No More Diapers!! Potty training advice

Christina - posted on 12/13/2008

Our oldest (boy who is now 7) is high-functioning autistic, so we had NO expectations on when he'd be potty-trained (we were really hoping by age 5 and kindergarten). Lucky for us, he just decided he was ready one day at age 3. The whole experience was really a blessing, because we learned to keep it low-key and low-pressure on the kids. We are now facing training our third child - who will be 2 in Jan. We have a training potty in our family/play room and she can sit on it whenever she wants. She has just started talking about potty and wanting to take her diaper off, so we are probably getting close! The thing that really worked for our 3-yr old girl was a sticker chart. Just a simple chart with the days of the week and she could pick which sticker she wanted every time she went #1 or #2. Like others have posted, you just have to be patient and he will do it when he's ready.

Colleen - posted on 12/11/2008

Make sure you don't push it to the point where it becomes something he hates or "has to do". My daughter loves sitting on the potty, even though she rarely pees on it, and still wears diapers 24/7. Slowly she is learning the signs of when she needs to go, and she will tell us. Though often we are too late by the time she is on the potty, we still congratulate her for sitting on it. When we first introduced it we kept a special book in the bathroom that she only got while she sat on the potty.

Valérie - posted on 12/11/2008

My son is the same age and is now potty trained. i started early, like you and think it's a good thing. But I think there are stress factors for kids at any age with the training. For my son, it was the nursery, where he refused to go (well, he would sit happily but do nothing). And his behavior at school was affected by the stress. When I saw that, I was worried about him and made really sure I didn't pressure him or nag him with the potty, keeping things really light and fun. LIke I let him watch tv when on the potty. And we had potty parties whenever he was successful (we bought a chocolate cake for the 1st party, and then treats afterwards that weren't as rich!). That helped a lot - he loves food.

Keeley - posted on 12/08/2008

I agree with Julie. If it's that frustrating for you it must be hard on him as well. My son wasn't ready until he was 3. And 4 months later we still have problems. Just wait until he is ready. You don't want to make it a point of contention so that he fears going because of your attitude or frustrations. I hope that helps. Good luck!

Julie - posted on 12/05/2008

If he's not ready, he's not ready. I have sceen kids regress as late as 3. My sisters first was almost completely trained but when thier new baby came allong she was done. You can try 100 things, but the fact is he'll do it when he wants. Good luck and try not to get too frustrated. We all go thru it.