Potty Training? - Keller,TX

Updated on February 20, 2008
H.D. asks from Keller, TX
39 answers

Hi, moms! This is kind of long but I am very anxious about this. This is for those of you with little ones you've recently potty trained. My son is 22 mo. and my pedi told me not to even worry about potty training until after he was 2. As his 2nd b-day gets closer and closer, I am worrying about it. Today I am actually going to go get a book on it so I will be more prepared for the months ahead. I am a first time mom and I have no clue how to potty train a child much less a little boy. I plan on trying for another baby in Dec/Jan and want him potty trained by the time the new baby gets here.

When did you start potty training you son? How long did it take? Do you have any tips or recommended books to help? Do you train little boys to pee sitting or standing at first? Do you recommend a training potty or just getting the seat covers that fit on a regular toilet? Do you mess with Pull-Ups or go straight to undies?

We have the Once Upon A Potty book, doll and dvd. He is showing some signs that he is getting interested in it. He tells me when he has had a BM and sometimes will even bring me a diaper. He even leaves the room when he has to go. Any advice or info will help and be appreciated.

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T.C.

answers from Dallas on

My big advice is DO NOT RUSH IT!! I waited until my son was almost 3 and it went pretty quickly after that. I have friend who pushed it too early and it took twice as long because the child wasn't ready. When I did start, I carried a timer with me and set it for every 20 minutes. When the timer went off, I took my son to the bathroom. We didn't use pull ups because I heard it was better to go straight to underwear but still use diapers at nap/bedtime. The first few days I stuck close to home and would let my son run around bottom-less and after a frustrating few days, I heard the magic sound of tinkling in the toilet on his own. It is easier for them when they don't have to mess with the pants or communicating to us they have to go, hence the bottom-less theory at home. As for sitting/standing, I found it easier to do the stand up method, especially in public restrooms. This way they don't have to touch the toilet. I used to have my son stand on my feet (facing the toilet) so that he could reach the toilet.

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C.R.

answers from Dallas on

The best advice I can give you is to relax. It does sound like he is showing signs of interest but it still may take a little while. The best book I can recommend is Potty Training in less than a day and I taught my boys to sit first. You don't want to take any chances on their aiming ability. Another thing you might consider is if he is waking up from bedtime or nap dry though that does not have to be a determining factor. I had one child that was over 3 and the other was an early two year old when he was done.

I teach a two year old class at a mother's day out program and do lots of potty training. If you are ready then give it a shot. If at first you don't succeed then give him some more time and try again in a couple of months.

Good luck.

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M.K.

answers from Dallas on

I've had 3 sons. When each was ready, they basically trained themselves! I worried about it until it happened. Don't YOU worry -- it will happen beautifully when it is the right time. Got my sons superman, batman, etc. underwear when it was time. They didn't want to ruin their underwear and they were perfect from that day on . . . except for a few mistakes at night when they were in a deep sleep. Now my sons all have sons and I tell them the same thing. When they're ready, they'll train themselves . . . which is exactly what my pediatrician told me!

Good luck!

Doc

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C.M.

answers from Dallas on

If he's already telling you that he needs to have a BM, then that shows he's starting to ynderstand what it's all about! Be consistant. If you are out shopping, take him potty, don't think it's easier to let him go in his pull-ups. Try the seat that attaches to your toilet for the BM's, but let him stand or sit backwards on the regular seat to pee. You can get targets for him to aim at that float in the water. Make it fun, then reward him after each pee. Hugs, praise, or a tiny piece of candy. This works best if he doesn't get candy for anything else. He's too young to understand the reward at the end of the day if he stays dry. Take him every thirty minutes to an hour. Yes this is training you, but it's also giving him the idea to stay dry, what it feels like to be dry, how happy it makes you when he goes, etc. Two yrs. is pretty young, especially for a boy, so if he doesn't want to try, or it isn't going well, put it away for a while. Good luck! But also keep in mind that sometimes the older sibling regresses a little when a new baby arrives. Things like potty accidents are common.
C. m.

