Potty Training a boy

Danielle - posted on 11/03/2010

My son only goes on his potty in the morning one or two times, anything after nap time or when we're sick forget about it, He watches his potty training dvd, but i have been trying something different in the afternoon, by putting big boys underwear on with the rubber pants, he doesn't like the feeling it worked last week but, this week not so good, I've heard boys are harder but, my son has no problem going when daddy is home or his cousin is here. Other than that it's once a day for us.

Aimie - posted on 08/28/2010

I havent started training my 2 yr old yet(although i have been considering it)
My older twin boys are now 8, I tried with them at about 2 and 1/2 yrs old but they just wasnt into it so i waited and i think they where just over 3 yrs old when it finally went ok.. i think all in all it took about 3 weeks to have no accidents. I started them on the potty but when they pee'd it seemed to hit the bottom of it and shoot back out, i found it far too messy so bought a little seat for the toilet and a step so they could reach, they went straight to the toilet with no problems tey even wanted to stand an pee like Daddy and we had no probs.
hopefully this little guy goes as well.. Good luck!

Simone - posted on 05/21/2010

I haven't started fully potty training my son yet, but we sit him on the potty every now and then and get mixed results. Sometimes he goes and sometimes he doesn't. He knows how to say "peepee" and "poopoo" but doesn't understand those words fully yet I guess, but when he is ready he will let us know.

Valerie - posted on 05/17/2010

I have introduced the potty and we check it out a couple times a week but I learned wwith my first son(now 7) that when we waited for him to truly bee ready the process was quick and painless. Although he was 3 1/2, he potty trained in 3 days! I started when he was 3 and I would ask him if he wanted big boy pants or a diaper and he would choose diaper. Then 1 day he just decided on big boy pants and went in his lil potty from then on! Only had a couple of accidents in 3 days then was done!

Stacey - posted on 05/15/2010

I havent even started training my son. His doctor told me not to rush the issue. He does tell me when he has a poop and pee but also has no interest of the sitting on the potty. I have a five year old son also, and he didnt fully potty train until he was three. He was the EASIEST child to potty train though. It took me one day and he was good to go. He's never really had accidents either. So as far as my 1 1/2 year old, I'm not rushing. He'll let me know when he's ready.

Monica - posted on 05/14/2010

My son 22 months on sunday has learned to do #1 and #2 in his potty all in one wk. I just let him do his thing. He started just sitting on the potty then he learned how to take off his diaper. Which lead to him pee all by himself, then today he did #2. I say just let him explore the potty and when he's ready he'll use it

Christina - posted on 05/14/2010

My mom, who watches my son 1-2 times a week has better luck than I do. She just lets him play on the back deck naked. I guess the thing about this that is so helpful is there is no way to ignore it! He will start to pee, hold it, and pee into one of his little outside cups! He has completely rejected the potty chair, so we went straight to the potty seat for the adult potty. He thinks that is special! So I guess we are staring to see some progress!

I enjoyed seeing others suggestions.! Thanks!

Amanda - posted on 05/14/2010

Hi there,

My son is 22 months and we have been putting him on the toilet since he was about 14 months old. He nows goes just about every time he needs to wee, and he is getting great at going number 2's.
We started off by trying to put him on the potty, but he refused, so we bought him a Weeman (they are great! It is a little urinal, that attaches to the toilet and it can be flipped up to put the wee in the toilet and then leave it in there to flush it all out.). My son loved coping his dad, so it worked great. He still drips on the floor (he hasn't learnt how to shake it properly and when I give him toilet paper to wipe, he uses it on his bottom, like mummy!).
He still doesn't use the potty unless its an emergency, but he loves using the "big boys" toilet now for number 2's. It took us using his favourite books to keep him there long enough, as well as singing to him "hand, shoulders, knees and toes". he loves doing the actions, so it kept him still long enough. We both had to be in there with him however, as he always wants to know what is going on and hates to miss out on anything.

I'm not sure if that will help you at all, but that's what we did. We're about to start night time training, so that will be an adventure all on its own!

