Potty training: Feeling a bit discouraged...is he ready or is it just a phase?

Vanessa - posted on 12/22/2008

You're gonna have to take the water away!! At least until he is able to get up and use the potty by himself in the middle of the night.

Christina - posted on 12/20/2008

Thanks ladies! my son is doing a fabulous job! He now uses the potty (during awake hours) regularly and has even went poppies a few times in the potty since last Sunday. Along with tons of much deserved praise we use Santa stickers and snowman stickers as a pee pee reward and small candy canes as a reward for going poopies. We would take him pee pee every half hour in the beginning than every hour but now he usually lets us know when he has to go. It has been amazing and we are saving soooo much on diapers as we usually only need to change his diaper for sleep times and the occasional oopsies.



We are now starting to work on potty training during his sleep times which is difficult since my son loves having his sippy cup of water and is still in a crib. Any advice?

Carrie - posted on 12/19/2008

From everything I've heard/read it's normal for it to come and go at first. So try not to get too excited and then discouraged, just look at it as a long and somewhat dirty road. :)
Be patient.

Ruthilyn - posted on 11/14/2008

I really hoped to encourage you, but I'm not sure if I did... :( I hear that the average age for boys to potty train is in their 3rd year, so be encouraged, because he's already showing signs!!! *kisses* ~ruthi

Ruthilyn - posted on 11/14/2008

your feelings are absolutely normal!!! my 21 month old isn't ready yet, however, my 4 yr old showed signs when he was 18 months, but i was too scared to try, so i waited until he was 2 yrs. i only began because my little brother's younger daughter was being potty trained, and she wasn't showing any signs, so i felt that i just needed to let him do it! my brother said he just put her in underwear and he deals the accidents. so i did this for a week but couldn't take the accidents anymore...he wouldn't go in the potty, just in the underwear. so after a week of underwear, i let him run naked. he didn't leave the house for three days, and he was potty trained! the first few times he went, it was on the floor, so i grabbed him and ran to the toilet. every time one of us went to the restroom, we took him with us. we let him pee in the back yard, and this helped with his confidence, i believe because if he peed on the carpet we would say "pee in the potty" and run him to the bathroom, but he'd be done peeing before he got to the toilet, so there was no celebration when he actually peed where is was supposed to. while playing outside he would pee and instead of us saying "pee in the potty", we would dance and celebrate with cheers! it was after this that he would go in the potty for the same kind of verbal reward!!! we let him run naked at home after that third day for only about a week, then we were able to put underwear on him and he would stayed dry. he did pee on the carpet towards the end of that week and then laughed, so i lightly popped him on his naked tush and gave him a towel to clean up his mess. he laughed at me and sort of sang "pee pee pee pee" as he "cleaned' up his mess!!! it was very cute!!! he's only had three accidents since this, two were while he was sick, and the other while he was running through the house to get to us after he had a nightmare. that's it! that's my experience, and like i said, my 21 month old isn't interested at all, but the advice i have been given in this area is "do it when they are ready"! I really don't know if any of this helped you, but i hope it does!!! best wishes to you and your little man!!! ~ruthi