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A.S.

answers from Dallas on

Hi H.,
My name is A.. I have a 7 year old boy, and an 8 month old girl. I found that potty training has everything to do with the child. I started potty training Gavin at 2 years old. He was not ready yet. It took a lot of trial and error, and getting him interested in it. If your son is interested the process will go faster. I used the potty seat so that I could use it when we were out. We loved it. Also it is best to use undies instead of pull ups, so they will get uncomfortable when they wet on themselves. It will speed up the process. Most boys are not potty trained until 3 or even after. Our son was potty trained two months before his 3rd birthday. I would say teach him to pee standing up because it is cleaner. When they sit down the pee goes everywhere. It is hard for them to control it sitting down. It will go between the seat and the toilet on to the floor. Also I used to tell him to "Make bubbles" because when the pee hit the water it would cause bubbles. That way he paid attention to where the pee was going, and I had a cleaner bathroom. I hope this helps. The main thingis not to stress. Everyone ends up potty trained after all.
Thanks,
A.

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M.T.

answers from Dallas on

My son was trained at barely 25 months. It only took 3 days of staying at home, with his pants off. That is the advice my mother had given me (she raised 5 of us!), so I followed it! For 3 days, I did no running around, and just stayed home. I kept his pants off completely, and moved a little potty with us from room to room. I asked him every 20-30 mins if he had to go. My mother said that they have to be able to feel the feeling, and see the result. He did great! That first day, he had a couple of little accidents, but figured out quickly what the sensation of having to go was, and he would go sit. We had read some books about it beforehand too. He learned fast. After the first day, he didn't have another pee pee accident (one poop one - but thankfully it was on the tile floor!). He had one accident in each new situation - meaning once I put underwear on him, he peed once in them before realizing that he needed to sit on the potty even if he was wearing pants. He had one accident out at a store, before realizing he had to ask me to go. That was it! I kept a diaper on him for naps/night - he usually chose those times to go poop. Eventually (6 mos or so?) he told me one night that he didn't need the diaper any more, and that was it. My daughter pretty much trained herself at 21 mos. My baby is now 19 mos, and she is already using the potty sometimes (I'm not quite ready to commit her to underwear, but I will once spring hits!).

My feeling is that you go with your child. My kids were easy, really, but I think it is because I stayed home & let them learn what it is all about. You can't be running a million different places and expect them to be comfortable with it. As someone else mentioned, give it a try, and if he doesn't take to it, stop, and try again a few months later.

I think that a 2 1/2 yr old or 3yr old is harder to train, because they have developed more stubborness. My kids never saw it as a battle with mom, it was just something they did. I also think it is harder for a child to learn it while at daycare/preschool, because there is so much else exciting going on!

Good luck! And don't worry - everyone learns to use the potty eventually :)
P.S. My son learned sitting down, and still sits probably 75% of the time (he's almost 6). My friend's son didn't learn quickly, however, until his grandma held him up to the toilet facing it - he preferred to stand!

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H.H.

answers from Dallas on

We didn't even start potty training until a few months before his 3rd birthday. He is now 3 and potty trained (day time only). Just stayed home for a few days and took him to the potty every 30 minss....even if he didn't have to go. We always made him sit and try. Never really had to force it upon him...just used little rewards for EVERY time he went on the potty for the 1st week, then if he stayed dry until nap time he got a reward, etc. We called "diapers" night time pants, but pull ups and underwear were called "big boy pants" and he liked those! We made a trip to store so he could pick out his very own underwear.

Good luck!

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L.S.

answers from Dallas on

I think the best advice I got regarding potty training was not to push it, make sure it was the child's idea and to not stress about it. Remember, there aren't any kiddos who go to kindergarten in their diapers. Whether you do pull ups or diapers makes little difference except for price imo.

What we did was to let our son take the lead. We got a book and read it to him when he was about 2. We also got a seat thing for the toilet and let him sit on it, first in his clothes and then later without. If he ever showed any disinterest or didn't want to sit on it, we just backed off. There is no point in pushing it. A friend of mine calls it potty learning not training and I think that's a good way to put it.

I think a lot of people think/hope their kids are showing the signs but what I think we fail to realize is that it sometimes takes months and months before they really are ready. Mine told us he had a poo in his diaper (after the fact) for months long before he ever pooed in the potty.