Alicia - posted on 05/14/2010

i bought a potty chair that sits right on the toilet and my son loves is.i got it at target for like 10..it also helps if there is a older kid like a year older that goes to the bathroom it helps to..but i say try the potty chair it works wonders

Sandra - posted on 05/13/2010

I introduced the potty to my son a few months ago and he wouldn't even sit on it. I just kept on trying every day to have him sit with his pants on. He would only sit for a second or two. So I went and bought a potty that sits on the toilet because he always wants to do what we do. So now he will actually sit without a diaper. Again not for very long but he's making progress. He will look to see if anything has happened and than flush. I will do this many times in row before he decides he's had enough. I think eventually they will decide that they want to do it and they will. Good luck.

Adrian - posted on 05/13/2010

My son loves the potty lol but he dont want to sit on it he wants to play in it. if i show him to sit on it he will and he will make a pee sound. I dont think he is ready yet he still dont tell me when he needs to go, just when he already has. I think if your son is telling you he needs to go and if he is taking his diaper off he should be ok to start. just try to make it fun put something he like on the potty and tell him if he use's it he can get the "object". Some parents dont believe in rewarding because the child will expect something all the time, but thats how we were taught and we grew out of that really quick.

Jaime - posted on 05/12/2010

I've started putting him on the potty first thing when he wakes up in the morning. I don't force him to stay on there, but I try to talk to him and encourage him to potty. That way when he accidentally does it, we can be happy. I think boys can be difficult to train. My friend has a little girl who is 10 weeks older than my little guy and she is already trained. Grant doesn't want to try. He will take off his diaper and walk me to the bathroom, but won't do anything. I think when they are ready, they will let us know. Good luck!!

Natasha - posted on 05/12/2010

Way to go all you mommies who are working hard to help your LOs learn about the potty. :) It does take a lot of effort and patience...
We hardly use any diapers during the day with my son anymore... I say what helped us was learning to become aware of his need to go, for both me and him. I had to really learn his patterns for going (when he does it, facial expressions, etc.), and then offer the potty when I thought he needed it. We started early and used diapers as a back up, and now use underwear, with hardly any accidents.

Sam - posted on 05/12/2010

i am exactly the same ... my son is 2 on the 6th july and i introduced the potty about 2 months ago he tells me when hes wee'd or pood and pulls his nappy of when wet but he doesnt go on potty he just pees the other side of the room to the potty ive just gone out and bought him a chair potty but now he thinks thats a toy and try to play with it lol

Sheralyn - posted on 05/11/2010

i think baby boys should sit, and then learn to stand a bit later on once the have mastered the whole using the potty in the first place. That will be my plan anyway. I read a tip that said to put a colourful pingpong ball in the water and get them to aim for it... sounds like a fun way to teach them when its time to stand up if you ask me!

Sheralyn - posted on 05/11/2010

Check out "Potty Training in One Week" by Gina Ford. (I've only got 1/2 way thru at the moment but) it has loads of helpful tips about knowing WHEN a child is ready to start training, which is key I think. If they aren't ready, then you will have a hard struggle on your hands. I haven't started with my boy yet (22months) I'm just paying attention to how he is about his toilet habits and knowledge. He doesn't want anything to do with the potty either, especially if he has no pants on (cold on his bottom I guess!) Check out the book tho, could be helpful. good luck!

Racheal - posted on 05/10/2010

I did start potty training but that is only because he was taking his diaper off all of the time. There is no rush but with my son i just keep him naked and watch him like a hawk and he has already pottied like 6 times times and I just started a couple days ago.

Nichola - posted on 05/10/2010

we just have a potty and he goes on it when he wants to....he also knows when he pees or poops and tells me....i have tried going all day without a diaper..i just let him be naked and keep the potty chair with us...sometimes he goes on his own most of the time i have to prompt him....he still resists me pretty often about sitting on it so I just dont push him...they will get it eventually....also from experience at my daycare the more you push the more they rebel

Susan - posted on 05/09/2010

This is the first post I've made in this forum so not sure if it'll work! My little boy will be two at the end of July but I haven't even considered potty training yet - I just don't get this trend for early potty training. I don't see it as difficult to change a nappy 3-4x a day - it's got to be easier than cleaning up the floor for months on end. Reading some of the replies which said it 'only took 6m' to train her, that just seems nuts to me! My daughter is 3 & 8m and was initially quite resistant to potty training - she was later than all her friends, but we went for it when she was 2 & 9m and I knew without doubt she was ready. She was clean and dry from day 1, has only ever had 5 accidents and has been dry at night since her 3rd birthday with only one accident overnight in that time. I firmly believe until waiting until you know they're ready - it has got to be so much easier, surely, rather than trying to encourage it just to say they're out of nappies????

