interested. One day it just happened. No fuss no muss just, " Mommy, I PeePeed in the toilet, want to see?" Of course I had to see. And ever since she has made it a point to use it and I don't even have to remind her. Just remember every kid is different. Some pick things up quickly. Others have to think about it for awhile. Don,t let you friends or family pressure or scold you about this. It's his potty and he'll do it when he's ready. Hang in there. The minute you stop stressing he'll surprise you.

Hi. What worked for me was to put the potty in the living room and turn on a favorite movie/show. After a few times of them being successful I would turn off the t.v. and give them books to read. After that I moved it back into the bathroom and always had books for them to look at. It seemed to work for me. A lot of people don't like the idea of a potty in the living room but whatever works..... Hope this helps.

E.

Dear T.,

Just the other day on Oprah, I heard Dr. Oz talk about bowels moving. He said that the muscle that controls the bowels cannot be forced and that it will not work if the person feels uncomfortable or unsafe where ever they are. He said that imagine if you were a 'cave man' and had to watch out for wild animals that would sneak up on you, that it wouldn't be cool if you were in the midst of a bowel movement. So they won't move unless 'they' feel the need and are safe. That sort of gives you a clue about potty training. Just try to notice when he does it in his diapers, then the next time try to catch him when he needs to poop. Then go to the potty chair. I tell you the truth, if I were a little person, I would not like to perch on top of that toilet. Too high up, and 'I' might fall. They probably feel that way too sometimes.

Also, your son may be a little too young for his bowel muscles to be trainable. My 21/2 year old gr grandson is still not potty trained, and we think that he enjoys being taken care of. ....and that is not bad, it is good, he is bonding and bonded with his gr grandmother, grandmother, mother, father, aunt, whoever happens across a full diaper.
Sincerely, C. N.

when my kids first started out, I would pick one of their favorite small treats (for mine it was skittles) and reward them with one skittles just for sitting for a min or two, if they went I'd give them about 5-6 skittles. Eventually they got to where they'd go without the skittles but a little reward for trying is usually a great incentive for a little one.

Hi T.!

I used the doll method with my son at age 2. (Look up "Potty Scotty" on google) I plan to use it with daughter as well.
It worked really well and it was fast and fun! I highly recommend it! :) In fact, my mom trained ME with the same method when it first came out in '77. heheh!
Note: My son DID have problems with going poopoo at first. The pee was no problem. But it turned out that he thought he was "making messies" in the toilet. Once I went around and showed him the toys go in the toybox, dishes in teh cupboard, clothes in the closet and poopoo in the toilet, he was like "ah ha!" and he never had another accident after that. :)

M.

Books are great!! I also take my little girl (2)w me whenever i need to go as well.she is doing really well.even will empty out her own potty in toilet!!she loves to get high 5's and a big hug.