When they're ready, they are ready and there's probably little you can really do to push it. Some of my friends tried all sorts of bribes and incentives, but they seldom worked for a kid under 3. In the end, the kid just decided he or she wanted to use it. My son potty trained before most of his peers (he was 2 1/2 and most of them were over 3). We never used stickers, candy or any sort of bribe. He just made up his mind one week and by the end of the month he was done. He still needed pull ups at night for a few months after that (night times are a different story for some kiddos and has more to do with physical maturity than training), but otherwise has been fairly accident free.

Just let him take the lead. Encourage, but don't push. If he has a lot of accidents, he's not ready. Keep in mind he may be closer to 4 before he makes up his mind. Your ped has the right idea. I think if you have that thought in your head, anytime they decide to do it before then just seems like icing on the cake.

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T.C.

answers from Dallas on

The best possible advice I can give you is to not sweat it. Only begin potty training once your child shows he is ready. Going 2 hours or more with a dry diaper, waking up from naps dry, showing an interst in you using the potty, wanting to sit on the potty on his own. If you force it it will become a power struggle that you will ultimately loose. My son trained fairly early @ 2.5(I had no intention on training him yet because his sister was due in a few months and I knew if he did begin to understand what he was supposed to do he would likely regress when his sister was born)But since he showed interest I went with it. It was very easy at that time. I will give you some tips but remember if your child is not willing then they won't work. First, I would give up the time line goal. It will happen when it happens not according to your schedule. But things you can do to peak his interest and provide familiarity with the process is... Every day as part of your bath time routine have him sit on the potty while the water is running. It doesn't matter if he actually goes potty the importaint thing is to get him used to sitting on it in a non threatening or pressured way. Second, do the begining of training with him in his diaper, this would be the time you are just familiarizing him with the process(pull ups are a waist of money, and the kids see them a diapers, they do have their purpose but not in toilet teaching at this stage)then move preferably to naked while at home with a diaper in public. Once he seems to have all things good at home move to underwear in public. Take MANY changes of clothes (including socks and shoes, most don't think of this) and expect accidents. Handle them (accidents) as no big deal, just change his clothes and go on with life, he will get the hang of it soon. You can expect night time training to come latter than day time (this is when pull ups come into play. Once a child is trained well durring the day you don't want to put them in a diaper at night so you put them in "night time underware" aka Pull ups.)to answer some of your other specific questions. you do teach them to pee sitting down first, some find sitting on the toilet backward to work well as they can easily get into this position by themselves and they have more room in front of them to get the pee in the bowl instead of on the wall across form them. I would suggest using the regular toilet since when you transition to public pottytrainging you won't be carring a potty around with you. I hope this helps. I have helped potty train many kids in my 2 year old class years ago and had two children of my own potty train without any stress. These methods do work. You can send me private messages if you want and I can answer any othe questions you may have. i hope this helps. Sorry it is so long. :)

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M.F.

answers from Dallas on

H.
22 months may be a bit early to begin potty training - especially for Boys since they are not as progressive as little girls. I would wait until he is little older about 2 1/2. When it's time - you will know. I had some friends tell me that they have used the Cheerios trick for boys. Put some Cheerios in the toilet and make a game out of trying to sink the "O".

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S.R.

answers from Dallas on

Relax. Worrying about potty training will only make it harder for both of you. My first 2 kids trained right after their 3rd birthdays. We tried a week or so in underwear a few months earlier, but the only result was that I spent way too much time cleaning up messes. (White vinegar is great for getting urine out of carpets and sofas: kills germs and eliminates the smell.) Pull Ups were just low-capacity diapers in my house - convenient for diaper changes at the park or other places you don't really want your child lying down, but useless as "underwear" because the child doesn't feel wet. My son and daughter both trained fastest (transition complete in about a week) when I could let them be bare-bottomed at home for a while to avoid the confusion of, "Is this a diaper on me or underwear? so Can I pee in it or not?" My older two are 2 years and 4 months apart, and I'm glad I didn't have a freshly potty trained 2 year old to deal with at the same time as a newborn. Two in diapers was easier for me, because you don't have to sprint to a bathroom when a diaper is wet, but you MUST when your freshly trained 2 year old says I gotta go! The potty chair was in the bathroom soon after the 2nd birthday so if they felt like using it, great. I praised them anytime they did this, but didn't push it. Consistency is the issue...you drive yourself crazy if you can't trust your child to go to the potty reliably without you suggesting it. That's how it worked in our house. Whatever you decide for your house, remember that there is no prize for early training. Do what is comfortable for your family, not what you think you "are supposed" to do.

