Potty Training in 1 Day.... - Clearlake Oaks,CA

I agree with Kirsten H (3rd posting in this series). Call a truce for at least one month, to break the cycle you are in. Keep him in pull-ups. Tell him he can tell you when he wants to use the potty but don't remind him. If he doesn't start on his own in a month or two, then try rewards (single M&M or a sticker) for using the potty. If you want to remind him, don't say, "Do you want to use the potty?". Say, "Would you like an M&M? OK, you know what to do." If he has an accident, say, "maybe next time you can get a M&M". The focus is on the reward. the potty is just the means of getting the reward, so he feels like he is in control.
Good luck.

I wouldn't try to train him in a day if he's not clear yet about whether he actually needs to go. Here are some handy readiness checklists – do you see from these tips that he is either ready or not?

http://www.parentingscience.com/toilet-training-readiness...

Hi Tia. I used this method with my son, and it worked incredibly well! However, it's not a one-day method--no one I've talked to has said it has worked in one day. More like three days...and then two more weeks of vigilance on your part. My son didn't have too many accidents, but the first three days were definitely intense in terms of getting him to understand that I would NOT be putting a diaper back on him. Really, only one day resulted in tears for both of us, but it took three days to get him to the point where he would head to the potty on his own when he needed to go. And then about two weeks of me reminding him every so often, as he would get so involved in play that he would sometimes forget. However, he has now been fully trained (except while sleeping) for more than four months, and he rarely has accidents.

And no, he didn't care whether he was wet or dry when we started trying. He seemed to have no real clue. But he was talking about potties nonstop and asking lots of questions about US going potty, so we figured we might as well try it.

I have heard that this method works best with children under the age of 28 months (my son was 27 months), so that might be a factor for you. But I'd say give it a try. If it doesn't work, the worst you've lost is three days of your time. The real key, I think, is being sure NOT to put him back in diapers (unless he's sleeping--we made a distinction there, as my son still wets while he's asleep). If he knows you'll put him back in a diaper during the day, he'll just hold his potty until you put it on and then promptly go in the diaper.

Oh--my son had the tantrums about not being able to go, too. He would get SO upset, no matter how much we tried to explain that sometimes it's just not ready to come out. So eventually we'd just take him off the potty physically and tell him he could try again later. He'd throw a fit for a few minutes, but then he'd forget about it. This only lasted for maybe a week or two, and then he seemed to settle down about it.

Good luck!

I know lots of Moms with multiples (twins, triplets, and quads) who successfully used the the 3 day method. I have twin girls who are now 4 1/2. One is potty trained and one is not. With the one who is, I made a very strong effort to let her be "in control" of her body. Rater than say "do you have to go" or "why don't you try", we used the phrase "you let me know when you have to go potty" or "what is your body trying to tell you". That way she felt in control of her body and if an accident happened, it was no big deal. We just said "oops. let's clean it up together." She also got to pick out her own panties. At 3 or 4 yrs old, they want to be in control so find a way that let's them feel empowered but within your parameters. Oh, and bribing with stickers or candy did not work with us.
Good luck.

Rather than ask him, you can try to have him try every 1 hour or so, with a timer. If he says he doesn't have to go, you can ask him to just try and if he is doing well with praise, just do that. They don't need treats. If he does well, keep going. If not, back off and wait a bit. This will tell you if he is even ready for this.

We tried going cold turkey with our 2yo daughter as she seemed ready. She was telling us when she peed or pottied in her diaper so we tried straight undies one weekend. We will not be trying it again anytime soon. She never once told us when her undies were wet or when she pottied and she has seemingly taken a step backwards. It has been a few weeks now and she no longer tells us when she needs a new diaper or when she has to go to the bathroom. Not sure what we might have done wrong, but it didn't work with our little girl, and she seems to have regressed.

I have not heard of the 1 day method, but here are some other potty training methods that may give you some insight as how to go about potty training your son - since everyone is different and you have to do whatever works for you and your LO...

http://www.theskinnyscoop.com/search/potty+training?utm_c...

As all the posts have said, you need to wait until they are really ready. My kids trained a little late, both ironically 3 years and 3 months, but both came to me and said they were ready and we were done in one day, no special method just that they knew what they were doing and why. I am not sure what the push is these days to have them done at 2 years old. Is this a new magical number I am unaware of? My daughter showed interest at 2 but it was clear to me it was only "I want to do what mommy is doing" but she had no clue what it was really all about. I think people confuse this. Just take your time. Your kid(s) will not go to college in diapers (sorry, had to say it).

In my opinion, the one day, two day, etc potty training ONLY works when your child is completely ready. They will just GET it. My daughter started showing interest around 18 months so we bought a potty but didn't really do anything with it. I'd ask if she wanted to sit on it when I went but never forced anything. Her brother was born when she was 2 and I didn't even try to potty train her then, even though she would go to the bathroom on the potty before bed, before bath, etc. When she was 2.5 I tried putting her in underwear but she was just having lots of accidents. I backed off and put her back in diapers for another month then tried it again. This time she did much better but I was still asking / telling / reminding her to go! This went on from age 2.5 until just about a week ago (she's 3 years 2 months). I was still reminding her to go or else she'd just 'forget' and pee herself. The doctors basically told me she'll just get it one day and stop having accidents. We had some days of no accidents in the past six months (these were days that we were really on her to go and made sure she went every so often) but we stopped that and she has started going more on her own and stopped having accidents! She still wears a pullup for naptime and diaper to bed. I think with my son, I'll wait until he's a little older and expresses more interest than my daughter did!

Bottom line - I do not think it works unless the child WANTS to!

