Potty Training - Minneapolis,MN

Melanie, I was kinda sneaky about potty training my boy. At about 13 months old I started to make him strip down for his bath every night and then sit on the potty while I filled the bath tub. Usually the sound of the running water would make him go, and then I would casually point out to him that he was going potty. Bonus for me was that he wasn't peeing in the tub anymore! I was even happier when he woke up one morning at 18 months and announced he was done with diapers (and he really was completely done with them within a week). He's now 3 and still follows the routine of sitting on the potty while the tub fills.

"Aiming" at the chereeos worked very well with both my boys. We keep a bag in the drawer by the toilet, also stickers. Preschool has helped a great deal. He's learned by watching his peers (only goes to school 2 days a week, but they basically have potty trained him).

He Melanie,

My son is almost 3 and we just potty trained last month (successfully). Like you, I waited as others had indicated that it would just sort of magically happen one day (that he would want to go). Well, maybe if you wait long enough and they start to feel embarrassed that's true, I don't know as I finally stopped waiting for some "sign" and just did it. It wasn't that hard and I wish I had done it sooner. Took a good 1-2 days before he even really "got" what was happening when he would pee. After that, pretty smooth sailing and he has done very well.

At first, he resisted even sitting on the potty -- I think because he did not want to take the time out from playing to do it -- but, yes, I did "push" in a matter of fact kind of way that he had to sit on the potty as "wet underpants are no fun" (I said this over and over and over). The best advice I received was to plan to stay home for at least 2-3 days, no tv, dedicate yourself to the task -- don't plan to do much else over those couple of days, wear underpants exclusively (NO DIAPERS OR PULLUPS), and keep on a solid surface floor, if possible. :-) Also, as someone else said, do not get angry or show aggrevation at all -- just get "bummed" at an accident (it is a bummer, after all) -- I would just say, awwww, what a major bummer (with much sadness), wet underpants are no fun! Then, it was my son's responsibility to take off his wet pants, wipe up himself and the floor with a rag, put the wet things in the laundry, and get and put on dry pants. Then, we would "practice" going to the potty for the next time -- he would have to sit on the potty -- not to go, but just for a second, to reinforce that is where we should go to pee. He would have to practice a handfull of times with each accident. He did not like to practice at all (and fussed and cried), but again, I empathized rather than punished and agreed that it was a major bummer to have an accident.

I used the "Potty Scotty" training pants -- they are wonderful. Thick, yet they know they are wet. We still use them when going out for the day, just in case (helps keep the wet from getting all over). Just look for "Potty Scotty" online. We bought 12 pairs and I was wondering if it was overkill, but no, I certainly needed every last one, lol!

By the way, my husband was the one who ended up cleaning up the one very messy underpants mess. Now, my husband is one who can't even clean up dog poop from the yard without gagging. I had just gotten home from the store and as he was cleaning up, I couldn't help but laugh so hard at his reactions that I had tears -- then he started laughing, too. So, in a way, potty training actually created a great memory for us. :-)

Good luck. It's a messy couple of days, but then all good!!

Does your little one ever bother you when you're on the computer? Hang on a minute.......Ok, I'm back now! The one thing that really started it all off and made my son want to at least try to go on the potty was all the funny and cute stuff on the internet. We saw short movies on youtube, japanese potty training videos (WILD stuff!)and song excerpts from other videos. Somehow, seeing it in front of Mommy and Daddy's big grown up computer got him in the big kid frame of mind.
Now once you actually start training him, I have no advice. I was never good at training with any consistency, and it always took forever. Good luck to us both.

My kids love the book, Once Upon a Potty. They are all potty trained now, but when I ask them what book they want they ask for that one. Thomas likes the part when they are try to figure out the strage new thing and asks is "Is it a Hat? No! It isn't a hat" and it goes on for four pages trying to figure out what the potty is. My youngest loves the Elmos Potty Time video. The biggest thing I have learned with my kids, was that they wanted to be in control. If I asked about going potty they refused to try, but when they thought it was their idea then just try to stop them:)

Everyone has given great advice! Also realize a child is not going to really just be like, "I'd like to try the potty now, I think!" The fact that he has showed some interest says he is ready for a little guidance from you to push it along. You can lead a kid to the potty but you can't make him pee! That's my motto! Take him in, don't ask. Reward him for trying in the beginning, then move it along to rewards for actually peeing once he gets the hang of sitting. I have always used stickers or single M&Ms for small rewards. Praise and encouragment go pretty far with the potty! Let him pick out some undies and don't go back once you move to using them! It is the fastest, least confusing way to go!

