Toilet Training - Dallas, TX

I.,
I just potty trained my 2 1/2 year old b/g twins, and it was pretty easy. The main reason why is because they were both ready. They both got potty seats when they were 2 and we have been messing with them off/on since then. My daughter was ready six months ago, and I wasn't, so I waited until my son showed interest. The day my son showed an interest everything started. I went and bought both kids underwear, and from that day forward I never put another diaper on them. You have to understand that that can confuse them. You have to make a committment to this, or your going to have problems. Both kids still wear pull-ups for naps and nighttime, but no other time. I send them to school in underwear, and when we travel they wear underwear. I just bought two travel potties for the car. My son has not had an accident since we started. I used stickers to reward in the beginning. I would let them have one every time they went, and they would put it on a posterboard. They mastered that, so on to pooping and rewarding for going in the potty, I broke down and did little suckers. They took to it really well. I have now bought little seats to go on the big potties, so they don't feel like they are going to fall in. My son sits, I didn't teach him to stand, and if I can avoid it I don't ever want him to stand and potty, it's much cleaner this way!!! Well, good luck, and start by introducing him to the potty, ask him if he wants to go on the potty, is he says no, say ok. I kept doing this until one day he said yes, then I knew it was getting closer to time. I waited until he was saying yes, more than no. It really isn't as bad as it seems, you'll be surprised!!

I think it's folly to "train" too early. Wait for your son to be ready and it'll be so much easier for the both of you. My daughter had a potty chair in both of our bathrooms from the time she was about 18 months old and liked to sit on it when I pottied but was not ready to use it actively until she was three. We went camping with my parents and Madison loved to play with the foot flush on their RV. She "trained" herself that weekend.

Just because you're ready doesn't mean your son is. Let him decide and it won't be frustrating or difficult for either of you.

This is gross but it worked. My son only wanted to play and just didn't have time to deal with the potty. So a year older friend peed in the potty to make bubbles and then "shot" the bubbles. My son thought that was so cool, he immediately learned to start and stop by hitting the bubbles. The game moved outdoors (to my dismay) and target practice was through the chain length fence - the object was to get it through the hole without hitting the fence. I told you it was gross but I had tried and tried and his little friend taught him in one afternoon!!!

My daughter had her son almost trained and then he balked. So one day she said let's pee in the cup and made a little song out of it. After that he would sing the little ditty and pee in the cup. Yeah, that's gross too but it worked.

My son is only one so I'm not toilet training yet but my mom is a teacher for two years olds in Preschool and one of the suggestions I've heard from her is to put Cheerios in the toilet. It helps them learn how to aim and kind of turns it all into a game, making them want to use the toilet. The Cheerios just dissolve so they won't damage plumbing or septic systems. (Ladies, this may work for husbands too! <wink>)

Sure wait until he is ready, but my son is fully potty trained and he is 2 1/2. We started say around 18 months introducing the potty chair and especially before bathtime letting him sit on it and sometimes he would go and sometimes not. We started noticing him showing more interest around 2 so we started letting him run around the house with no diaper and when he would have to go at first he would just go, but then after learning what the feeling was he would tell us before and we would run him to the potty. In my opinion pull-ups are not that effective b/c my son just treated like another diaper. After we figured out he knew when he had to go we started letting him wear underwear especialy at home and on the weekends. At school we still used diapers at first. Eventually he got it and we just took the diapers away and he still had a few accidents but after a few days he got it and was able to control himself. Just look for the signs, but I think going cold turkey on the diaper when they are ready is the fastest and most effective way to go becasue they learn real quick that being wet or dirty is no fun. We did have a few puppy underwear, but that is part of learning. GOOD LUCK! Your son will lead the way just go with the flow and take it slow, don't push him.