Punzelina - posted on 05/08/2010

I've started training mine. Mine has been seeing us use the potty sine he was crawling. He was so busy that I had to bring him in with me. He has known what the toilet was about since before he was 1 year. I make a big deal about flushing and let him watch it go down and we stand and say bye, bye. I let him flush after I go and then after he goes. It's a pretty big deal for him. He's not consistent yet, but I let him run around without his diaper and watch for when he is ready and then take him to the toilet. He sometimes tells me when he has to go, but not always. I don't know what to say about getting them to use the toilet. If they understand what it is, then they are old enough to train.

One suggestion may be to use cloth diapers and then let him clean his own diaper out - very unpleasant. My mom did that with me and I only had to clean one diaper, after that I decided that going i the toilet was much better - another thing was that I wouldn't sit on the toilet either, until one day I saw one of those miniature toilets and loved it - after that, no longer scared of the toilet. Another suggestion that I heard from a friend (he may still be too young for this, but maybe after he's turned 2 or ...?, is to explain to him that he is a big boy now and that big boys are too stinky to change the diapers inside and the next time you will take him outside and hose him off (again, very unpleasant), depending on how strong-willed your son is, there may only be one or two hosings. I also heard of someone else whose son was 3, they told him that since he was too young to use the toilet, then he was too young to eat sweets and until he could use the toilet, he couldn't have any sweets. He lasted a week, then decided he was going to use the potty.
Just a few suggestions - I hope all works out for you!

Kelly - posted on 05/08/2010

I have been potty training my son for about 6 months he is in pull ups now and the only thing he hasnt quite mastered yet is pooping on the potty he will be two on july 4th and I am hoping for him to be completely potty trained by then

Laurel - posted on 05/08/2010

With my older son (who is almost 7 now) I tried to start training before he was 2. It was too soon. He wanted no part of it. And then right after he turned 2 we moved and he was going to a new preschool. Shortly after Christmas that year (he was 2 and 1/2 then) his teacher asked me to bring in pull ups and underpants and they would start working on training him. So I got out the training stuff at home again too (potty chair in his bathroom, etc...) At his 3rd birthday party he was still in pull-ups, but wouldn't poop in it anymore. He would tell me when he had to poop and he'd do it on the potty. He got that part quickly. He started doing better with the peeing part too, a few months after he turned 3. Of course he still had accidents, but he was wearing underwear more than pull-ups. (In the pull-ups, he knew it was a diaper, so he'd just pee in it, rather than go to potty and pull it off) A few months before he was 4 he was finally completely trained for both, with occassional accidents. Then came the exciting part-potty training at night. When he was 4 and in vpk, I was pregnant. So when I would wake in the middle of the night, I would go take him to the potty then too. This trend continued after I was no longer pregnant, but when I'd get up with baby (now almost 2) I'd go take him to the potty then too. We just recently (since Christmas of this year) stopped this routine getting him up in the middle of the night and he's only wet the bed a handful of times, which I think is normal.

So, my perspective on potty training Matthew (who is now almost 2) is quite different than with my first son. We moved last summer and ever since we've been in this house we've had a potty seat in the bathroom. He has sat on it a few times and peed, but nothing consistent. But based on my experiences with his older brother I've decided that this time I will let him tell me when he's ready. I'm not forcing him or making him do it. The time will come when he'll be ready. And for the kids who are trained earlier, he'll see them doing it (and he watches all of us use the potty) and eventually he'll want to.

Once he shows interest, I'm all about bribery!!! Each time he goes, make a BIG deal out of it, hooting and hollering and then give him some m&ms. If he can go 1 day with a dry diaper, buy him underpants, let him pick out what kind- superman, nemo, whatever! Then let him wear the underpants for a little while one day and encourage him to use the potty and each time he does, make a BIG deal out of it again and of course reward with m&ms or whatever. Then take it from a few hours in undies to a whole day in undies, etc... little bit at a time. However, this also goes along with the whole "wait until they're ready" thing because bribery doesn't work as well on a 2 yo as it does on a 3 yo. And if at first you don't succeed, try, try again! Keep at it and he'll get it. And don't worry... as a 1st grade teacher, I've never ONCE met a kid who didn't know how to use the potty at school! He WILL be potty trained by the time he starts school, so don't sweat it.