SAHM of 3: 7yrs, 5yrs, 11mos.

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A.C.

answers from Dallas on

hi H. i understand your confusion on potty training i am a mother of 4 15,13,5,3 i have been remarried for 10 years this is why the age gap between my kids.ok were to begin every one of my children potty trained at a different age my girl faster than my boys one as early as 17mths my boys almost 4 :( the doctor said they will let you know when they are ready but my advice is no pull ups with my older children they didnt have pull ups and they potty trained much faster i think with pull ups we cant tell when they pee really the first time and it doesnt give them that same wet feeling underwear or panties do they.a pull up does not look much different to them as a diaper.try putting him on the potty once every 15 min and see if he needs to go let him set there for a min or 2 and then let him get up it lets him get used to the potty and maybe even accidently use it :) then you can do the potty dance! my youngest one started using the potty 3 days ago on her own after me trying desperately for the last year ultimately they will decide when they are going to use it.expect some accidents m son is 5 and sometimes wets the bed i wish i had all the answers but H. i dont just sharing what i have experienced i think its a trial and error kind of thing but definitely go to big boy underwear except when you go out u may want to take a pull up or an extra suit of clothes ;) good luck and let me know how it works out for ya!

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L.S.

answers from Dallas on

My first son was not fully trained until he was three, I started just after he turned two. If you start and he just isn't getting it, IT IS OK TO STOP AND START OVER LATER. which is what I had to do. Pick a time that you can devote your full attention to the training, and I mean full attention.
I bought him a little potty, but the big potty was where he ended up. We started him sitting backwards "making bubbles" and he eventually started standing on his own after watching daddy and daddy teaching him how to aim, etc. BMs were more difficult for us, it was a process he just had to work through on his own.
It is very individual, I thought he would be so easy, but that wasn't the case.
Good luck, be flexible!
L.

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A.G.

answers from Dallas on

You have already gotten a lot of good advice. All I want to add is that if you wait until they are ready it is so much easier on you and on the child. I have two boys, ages 10 and almost 4. My oldest was potty trained at 3 and a half, my youngest at just over 3. We had a potty chair available from the time they were about 2, but didn't push it. Then when they were FINALLY (it seemed to take forever) ready, we threw away all the diapers, skipped pull-ups entirely, and went straight to underwear. It took one weekend with very few accidents to have each of the boys completely potty trained, day and night. They were ready, and that made all the difference. They were also old enough to have the bladder control they needed and the understanding of what they needed to do. Good luck! This is one of the more difficult parts of parenting.

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C.P.

answers from Dallas on

Hi H.,
I too am getting ready to potty train my first child. She turned 2 in January. The book that was recommended to me is, "Toilet Training in Less Than a Day" by Azrin & Foxx. There is TONS of information and articles on the internet, one website is this one.
http://www.pottytrainingconcepts.com/Potty-Training/How-t...
I think you could read 1000 different articles on how to and when to, and how do you know when your child is ready to.
Most people that I talk to say they did it without pullups except at night. I think once we start we will try that. Maybe pullups for car trips and sleeping. we'll see.

Good Luck,
C.

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K.I.

answers from Dallas on

The answer to all of your questions (yes, all) is yes!

Basically, potty training is their last little bit of control, so they do it when they are ready. It may not be until after your second baby comes. Don't stress over it though. It will happen.

Both of my sons were close to 4 before they were completely dry.

My first son started to pee in a little seat, but then slowly graduated to the big potty, standing up. My second one always stood up in the big potty.

Get their daddy involved, since he's got the same equipment.

Buy the little seat if that's what he seems interested in.

Basically, you do whatever it takes. Or even everything!

Good luck
K.

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J.K.

answers from Denver on

Use Dr. Phil's potty training advice. He teaches how to potty train in 3 days, and IT WORKS!

