Seeking Potty Training Advice for a Boy

When I potty trained both of my boys they were each right at 2 years old but had been using the potty for a couple of months and it only took each of them 3 days to train all the way, even at night and for naps. What I did was leave them naked!! Yes, it makes a mess for a bit but very quickly they learn not to potty on the floor when they are naked and then when it came time to potty train all the way, it was just a matter of getting used to using the potty all the time and having underwear on. We tried the potty chair and it was a HUGE waste, not only did I hate cleaning it out each time the boys didn't care for using it. We ended up using the ring for the toilet and a stool. The little sheilds did seem to be more of a problem than a help, it got in the way more than anything.
Hope this helps, good luck!!

I have a 20mo old boy as well. He started asking a couple of months ago to go to the potty. At that time we did not have any kind of potty chair or seat. We would just hold him on the toilet. My mother-in-law then bought one of the 3 in 1 potty chairs. You can use it just as a potty chair, as a seat on the toilet, and as a step stool. We tried this with him and he hated it! For about a month he would not go to the potty at all...with or without a seat! He has just now (this past week) been ok with us putting the seat on the toilet and using it that way. I find that the shield guards tend to be more of a mess than anything and get in the way. We also keep a little step stool in the bathroom. (The one that comes with the potty is a little short so I found one at Target in the dollar section.) I think that this makes him feel more safe when he has something to touch his feet on. Good luck!

Hi there! I've got 2 boys myself, and for both of them, buying a potty chair was a waste of money. They wanted to use the big potty like daddy. So in both cases, we ended up getting rid of the potty chair and buying a potty seat and step stool. You can try both. He'll let you know which one he prefers. As for the shields- I found them more of a pain than I did a help. When they were first learning HOW to sit on the seat, the shields would get in the way, and more than once, they caught their little things on it. (And from they way they cried- I imagine it did not feel too good.) That, and once the boys learned that the sheilds are removeable.....it's all over. I got tired of fishing it out of the toilet, the trash can, or wherever they decided to toss it. It was much easier to teach them to hold their penises down, rather than to rely on the sheild to prevent splashing.

Good luck with the potty training, and just remember to let him take it at his own pace. You'll have a better chance of success that way.

I have 2 boys (now almost 13 & 14) and I am sure things have changed since they were being potty trained but...I found the seats that go on the toilet were best for me. They have some that have a little step so that the child can get on the toilet and that as perfect for me. I didn't want the mess of cleaning up a seat nor did I want to have to go through the transition to the big potty after successfully teaching them to use a potty chair. I didn't have one of those litte guards all I did was sit them a little farther back and make sure they were aiming down!! My kids had no problems using this method and I think I would do it all the same if I had it to do over again.
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When it came time to potty train my son I tried a number of different things and nothing seemed to work. A good friend of my suggested the following and it totally worked! I took my son to the store, let him pick out what underwear he thought was cool. That night I explained to him that the next day we were going to learn how "big boys" use the potty. The next morning I took him to the bathroom asked him if he had to go. He said no, so I put the first pair of underware on him. Within 5 minutes he peed his self, which scared him and he came to find me and I again took him to the bathroom. It went on like this all morning but by our sixth pair of underwear (which was about noon) he understand what that feeling was when he had to go potty. He hated the feeling of being wet so from that day on we haven't had any troubles.

The best way to potty train a little boy is to take off his pants and put him on the toilet backwards. It keeps him from falling it, prevents bad aim and will allow him to see where he is aiming. This is how my caretaker for my son taught me and she was done daycare for years. It works wonderfully! Don't get a potty chair because you won't always have access to one (out in public) and they are just gross to clean. Just get him used to the real thing. My son started potty training around 20 months and was potty trained by the time he was just over two. One more thing, put him on the toilet every hour until he can get used to knowing when he feels like he has to potty. My caretaker was really good at doing this but by the time I got home from work I would do it about every two hours. Just see what works best for you. Best of luck!

For me potty chairs that you buy never worked. If you get them started using a potty chair then you have to break them of that and make them use a regular potty so its better if you get them acool step stool if you want him to learn standing up (mine learned sitting at first) then target has a ladder that is for boys to use the potty go to target.com and look at the stuff theyve got a lot of it is really neat. i bought tootsie rolls and everytime he used the potty i let him have one. at first when he didnt i said its okay well try again next time, but once i knew he could go to the bathroom if he had too many accidents i would discipline him i know they say not to be too hard on them about it but sometimes that is what it takes. you can let him pee on cheerios if you want him to stand up. just be sure and reward him when he does go and what ever you use to reward him only let him have that when he uses the potty

Hello! Well I just wanted to add that I agree with everyone else here about using a "BIG BOY POTTY". I have 2 boys and not one of them used a little chair. For my oldest to pee in the toilet we would put fruit loops in the toilet for him to pee on. and for some reason we would sometimes put food coloring in the toilet. He thought that was really neat. But he ALWAYS had to use a step stool to have his feet on no matter if he was standing or sitting.

As for my youngest he was funny to train.... He saw my oldest peeing outside on a tree. ( we live in the country with 5 acres ) So he went around and tried to pee on every tree. He would only pee outside for a while. We of course have him going potty inside now.

GOOD LUCK!!

You might laugh at this one but this is how I potty trained my son (who's 18 now) but I remember it worked pretty good for us and it quick, (my mom told me about it) Have him start going to the bathroom with Daddy. So in time he will go potty like daddy. (see where I'm going with this??) with my girls I bought a chair and let them play with it for a couple days to sit on it and stuff so they were not afraid, I started on a Sat saying (been a while but trying to remember) on "cartoon" day we are going to start using this like a big girl, and when I used training panties I made sure i bought them with their favorite cartoon on them and then told them they didn't want to get ______ wet.
All 3 of my kids were very easy to do this way. (or eles I was just lucky)
Good luck

My youngest son..now 17 was the worst for potty training. He was over 2 years old before we finally conquered that task. The best advice I can give is that once you start to train...don't look back!! What I mean is make sure that everyone who will assist you in this has to be on the same page as you, and just as diligent. I do know that once the child gets away with not having to go like a "big boy", your goal becomes close to impossible. I have found through my own kids and those of my friends that the potty chairs are the best route. You can take them anywhere, and it'll be something that your child is used to using. Some children are affraid of the toilet, especially when it flushes. The little shield you refer to is a must!! Boys don't understand a lot of times how to hold themselves down properly and hurt themselves or forget to hold at all. If you just set your mind to it then you will succeed. Try getting him on a routine like sitting on it before bed...and offering little prizes for when he does go like he should. The little packages of dinasaurs or farm animals work great. You can choose how many he gets for each task. You can get these really cheap at the dollar store and make like a little treasure chest for him to choose his prize when he goes in his chair. Good luck to you!!! OH!!! Don't forget to get a container of those cleaning wipes!! They work wonders for the little accidents that come along and keep the area germ free!! ;)