Good luck!!!!

Carla - posted on 05/07/2010

My son has been telling me when he needs to go or when he has gone for about 3 months. Sometimes we have success, but sometimes we don't. I started by taking him into the bathroom with me when ever I needed to go. When I sit on the toilet Will was more willing to sit on his as well. He also goes into the bathroom with his father. I have my son sit down right now and when I was teaching toddlers we had the boys sit down until they could start aiming ( we used cherrios). I let will pick out his potty and his big boy pants. when we are at home for the whole day together I let him run around naked. I taught him to bang on the bathroom door when he needs to go as well because sometimes he isn't very verbal.
I have a hard time because I only have 4 hours with him mon-fri and his care center wont work with him in potty training because they believe he is too young.

Shannon - posted on 05/07/2010

try a reward we started with a hot wheel for just sitting on it every time just to get him used to it. themn he got it for going pottie. Now it maybe once a week. He loves cars so we used something he liked . His twin had no problem useing it so we gave him a car here and there just to be far. But Jackson didn't need and reward. He doesn't like to be wet.

Alycia - posted on 05/07/2010

I'm going to start full on potty training my son next week. We've been familiarizing him with the potty for at least two months now and what I did to start off was buy a few fun books about the potty for him because he loves books and imitates what he sees. Then I let him come in the bathroom with me everytime and he would pull down his pants and sit on his potty while I was on the big one. He hasn't done anything in the potty yet but I think I will try the bare bottom approach first. I have also armed myself with pull ups, waffle training pants, hot wheels stickers and a potty training chart...I hope I'm ready! As for the standing and sitting thing, I read it's best for them to understand the whole process if they are taught to sit first and then when they catch on and have been doing well you can teach them to stand but best to teach one thing at a time rather than bombarding them with a bunch of stuff at once :)

Good luck to all of us who are attempting this next big step I hope we all do well :D

Amy - posted on 05/07/2010

my mom said my brother was 2 1/2, and it took a week for him to be completely potty trained, night and day. she said he spent the week with my grandpa at 'the farm' and he just ran around outside naked, and that apparently helped him to know when he had to go and to let someone know! but I don't think i'm about to let my kiddo run around naked outside...we're in town! lol

Stacey - posted on 05/07/2010

my daugher for potty training we used M&M's she'd get (3) b/c she was 3 (or almost). but my son just doesn't seem ready. when he poops, he points, says poop, i ask if he wants to change his diaper and he walks right to his room to get changed. he has taken off his diaper himself. i would love to train him this summer and be done with diapers... but i don't know if he's quite ready, and then that would just drag out the training time. as for trianing in general. we started my daughter in may and was good for a few weeks - but then realized the pull ups were like diapers and she'd jsut go.... went on vacation in july and completely fell off the wagon. restarted in Aug with just underwear and diaper at night - and she was all set- a few accidents but those were cured with in 2 weeks of being at pre-school. by december she was trained overnight.

Cailie - posted on 05/07/2010

I started with mine when he was under a year by letting him watch waht daddy was doing and then we went and got him his own and he used it when daddy used it and so on and so forth. i also have a thing of candy in a sealed container with suckers for poop and smaller faster candy for pee. i then have all his favorite books in there as well. at first i set a timer for evey 30 mintes and did that for a few weeks on my days off and i would ask him or tell him it was time to the bathroom or lets go try. he is almost two now and i still set a timer on my days off to remind him but he now tells me when he has to go or once he is going hahaha it takes a lot lonner with boys then with girls and i am finding that out the hard way a year later. my niece only took 6 months for 100% potty training and we did the dame thing!

Andrea - posted on 05/07/2010

Amy - you took the words right out of my mouth! I too had no idea to start him standing or sitting or what! AND my son is also named Noah and would totally eat those cheerios before even beginning to think about aiming for them! So far my little man has just been introduced to the potty - he sits on it sometimes and knows he has to take his diaper off to do so - and occasionally thinks he needs toilet paper (to wipe like mommy - eek!) but he's never actually gone in it. Glad to see I'm not the only that felt completely lost in this process. I wish us all the best of luck!