I can't remember the details, but we did it for a day and a half when we were at Target & my little boy said, "Mommy, I have to go potty." I looked at him like, "You've got to be kidding. We're only a day and a half into a 3 day program!" My next thought was, "Oh geesh. Here we go having to stop the shopping trip to go potty. It was a lot easier when I could change a diaper when we got finished!"

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J.P.

answers from Dallas on

I used pull-ups but went for the store brand because the name brand is no different than diapers and hoped that if they didn't feel as comfortable he wouldn't want to stay in them that long. Unfortunately that was not the case, I started my son at age 2 and he wasn't fully potty trained until about 3 1/2. I too was a first time mom and had no idea what I was doing. I think I pushed a bit too hard because once I finally left him alone, he figured it out pretty quickly. He learned to pee sitting down at first but it didn't take long for him to want to stand like his Daddy. It took much longer for the pooping on the potty though, he would pee for about 6 months and then one day he said he wanted his "privacy" and shut the door, he has been potty trained ever since.

When I tell you I tried everything I am not kidding: videos, books, sticker calenders, regular underwear (hoping that he wouldn't like to be wet, no he didn't care). He did not like the little potty and would only go on the big potty with a seat cover on it. My daughter is about to turn 2 in April and she has already gone once on the potty but I am letting her set the pace. If she wants to sit on her little potty, thats fine but if not no pushing this time.

Hope this helps.

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C.M.

answers from Dallas on

There's no 'right' time. I will say that both of my kids are/were easy to potty train. (My daughter is working on it now - she'll be 2 on 3/17). My son was in undies by his 2nd birthday (literally - the week of the party).

I didn't do pullups, except for at night. Only undies during the day. It took about a week with my son - and it's messy, but he was ready they do get it at this age.

good luck

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H.J.

answers from Dallas on

H.,
Wow, potty training is a difficult time, or can be. If your son is showing some interest, that is great, but don't push. My son was 4 (your saying "Oh great"), but we had other issues going on.
We got both a seat for the toilet and a training toilet. You can start teaching boys to sit, whatever is more comfortable for you both. Something fun for them is to put Cheerios in the big potty, and let him try to aim for them.
Having the Once Upon A Potty Book, the doll and dvd are a great start. Good luck.
H.

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E.G.

answers from Dallas on

H.,

I have 5 kids, 3 are potty trained. Two are in diapers. ONe of which is 33 month olds, the other is 5 months old. I have yet to start potty training is 33 month old. I have waited until they are much closer to 3 years old. It is much easier on everyone. ONe clue for me is that they start waking up w/ dry diapers. My 33 month old isn't there yet. There is a book by Dr. Sears in story format that I have that I have read to all my kids about going potty. I'll try to find the book and email you.
E.

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A.F.

answers from Dallas on

I have only girls but my sister has a boy. In my opinion you are foolish to even consider potty training before 2. Frankly both of my girls were a push to get it together by 3 and I hear boys are much harder. As for the actual physical logistics, I have no idea, sorry. -Nita

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S.W.

answers from Dallas on

My son is 20 mos old and we have started. He is in montessori school, and they start as early as 18 mos. They say there is a critical time when they start showing interest to jump on it - so he is READY! If you are lucky enough to have a montessori school near you, they will do it for you! They put the kiddos in cotton underwear so they know when they are wet. I dont know much more as we just started - but he is ready!

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H.D.

answers from Dallas on

We didn't push potty training with our son and it turned out to be soooo easy. He was a couple months shy of 3 when he became fully potty trained. I really believe the key to success with the least amount of frustration to both parties (especially with boys)is to wait until it is their idea (or at least convince them into thinking it's their idea!) to use the potty. Another good indicator of readiness is if they wake up dry from naps fairly regularly. We started with the training potty and had him sit to pee or if we happened to be outdoors we would encourage him to pee on a tree or bush. I know that sounds uncivilized, but it made it fun for him to "water" the trees and it started the transition from sit to standing while urinating. As far as #2 goes I tried to take advantage of his sense of humor and a "Treasure Box" filled with inexpensive toys like hot wheels, etc... He was completely potty trained (except for night time when we used pull-ups) during our Spring Break and he's only had a handful of accidents...no poop ones either!! I hope our second son will be as easy!! Hope this helps. Good luck!