Potty training 101
It just doesn't happen. YOU have to be dedicated and not change your mind and put a diaper on because you are going shopping or whatever. I never ask if a child "has to go" I just tell them "it is time to try". Many children like the real potty (the thrill of flushing) I put one on top of the potty with a stool below. Start with a schedule of every 1/2 hour or so. You can tell when a child's body is ready when they have many dry diapers during the day. They should be off of the bottle, be able to pull up and pull down their own pants. I like summer best because we are outside the most.
Never be angry during this time, just very encouraging, maybe a bribe or two will work (Girls like silky panties, boys character underwear) for success. Have them be somewhat responsible for tiding up after an accident, (put dirties in the hamper etc.) I think the 4 ply potting training underwear works best, they need to "feel" when the potty comes out of their body. These are the terms or words I use. Another thought...If they rebel in the beginning, they are not willing or ready. I make it sound exciting, grownup and with rewards.
Hope this helps, M. in Wisconsin

There are lots of potty training books...both for adults and kids. I liked "The Everything Potty Training Book" for me--mostly because it touched on the various ways to potty train and gave me an idea of what I felt would work for me and for my son...and what wouldn't work for us. I also bought the DVD "Elmo's Potty Time." My son didn't care for it but he had never really watched Sesame Street and didn't know who Elmo was. I also bought "Once Upon a Potty," "My Big Boy Potty," and "Too Big for Diapers." I can't tell you how many times I've read them. I started reading them when my son was between 20-24 months old and we still read them (even though he's almost completely trained). My personal preference of the three is "My Big Boy Potty" but my son likes them all. I started the "prep work" of potty training when my son was 20 months old (reading the books, keeping the potty chair where he could see it and play with it, and talking about how he would go pee and poop in the toilet or the potty when he got older...just like Mom and Dad). We didn't actually start truly training him until he showed interest in wanting to sit on the toilet with the seat up (he had been afraid of it previously). He was about 2.5 years old when I started training him. I used the thick underwear and plastic pants for training him. Within a few days I managed to "catch" my son right after he woke up from nap. Things started to "click" after that but it takes awhile. We still have an occasional accident and we're still working on the poop training. The best advice I got was to remain positive about potty training and be consistent (whatever method you use). Good luck :)

I introduced my son to the potty chair at age 1. He did end up peeing in it, but I don't think he quite understood what happened. I gradually started "training" by putting him on the potty before I put him on the bath and/or when I went potty.
By age 2, I wanted to start training more, so I would give him more liquids during the day and take him to the potty about every hour. We would count the stairs or the number of steps it would take to get to the potty (just for something fun to do on the way). Then, I would sit him on the chair and read and/or sing a song while we waited for him to go. Also, while on this little ritual, I put him in big boy cloth underwear during the day. We went through alot of laundry in those 2 weeks, but finally got him trained during the day (nighttime took a little longer).
As for #2's on the potty, that's another whole story, lol. For some reason he didn't like to poop in the potty.

You have gotten some good advice but here's what worked for us:

We started by just letting our daughter (now 2.5) sit on the potty when she wanted to, then we started encouraging her to try more often about every 1.5hrs and started using a potty chart with different goals for which she got stickers and a bigger prized when she master each task (sat on potty, peed on potty, pooped on potty, wiped, washed hands....found cute ones for free on internet). We tried pull ups but she just peed in them like a diaper so we stayed with diapers. Next we potty trained her dolly. My daughter really likes Elmo and Dora so we watched their Potty Videos and read the books to Dolly and after 1 week Dolly was trained. Next it was DDs turn. The "Pee Pee Fairy" came and took all her diapers and left a bunch of big girl panties in all different colors and some with her favorite characters, and a box of pull ups for bedtime only. She was really excited and the "Fairy" even called to congratulate her after her first week. It been about 2 months now and she has only had 1 pee accident and usually goes in all by herself. She still isn't as confident with the pooping and sometimes asks for a pull up, which we let her have because we don't want that to become a problem.

