Potty Training for My 21-Month Old

I wouldn't rush it. I have four kids, ages 16, 15, 9 and 16 months. My oldest three, I didn't start potty training until they turned 2. Maybe give him a couple more months and see how much he has grown and how much better he can speak and understand. Is ur 7 year old a boy? If so, he can demonstrate by example.

Hi. I have a 3 year old boy, and I beleive no matter what u do they will do what they want when they want. I started with my son when he turned 2 thinking this would be easy no way, it was rough, I did the cool alert pull ups and they did seem to help in the being, but then he got use to the feeling I guess and then didn't mind. So I started putting underwear on during the day and asking him every 30minuted if he need to peepee, he did alot better, going number two was easier for him to go in the potty then peepee. for awhile he would make mistakes and I would get mad and yell or put him in the corner. And then one day he just started telling me he has to peepee or I would be looking for him and he would be in the bathroom pooping like nothing and loving it. then calling me saying I did it so my husband and I would make a big deal and start dancing and clapping makeing him feel realy good. and now he is great even takes naps with underwear on it's great.

Good luck

Hi J.,
I was frustrated by potty training! My daughter had no problem giving up bottle, paci, or crib/toddler bed. I figured potty training would be a breeze! Boy was I wrong. I went to potty training classes, read books, and every website I could find. They all had different strategies, but one thing remained the same. "they will do it when they are ready." I finally gave up trying. About a month before her 3rd birthday, my brother, her beloved Tio, bought her some chirstmas underwear. Since they were from Tio, she wanted to wear them. So, we would wear them at home, but would wear a pullup to daycare. One day, I completely forgot she was wearing the underwear, and ran to the grocery store. While there, she said I have to go potty! From then on, she was in underwear, except at night. Since she decided when to do it, she was very successful. It has been 3 months, and we are completely off pullups, even at night. She has had only a handful of accidents in that time. I truly believe it is because she did it when she was ready, even though I had been trying for almost a year! I know it is frustrating, but it WILL happen. It is just going to be when they are ready for it.
I hope this helps!
H.

J.,

Hi! My son is 4 1/2 and he started potty training at 17 months (all on his own). I think seeing the other slightly older children he was around helped him to want to go on the potty. (I worked at a daycare, and brought him with me to work everyday.) Anyway, by the time he was 2 he was totally trained. However, my son was able to speak enough to let me know that he had to go to the bathroom. And in the beginning when he didn't talk quite as much, he would just go into the bathroom. But he he is hardly talking, I think it might be awfully diffucult for him to communicate his bathroom needs with you at this point, and he may just become frustrated. Remember, all children train at a different rate and time. And as the parent although it can be frustrating we need to do this on their time clock. I have 2 nephews...ages 5 1/2 & 28 months. The one who is 5 1/2 (not yet in school, because he missed the cut off date) is stil sleeping in pull ups and rarely makes it through the night dry. He only started wearing underwear recently. The one who is 28 months, is now starting to express an interest in using the potty. With my son, he went from diapers to underwear. In the beginning (the first month or so after the first time he used the potty) I would ask him every hour if he needed the toilet. If he said no, I would ask him again in a 1/2 hour. If he still said no, I would bring him into the bathroom on that 2 hour mark. 9 times out of 10 he would have to potty. I wasn't very persistent with him in the beginning though, because he was so young, and I never expected to be training a 1 1/2 year old. Once he was using the toilet on a very regular basis, I decided to dedicate one weekend to just stay home and do nothing with him. That weekend I put him in underwear (which we called "big boy pants"). When he had an accident, he knew right away, and got upset by it. It was a new feeling. He had 2 accidents that weekend, and has been in his "big boy pants" ever since. Here are a few tips that may help you and your son. These things were very encouraging to my son. Make a big deal out of every time he goes to the potty (even if nothing comes out)...he needs to get an A for Effort! lol And when he really does go...make a huge deal of it. Some people use a reward system...everytime their child goes on the potty, they would get a reward (whether it be a sticker, temporary tattoo, apple slice, pretzel, whatever,,,,etc.) If you do this though, make sure you only give that reward when he goes to the potty. I let my son pick out some big boy pants at the store. They have all different characters, and he loved doing that. As a matter of fact, he still loves going big boy pants shopping! He would get very excited over them, and could not wait to put them on. And he would then get very upset if he had an accident in them. When it comes time for him to stand up to potty, put a cheerio or a fruit loop in the bottom of the bowl, and let him aim for it. It turns accuracy into a really fun game for him. And he is guaranteed to get it all in the toilet!! Oh, I almost forgot...I purchased a book for my son called "Once upon a potty" (I don't remember the author's name). Anyway, this book has a red cover, and there are 2 different versions of it. One for a boy and one for a girl. My son absolutely loved this book. As a matter of fact, he still has me read it to him all of the time. It got to the point, that when my son was 2 1/2 I used to jokingly tell people he could read! We would take out this book, and he would "read" it page for page (from memory). I would definitely reccomend purchasing this book. Even if it doesn't help, he will probably love it too. Well, I hope this helps.

-D.

Why are you in such a rush to potty train. It doesn't sound like your son is ready. We are just starting to push our son and he's almost 3.

Hi J.. I'm a mom to three boys, 8, 2 & 3.
All my boys Love(d) their diapers. The more I pushed, the more it backfired on me. Soon enough they just do it...
My adivice to you is that you take a calm, cool laid back approach to potty training. If your child isn't talking or showing signs of understanding that he supposed to use a potty then I wouldn't push him yet. My first was difficult to train and had many witholding issues. My second was a nightmare to train. My third is still in diapers, can't even say the word potty and will be in his diapers for atlease another year!!! Find an approach that you want to use and you'll know when you start to see the interest in him that its time to begin. Make the reward big and they will catch on fast. Good luck

Hi J.,
I have a daughter who is 20 months old and she started showing an interest in the potty about 2 months ago, so we decided to start letting her sit on the potty...and she started going!!! We were so excited!!! She is still young so we never pushed her to go on the potty. If we asked her if she wanted to go potty and she said no, we just let it go. We didn't want to discourage her because we think if we push her it will delay her potty training. Also, we would give her a sticker when she went pee-pee on the potty. She loved this...she liked the reward!!! Recently, she hasn't been wanting to use the potty, we aren't sure why, but again we aren't pushing it. Eventually she will be ready. I think it is great that you are trying to potty train your son. My suggestion is not to push him and to make it fun!!! Also, you said that your son isn't really talking yet, you might want to teach him the sign for potty. My daughter doesn't know how to say the word "potty" but she does sign it. So when she signs potty we know that she has to go. Hope this helps.
Good Luck!!!
P.