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T.S.

answers from Dallas on

H., I have a boy and 2 girls and I think boys are difficult with potty training. My sister has a boy 16 mos older than mine and she kept telling me to be patient. I didn't start trying to teach my son until he was almost 3 years old. At times I thought he was interested but he wasn't. You can't pressure them because you'll just have more headaches in the end and it will take longer. I wanted to accomplish this on my timeline because I had my 3 children very close together but in the end I accepted that I had 3 in diapers and some of it had to be their decision about when they were ready. I also had fears about training a boy too. Some teach their sons to sit on the potty facing backwards and then it's not weird for them to start standing up. My son liked this method. Others use cheerios to make it fun and have target practice. I'm amazed at how many mothers of boys who I talk to who seemed to have their child potty trained all around the same age as mine (3 years, 7 months). It's really weird how many other boys that we're associated with all hit that age and were ready to get rid of their diapers and not look back. Be patient.

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A.M.

answers from Dallas on

I'm a grandmother but when I was potty training I found the book Potty Training in Less than a Day--it was fabulous and worked on my kids. I have since shared it with my daughter in laws. It makes it fun for both you and your child. Good luck! A.

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C.H.

answers from Dallas on

i have 2 sons and did not potty train until they turned 3. however my 2nd was way more interested earlier but i have 3 kids all 2 years apart so at each of their 2nd birthday i was having a new baby.

i did not use pull ups because i feel like it was a safety crutch that they get use to. i did have to do alot of laundry but they eventually got it! one thing is to have goals like giving stars and special treats whatever works for your child but hot wheels worked great after like 5 stars. then once they had several dry days we would go to chuck e cheese or something like that!

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D.M.

answers from Dallas on

Hi H.~ As a mom of two boys & one who works with little kids, your pediatrician is right with points... Boys are harder (I've heard & compared with friends), but I feel like I was lucky with boy my boys potty trained (day time only) at 2.5 years. The best thing I can tell you for success is to follow Tucker's lead... if you do it too soon, it will fail and be frustrating to both of you. The child has to have the cognitive & behavioral skills to be successful - they need to associate the "feeling" with then going to the bathroom. For my oldest, seeing other "older 2s" potty (he was in day care x3 days/week helped. He loved getting sticker rewards - my little one did not. It wasn't till a friend asked me if I had ever had a "Potty Party," that I followed her instructions and almost within the same day the littlest one was dry. I think we had 1 accident a day for three days initially - not none. Dependingon your schedule and Tucker's - waiting til summer might be good & carefree (no schedules to worry about)... plus if he needs to run around naked (not having to worry about getting pants down), it will be warmer. ;o)

Good luck; we are cheering you on.
--D.

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E.L.

answers from Dallas on

He's a boy, start now having him go to bathroom with daddy. They will "do it" together and he gets the idea that this is a "big boy" thing to do. Don't look for him to suddenly be trainede because he turns two. The doctor should have been clearer with you. I's a good idea to start but what he was saying is don't get up tight about it. Get him pull=ups so he can do it himself. For poop, it's a good idea to ssit awhile after breakfast. Let him read a book but don't make him sit too long if nothing happens. It's just to get a routing started. Avoid rewards!!!!

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B.F.

answers from Dallas on

Wow H., have you told Tucker all your plans and expectations yet? He may not agree, or even be able to agree.

When my son was 27 months old my neighbor came over, picked him up and held him in front of the toliet and he pee'd. By using stickers and rewards he was completely potty trained in 3 months. My second child however, started wanting to use the potty at 18 months. She is now 6 years old and I would say she's barely potty trained. She detests going #2 in the potty, and will hold it until her belly hurts and she dirty's herself! She has her own plans and the more I pushed the worse her behavior was. Good luck, take a deep breath and relax! Tucker will get it when he's ready - not you! If he potty trains at 2 great, but if he's not ready please don't push him. Some kids aren't ready until 3 or even 4. Why the big rush? He has a good 80 years to live as a potty trained person. Please put it in perspective.