Good Luck,
M.

Great advice from Marie so I won't repeat it.

We used a great book called The Potty Trainer which you can download on line.

My daughter was potty trained at 21 months during the day and just over 2 she was night trained. You need to be clear that this is expected, not requested.

And keep calm with the accident. Once you go to underwear, no going back.

Good luck,
K.

We have not started potty training out almost 2 year old, but we have been taking some subtle steps to get the idea in without forcing him to do anything.

We take him to the bathroom with us when we need to go. Strange? Absolutely. But he's young enough that he won't be looking at you weird for doing that and he's getting the idea that people sit on a toilet. I only do it when I urinate and when I'm done I wave the urine good bye when I flush. So he sits on his potty chair (with clothes at this point) and when he stands up he says "bye P, bye P". ha ha He also attempts to get some toilet paper for himself. Then we both wash our hands before exiting the bathroom... of course! So he's got an idea of what his potty chair is for, that he will need to use toilet paper and that you wash your hands afterward (he gets his hands washed after diapering too).
My husband also takes him and obviously when he urinates things work differently so my son is learning about this method as well.
I read about this idea someplace and we thought, why not? It seems that we are being successful in laying out a good foundation for the formal potty training. At the very least, it's not some frightening item for him.

take him at predictible, reliable times. getting up in the morning, before and after meals (about 10 minutes after) and 10-15 minutes after a drink. my son likes to read books though it did take him a while to get used to sitting there. he likes it now. hes 22 1/2 months.

anyway, usborn books has a few potty stories : www.usbornforthefuture.com is my website!

also www.askdrsears.com might have some useful info. i havent researched a lot yet cuz my son isnt quite old enough to concentrate on it yet... and thats ok. but good luck to you!

I read ''Potty Training 123'' by Gary and Anne Marie Ezzo. Its has alot of helpful information. Its a super easy read, I read it in 1 afternoon. It really helped jump start her interest in potty training.

We used jelly beans! My daughter would initially get a jelly bean for sitting on the potty and trying to go. After she was sitting on the potty frequently we stepped up the requirements to actually going potty to get jelly beans. Two jelly beans for going potty and three for poop. She now is 32 months old and fully potty trained. YEAH!! It worked great for us, hope it helps.

Don't worry too much! My son will be 3 in a few weeks and he is still in diapers. Not because I want him to be, but because he refuses to even try to sit on the potty. He has underwear (several different styles) but he refused to wear them. He is also a bit afraid of the toilet, but also refuses to sit on the potty chair and doesn't wish to pick out a new one. He will tell me point blank that he wants to be in diapers. So my point is, that no matter what you try... in the end it's their call on when and how they potty train. Books and movies can't hurt to help get the idea in their heads, but no matter what you try you can't force the issue on them. My bet is that if he's interested now... he'll get there soon, but make sure it's on his own terms. Good luck!

My son was potty trained at 27 months. I used the timer method. Set the timer for 30 minutes and when it goes off get him to the potty, sometimes it was a little challenging pulling him away from his toys, but after a day or so of this routine, he would jump up and go when he heard the timer. I gave him plenty to drink during potty training to make sure we saw results in the potty.

Good luck!

With our son, who turned 2 in May, we left him naked from the bottom down around the house. After plenty of accidents that we cleaned up together, he didn't really want to mess the floor any more. We nevr yelled at him or anything, we just told him he should start going on the potty chair, etc. He really hated the potty so much for a few months before that we had it hiding in the closet. One day we were downstairs and he looked like he had to go, so I got out the potty and he went. It can happen suddenly like that, especially when they are given the opportunity (naked bums). I taped it, gave lots of praise, and called grandma and daddy on the phone. He enjoyd watching the video of me praising him for using the potty chair. He slowly went to using the potty once every day or two. Then he used it more when we got him "big boy underwear" with his favorite things on them (trucks, trains). Now he's been daytime potty trained for about 2-3 months except going poop- a whole other issue for us! Good luck!

Hi,
My son is 3 1/2 and was the same way, showing interest as early as 18 months. However, the more we pushed, the more he rebelled. We just let him decide and he's finally getting into big boys, except for the #2. We started with most consistently trying to catch him first thing in the morning as he was waking up dry, and praised him to no end when he went on the potty. We just let him go at his own pace though.