Potty Training- Happy Thanksgiving to Me!

Chemistry between child and parent varies so much, and children themselves are so individual in their development, capacities and understanding, that you could either give your son a real boost toward potty success, or confound him and create additional layers of negativity for him to overcome in the future.

Kids with communication delays are often much slower to potty train. But if his sister is showing the way, your son might actually enjoy following suit. I would say give it a try and see what happens. If it causes stress or frustration, back off and give him a chance to mature a bit more.

Here's a wonderful, extremely informative website you might find helpful. It gives a few variations on"readiness" checklists, plus tips on various training strategies, the best ages to start them, and the advantages and disadvantages of each approach: http://www.parentingscience.com/potty-training-tips.html

I think you should try and see if he's ready, if not then try again in a few months just like you did when your daughter was not ready. my 2 yr old has been potty trained for 4 months now and if I could give you one big piece of advice, it's to be EXTREMELY consistant and take them every 10 minutes the first day, yes every 10 minutes i know it sounds crazy, then every 15 the next day and just keep adding on 5 minutes per day till you get to 1/2 hour. They see if they can start going on their own. He may not talk, but i'm sure he understands ;) Oh and I still give her 1 gummy worm every time she goes poop in the potty :)

Girls are not much easier to train than boys, maybe some girls are, maybe some boys are. In fact, my son trained much easier than my daughter, and now at 23 months, he is night trained. In fact, everyone I know that does early start potty training finds boys easier than girls, because they are more mechanical or whatnot and immediately get, "oh, pee and poop go here. Oh pee comes out of this thing." Whatever the case, my son started taking himself at 19 months without me even suggesting it (I did read him potty books starting at 9 months, and I did encourage him to sit on the potty when I went to the bathroom starting at 15 months). My point, I am tired,so I am sorry if I am rambling, I am so sick of people saying girls are easier. Only in America does anyone believe this, everywhere else, kids are trained, both boys and girls, by 24 months. They just need know how to follow directions.

So, yes, train them. Tell them they are too big for diapers, get some Gerber trainers, and just do it. Do not turn back, do not use pull-ups, even think about using cloth diapers at night. If you are consistent, with a clear message, it shouldn't take very long to get them both fully trained. And yes, this means no pull-ups outside of the house. Either they are too big for diapers, or they aren't.

Make it biological, not emotional. Pee and poop go in the potty. Oops, you had a little accident? Pee and poop go in the potty." Thank you for telling me you need to go, I'm sorry we didn't make it to the potty in time, next time we will do it, etc. Never punish, never discipline, never reward. Pee and poop go in the potty. Keep it simple.

I do not suggest training your son now. He's not even two and may not be ready. Girls are so much easier to potty train than boys, so her comparison is null and void in my view.

As far as your daughter is concerned, I've heard rave reviews about this: http://www.3daypottytraining.com/