My friend is about to start potty training her son and she asked for advice on her facebook one of her friends suggested "to try pull ups an keep remindin him they got them on, an when he kept peeing in them I stopped using them an let him pee on hisself ". This didnt seem like good advice to me but Ive never had to potty train a little boy so maybe im wrong?
2 years old is too young to start potty training. I don't think it can be done. At that age they are not ready. Wait at least to the age of 3 sometimes even
3 1/2
i had my son potty trained just before his second birthday so yes it can be done....i never used pull ups they are diapers. i used the cotton training pants. its true that if the child isnt ready it will be harder. so i guess keep trying and not to get fustruated....it will happen
OMG! I wouldnt go the pull up route! My 3 y.o. just became fully potty trained a few months ago after months of training (he has #1 down pat, but would only go #2 in pull up) I did the pull up route and for my son I thought it was a hinderance, I think he just got confused between pullup vs diaper vs underwear. When we spent a few days at home and kept him pretty much naked it made a difference because I think there was no "safety net" so he finally started to use the toilet for #2..But my other friends did not use pull ups and they had quicker success than I did! I heard boys are notorius for being harder! Just be sure he's ready or you can spend months instead of a weekend trying to train!
Wait till he almost 3 and it will be very fast and easy! Regular underwear work best or let him be naked.
My son is 21 months old and hasn't had an accident at home in over a month. He still has occasional accidents at daycare because he doesn't want to stop playing to go, but they are getting less and less. So I would say it can definitely be done if they are ready. For us readiness signs were his annoyance at being in a messy diaper and asking to be changed and his ability to communicate to me that he wants to sit on the potty. I did not use pull ups and I think they are a huge waste of time and money.
Our approach was pretty simple. No rewards (just lots of praise and high fives) and no punishment for accidents (including scolding). Day 1 was naked day with lots of access to liquids. I stayed glued to his side all day and the second he started to pee I said "Oh wait, pee pee goes in the potty" and moved him to the potty. Pee #1 was all over the floor, pee #2-4 were ~1/2 in the potty and for the rest of the day he told me "potty" and they were all in the potty. It is key that you are there all the time, because otherwise you won't create the association and lack of consistency is the main reason potty training fails. Day 2 we added pants (no underwear-you need it to be as easy as possible to get the pants off), I remained glued to him. The first pee was an accident and then all the rest were in the potty. Over the next few days we had a few accidents here and there, but most of the pee went in the potty. The first poop is also the most difficult, if you can get it in the potty you'll be good from then on. Do not go back to diapers! We used diapers for nap (but now he stays dry, so no nap diaper) and bedtime, but that's it. And when I put them on I would just explain that I know he is a big boy, but sometimes it's hard to tell when you're sleeping that you have to go, so as soon as he gets up we'll take the diaper off again.
We went about a month without underwear and now we've added big boy underwear and he's still doing fine at home. He does good on outings with me too, the only accidents we have are at school. The director said that's totally normal and with time he'll be better at holding it for longer and the accidents there will improve too. It's not that he doesn't know when he has to go there, he just doesn't want to stop playing so he waits too long. In fact most of his accidents there are on the way to the bathroom or while they are getting his pants down.
Good luck! Message me if you have questions.
Brenda H is wrong. Kids at just under or around 2 years old CAN be trained, and in short time. I have 5 of these such children come thru my childcare doors in the last year and a half. You can search my other posts on the subject if you like..one was just yesterday.
Lora Jensen's "3 day potty training method" is the guideline I use here...offer the info to my daycare parents and it does work..within a week they are day trained, at least the pee part with little or NO accidents. My youngest was 22 mos...the oldest 28 mos. The last one did it over the weekend of his 2nd birthday.
Don't ever let anyone tell you that you have to "wait" until they are 3-3 1/2...its bull. Or that pull ups are necessary. Again, bull. Most children CAN be trained in their 2nd year. I have 5 living examples. The next is a girl who will be 2 in late June...we will start with her in April or May.
Good luck to your friend.