Brandee - posted on 05/06/2010

Sounds to me like he is ready.. My son will sit on the potty and wants to sit on the potty, but does not care if his diaper is wet or dirty.. He will tell you he is poopy, but he doesn't care enough to get a new diaper.. I am going to potty train beginning May 21.. I downloaded an ebook called "3 day potty training".. I figured it is worth a shot.. I have heard some good reviews from local people who used this technique.. I will post how it goes after I try it.

Jen - posted on 05/06/2010

Mine is interested when others go, and names what he sees in the toilet and loves to flush for you. He also "needs" to see his diaper after you change him to see what is in it, but he will not sit on his chair yet. As for the sit or stand issue. My oldest was taught on a big potty sitting backward so he could see himself pee. Too messy in my opinion to learn standing up, until they are tall enough for the big potty. And then it is still messy! My older 2 were late learners for potty training. My oldest mastered dryness around 2.5yr but wasn't fully trained till closer to 4. My middle son started training at 2yr but was still having trouble with consistency even in pre k, because he didn't want to miss out on anything.

Stephanie - posted on 05/05/2010

My son was just very interested! He wanted to watch everyone and try every potty! So I decided to start training. So far so good. I put him on the potty every half hour or when he starts tugging at his stuff. Then I do cheer, song, and dance! Make a huge deal of it! When he doesn’t, I don’t. Though, he has yet to go poop.

Shya - posted on 05/05/2010

We started around 18 months just letting his sit every now and again and reading books. He has a little basket of books in the bathroom and he likes to read certain ones. He will now be 22 months next week and is very interested in going "poop potty" as he calls it. Sunday he peed 3x, Monday peed & pooped and yesterday peed a couple times. I would just try to get him to sit on occasion and don't pressure him too much.

Heather - posted on 05/04/2010

To Amy,
I think starting out with sitting is a whole lot easier. Even though sometimes my little man still misses while sitting down there is less of a chance. Sometimes if I noticed he is playing a lot and not paying attention to where he is peeing I have to help him hold it down towards the toilet rather than it sticking straight up in the air. Once he gets the hang of peeing and knowing when and where to go potty, then I would start showing him how to stand up and do it. I also contemplated on this myself whether or not to have hubby show him how to do it standing up. Im worried with my son not completely potty trained yet, if we show him to just pull it out of his pull up and pee then he will probably try to do it all over the house. BTW- I have heard of many men who will not stand to pee because of the back splash on them or every where else, they think it is gross. Your husband is not the only man who does not like to stand to pee!

Good Luck with the potty training!

Amy - posted on 05/04/2010

Katie, I'm with you! I just don't even know where to start! We have a potty, but he's never used it. He used to tell me before he pooped, so that's why we got the potty. But for some reason, he has stopped telling me!

Also, weird question. Should they stand up or sit down? My husband (who would be mortified that I'm sharing this, even though you don't know him!) sits down to pee when he's at home. If he's in public, he stands, of course, but sits at home. It makes things much easier for me when cleaning the toilet! lol But what's easier for a baby? It seems like either way is going to be really messy! I've heard of putting cheerios in the potty so they can aim at them...but Noah would just try to eat the cheerios! lol I think once he's used to going on the potty, that could work, but just not yet. But would having him sit be easier? I don't think he'd understand how to point himself down! lol It would be so much easier if we had girls! haha

Heather - posted on 04/30/2010

I started getting mine used to the potty chair when he was about 15 months. I went and bought a potty chair and every night before bath time he would sit on it. I gave him the time to explore it and get the curiosity out of his system. Then a couple weeks ago we started putting him in pull ups and underwear. I myself am having a few issues but for the most part he is doing great. The day care he goes to is also helping out with it. We give him a small piece of candy if he goes in the potty. He knows if he doesn't go in the potty then he doesn't get candy. Lately he has been having the issue of drawing back. He knows hes not supposed to be going in his pull up but he still does. The daycare says he goes all day without accidents, but at home its like he is more relaxed. I don't know what to do now. But I am going to ask the question about that.

Jessie - posted on 04/30/2010

My son has gone on the potty a couple times here and there but nothing consistent. I just try to make the potty as fun as possible and let him sit on it when he wants to. I he likes to sit on it when i go to the bath room so i let him come in and sit on his potty while i sit on mine lol. He hasn't gotten to the point where he tells me when he has to go sometimes he will and then will go on the potty but most of the time he just goes in his diaper and then tells me his diaper is wet.