Any tips to potty train a little boy?

Kathy - posted on 03/04/2010

One thing we did with my oldest that worked great was made it into a game. Him and daddy (my husband) had pee pee races. They would go into the bathroom together and he would be at his little potty (standing) and my husband and the big one and whoever could put pee pee in thier potty first one. My husband held it of course so my son would always win. Worked wonderful he was fully trained by 18 months. My third is doing the same and it is working for him. However my 2nd is now three and it is finally working but it took sometime for him to realize what we wanted him to do. Hope this helps and good luck...

Tracey - posted on 02/21/2010

dont push him he will do it wen he ready, or try make a game of it, it seems to be working with harley. Some dont use the potty at all they go straight to the toilet instead, ut only when they are ready. Good luck

Michelle - posted on 02/21/2010

Well Im a mom with a daughter and an Early Childhood Educator. Ive learned that potty training depends on the Child knowing he/she has to pee or pooh. If they dont understand what is going on with their bodies, then they will more likely not understand using the potty. Wait until your son can say Pee pee or some kind of word relating to bowl movents & peeing.

I also recommend only rewarding with a treat when the child actually uses the toilet/potty. And praising verbally for trying.
Try putting him on the potty when he wakes up from a nap, before bed and while you are in the bathroom. He will make the connection of what the bathroom is for. Potty, Bathtime & Brushing teeth.

Potty training is only hard when the parents don't have patients. It is something that shouldn't be rushed.

Good luck

Carrie - posted on 02/21/2010

19 months is very young! Give it a month or 2 or even 3 and try again.

Raana - posted on 02/20/2010

My son didn't show any interest until he was over 3 years old. We ended up buying books to read to him, the bear and the big blue house and elmo potty training dvds. After a while we would ask him if he needed the toilet just so he knew it was expected. Every time we changed his nappy we said maybe next time he would use the toilet. In the end, he did it when he was ready.

Julie - posted on 02/20/2010

I was always told not to push them...they will do it on their own time. My first son now 9 didnt show any interest in the potty, and did actually cry when I put him on the potty. He started potty trining at 2 1/2 years old. My second son was potty trained at 2 and my third at a year and a half! I think they will just do it when they are ready. If Daddy is available have him go in the bathroom when daddy is in there.

Kayla - posted on 02/20/2010

Boys are much harder than girls. I potty trained my daughter in 1 day, yet it took my son almost a year to finally get it down. There are lots of different techniques out there, but the one that finally worked for me was to teach him standing up. Just like your son, he didn't want to sit on the potty to pee and would have a fit, finally i had him go watch daddy how to pee (works with any male family member if daddy can't or wont do it). Just so they get the understanding that boys pee standing up. Also take him once every hour just to stand in front of the toilet. Get a good step stool and stand behind him so the stool doesn't slip when he presses against the toilet with his knees. Some people will say to throw in a few cheerios for him to try to hit. At this age they don't know how to aim yet, I used a handful and told him to pee on them. Sure it was funny seeing a bunch of cheerios in the toilet, but it ensures that he will at least hit one. Work with him everyday, boys take a lot longer than girls do to master it. Another tip I found with my son; the thick training underwear can hurt some boys because the elastic is very thin and tight. Use pullups when you can, then switch him straight over to big boy underwear. Let him pick out a special pair, my son's first pair was Cars. He loves Lightening McQueen. Make them a fun pair and then work with him to understand that he doesn't want to pee on "Spiderman" , "Lightning McQueen" , "Mickey Mouse" , or whatever it is that he chooses for his first cool pair of "Big Boy Underwear". The most important thing you can do though is don't stress him. If he has an accident say "Uh oh, your big boy underwear got yucky, now you have to wear a pullup" but don't yell at him, and if he doesn't want to do it, don't force him, wait until he's a little older before trying again.

Jessica - posted on 02/19/2010

thanks for all the advice. I have thought about the cheerio/fruit loop trick, but I'm not sure he would understand the concept of that. I think I have given up and I will wait until he is a little older and can understand and comprehend a little more. I feel like I'm rushing him. So I will just wait until he tells me he has to go potty.

Bonnie-Fay - posted on 02/19/2010

They say boys take to toilet training later than girls and if he's scared of the potty now it could make training in the future even harder. If you're really keen, try getting his toys to have 'pretend wees' and then praise his toys so he sees that using the potty is a good thing.
Potty training is like independant sleeping and learning to read. You can force it but they learn quicker and with fewer tears if you wait until they're ready.

Alison - posted on 02/19/2010

Have you tried giving him something he really likes, maybe a favorite toy or book, while he sits on the potty? My son was very nervous and freaked out about sitting on it at first too, but he LOVES to look at books/be read to... so we convinced him to sit there while we read some of his favorite books and now I have a hard time getting him off the potty, even after he has done his business. :)

19 months is still really young... my pediatrican also said he would probably be 2-1/2 before showing interest, but we thought we would just give it a shot and were surprised that he figured out the concept so quickly. I'm sure your son will get more comfortable with it in time.

Good luck!

Brandee - posted on 02/19/2010

My pediatrician said that Brandon would probably not be ready to potty trian until 2 1/2 to 3 years old.. However, he has recently started to tell me he has poopy pants, even though he doesn't mind wearing the dirty diaper.. I am going to try using the 3 Day Potty Training technique.. I says that they should be 22 months old.. It got great reviews from some area moms, so I figured "what the heck, we will give it a try".. You can look it up online.. You have to be with the child 24 hours a day for 3 days, so I will have to take a day off work too.. If it works then great for us, no more diapers.. if it doesn't then oh well Brandon will just potty train when he is a little older.. all toddlers are different.

Amanda - posted on 02/14/2010

I am trying to potty train my daughter so i'm not sure about for a boy, but my mother in law always tells me she would put cheerios in the toilet and have her son play and try to get them. also boys are statistically not as interested in the potty and the average age for any child is between 3 and 4 so don't discourage yourself but he may just not be ready. my daughter at 18mo shows interest but some moms from my mommy and me class have said that some of their children will show interest at a certain age and then just kind of forget about it for awhile and really not want to train. keep trying and good luck!!

Mira Yovita - posted on 02/14/2010

Try to company him in the bathroom. I always do that with my son. And try to play and tell a story or sing with him hehe...