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W.B.

answers from Dallas on

My son "pee" trained right after he turned 3 and he refused to "poop" on the potty for 7 months after that. He would take off his underwear, put on a pull up, poop, have us change him and put on clean underwear! It was insane. I finally told him that we didn't have any more pull ups and he had to do it on the potty. He held it in for 3 days then finally went poop on the potty. He's never had an accident since that day and he's 6 1/2 now! Ya NEVER know what each kid will do. Don't rush them. It just upsets them and you! My daughter is 3 1/2 and just potty trained a few months ago. She has accidents here and there but otherwise does great. She even refused to sleep in a pull up!! All kiddos are different. Good luck!

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A.J.

answers from Dallas on

Good luck. I have 3 boys and the oldest was not potty trained until 4 and the middle is 3 and still not trained. Boys take longer and areoften not trained until 3-4. I would not even try until you see cues that he is ready. It can take longer if you try when he is not mature enough or ready to do it. most boys take longer to mature than girls both physcially and socially.

We got an Elmo potty training video and just let the kids watch it over and over then they got it. it also helps to put them in a little Mothers day out program a couple of ways a week where they work on it as well...

Have fun with all that!
A. :)

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B.W.

answers from Dallas on

My son was 1 month shy of being 3. He decided it was the right time and it was. Even though we were on vacation! When we got back after that week he rarely had accidents again. We have to be careful about no drinks after dinner to avoid a wet bed, but other than that it was easy.

The trick is that you have to be really laid back about it. There's nothing you can really do to expedite it so you have to not care when it happens. Then it will happen naturally, be easy, and your kid won't have an issues surrounding using the bathroom.

We used undies with plastic covers and we had the Once Upon a Potty potty along with the book. He loved his special potty. Then he switched to standing at the big potty using a step-stool (he was too short to get the pee in the pot!)

Good luck to you. Just relax and let it happen in your son's time.

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A.H.

answers from Dallas on

One tip my mother-in-law gave me worked really well with my daughter, especially for #2. We left her completely bottomless for a few days when we were at home and she only had to pee on herself about 3 times to realize that going on the potty was a MUCH better alternative! This worked even better for #2, she only had one accident and used the potty chair ever after :) My pediatrician also recommended putting a stack clean underpants near her play area and to tell her that if she had an accident to take off the wet underpants, wipe off and put on a clean pair. This way she would feel more in control of the whole process.

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C.D.

answers from Dallas on

Dear H.,

Your Pediatrician is right. Being a Registered Nurse and a mother I understand both scopes of the spectrum. If you are concerned, Dr. Phil had a show on potty traing and I liked it. He focused on the mother's need and child's need. Not only was it informative but it WORKED!

Good Luck,
C. RN

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K.B.

answers from Dallas on

He will let you know when he's ready to start by being interested. I always kept his potty chair right there in the bathroom alongside the toilet so he could sit when dad or mom sat. My children were allowed to come into the bathroom anytime they wanted. Often he would sit when I sat and then sometimes he would say he had to potty too. So we would remove his shoes and pants and he would sit. There will be many false alarms but he will begin to understand and it will happen by accident.

When he was about 2 1/2 when he said he had to potty, I would put a Cherieo in the toilet and tell him to try to sink it with his potty, this teaches him to keep the pee pee in the potty. it worked like a charm. I also had an M&M man he could pull the arm and have 5 M&M's or skittles when he put his pee pee in the potty. he trained very quickly and pull-ups only prolonged it. Being around other kids (Part time day care) really helps to incent them to be like the big kids.

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M.E.

answers from Dallas on

My son is 12 now but I remember his potty training well. We tried everything but what worked was skipping the pull-ups and going straight to undies. Feeling the wetness on his skin worked wonders! After we went to undies, he was potty trained in about 3 days. Good luck!

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M.S.

answers from Dallas on

The book "Early Start Potty Training" by Linda Sonna is excellent! I used it to train my son and he is going without diapers in the day, with a couple of accidents. He is 21 months.
Definitely get him to pee sitting down, on his own potty. The book goes into all that and also recommends what underwear to use.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/007145800X/ref=s9_flash_...

Good luck!

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A.V.

answers from Dallas on

H.,

I just remind myself that my son will be potty trained at some point. He'll be 3 in June. He loves to go on the potty but does not remember to tell me. The most important thing is not to pressure you or him. It will happen in due time. My goal is to have him trained by 3. All kids are different. So, just go with the flow. He'll let you know when he's ready.

Good luck!

A.

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