I don't know about the 1-day method, but I had my son go cold-turkey (wearing only a shirt) after he showed an interest in the potty and has gone a few times on his own sporadically. I waited 3 months for the right timing - after our family trips came to an end and when his schedule fell back into a routine. He was just over 2 1/2 at the time. We stayed indoors and didn't go anywhere for the first 3 days. Since he wasn't wearing anything, he would recognize the minute he had to go because he'd splatter on the plastic that I'd taped on to our carpet. Although he could care less about being wet or dry in the diaper, he cared about splattering on the plastic - it's apparent that he didn't like pee running down his legs. I used a data approach and didn't remind him if he had to go - just took note of how often he went. In the first 3 hours, he'd pee every half hour - and most times, he didn't make it to the toilet. But by that afternoon, he was able to hold his pee and make it to the toilet a few times. On the 3rd day, I took him on an errand wearing underwear and easy-to-pull-down shorts and he lasted the half hour we were gone. I did remind him to go right before we left to ensure he emptied his bladder. On the 5th day, he was able to hold his pee for 2 hrs at a time so I took him out to lunch. He did great until the very end when he had a mini ice cream cone for dessert. I didn't blame him - ice cream trumps potty break any day. By the 10th day, he was dry at night and no longer needed diapers. I cannot take the credit for that last part - even he surprised me there. All the books I've skimmed say that the child will go when he's ready. I think I happened to luck out with the timing - but I do think that going cold-turkey was best for my son. After the first week, we said bye-bye to diapers and only used pull-ups for naps/bedtime. I think he (in his naivete) thought pull-ups were the same as diapers because he'd come out of bed saying he needed to pee, and for some reason he wanted to save his pull-ups and not throw them away. Strange, but again - I think it was the timing that made us lucky. Good luck with the process!

Well, I dont' know anything about the pottytraining in one day method, but my instinct is that it can't be done, at least not really. It can be done in just a week, for sure, though!

Also, it sounds like your little guy might need a break from everything potty related. I would just completely drop it. Don't ask about it, don't talk about it, just give him a complete break from it. If he brings it up, go with it as far as he wants to take it, but don't bring it up yourself. After a few weeks, or months, try again.

I have 4 kids, all potty trained, and found that when they were "ready", it was fast and easy. If you try to push it before they're ready, it is hard for both parent and child. I have a niece who flatly refused to use the potty until she was about 4, even though she was probably ready. She is now 14 and doing just fine. :)

He will learn to use the potty eventually! I promise!

Just relax, and give him some time.

I do home childcare and in the last year or so, thanks to a fantastic former client, am a big supporter and fan of the "3 day potty training method" by Lora Jensen. I have had parents do this method, then I continue it here at daycare, with all of my full time kids , with 100% success in this time frame. The youngest a 22 mos old girl..the rest were all boys..the oldest was the first one and he was 28 mos old. My most recent did it over the weekend of his 2nd birthday. Some take a few more days for it to be truly a cemented idea and working system...parents should not be discouraged by this. And poo'ing can be longer. No biggie..especially if you are working toward the goal. Figuring out some modifications, after the initial "training" are understandable! (such as PU or diapers at night for a spell or similar. I think most of mine did after an initial attempt for a few weeks..then phased them back out quickly).

But for daytime, naps and such...nothing but undies here with me for the 8-10 hours a day. And I never ever once make them go sit at timed intervals or tell them its time to go potty. I do remind frequently, at first, that they need to tell me when they need to go potty...make sure you let me know when you need to go potty....remember I can help you when you need to go potty......there is a subtle, yet distinct difference. I don't make them go. They TELL ME when they need ot go. Every single time.

I also do a single M&M with a successful pee or poo. Never get one for just trying, only for a success. Boys generally sit facing backwards...the front of the seat offers support for their bum so they don't feel as if they are falling in the potty and for most boys, puts their hips in a good position to aim, without really having to aim, ya know? Wearing just undies and shirt (no pants) is critical to success the first few days or weeks...need to be able to respond FAST when they say they have to go! Obviously this for at home and if in a home daycare, if your provider is on board. Ease into loose pants such as sweats/athletic pants. Jeans are hard. Expect accidents and you need to be able to que into even the most subtle signs..before they become verbal about telling you. My first little dude whimpered..then almost cried...then we figured it out about 2 weeks later he was easily telling us. He was learning what his body was telling him, so he could communicate that to us (his various caregivers..parents and me..occcasional evening sitter/grandparent).

It works! 2 years can easily be trained. Its a battle...but in the end you win the war and reap the benefits. Years ago, most kids were trained by 2 or 2.5 years old. now thats a whole year later. Who wants to change the diaper of a big 3 + year old? As a provider of many many years...my days of that are over.

Best of luck to you! You can do it..and so can your child!!

You haven't mentioned how old your son is, but it sounds like he's probably around three. My suggestion is that you do start putting him in underwear during the day. We found that helped the boys in our childcare get the idea that they needed to go use the potty rather than just get busy playing and do it in their pants (diapers). Yes, we had accidents at first, but we simply helped them get changed with an encouraging remark about accidents happen sometimes when we're still learning, and that they'd do better next time.
When we asked them to go potty, we didn't use the term 'go potty' but asked them to 'try' and see if they needed to go potty. I think that might help your little guy with his obsession when he doesn't really need to go. Perhaps he's feeling he has to produce for you, and is frustrated when he can't. Even now, when the boys have been fully trained for about three months, we sometimes get an "I don't need to go potty" when we are getting ready to go somewhere. We always let them know we only want them to go into the bathroom and try just because we are going to be away and may not be near a potty for a while. Usually, once they get in there, they find they do need to go at least a little bit.