Potty training???

Joni - posted on 05/11/2010

I introduced the potty at 18 months and that was a complete waste of time. My daughter wasn't trained until 2 1/2. I read the book "How to Potty Train Your Child in One Day." It worked, but only b/c she was ready. And I skipped the pull ups.

Sylvia - posted on 05/11/2010

The earlier you start, the longer it takes. If you don't mind working on it for a year or more, start now; if you'd rather have it over with in a few weeks, wait about a year and then start.

I'd concur with the comment about pull-ups. We did use them at night with DD once she was trained in the daytime, because she could put them on herself when she changed into her pyjamas instead of our having to put a diaper on her. But in the daytime, underwear all the way! You do a lot of laundry at first, but it's worth it for the fact that wet pants feel like wet pants, which is a powerful motivator for most kids :P

Training in the summer, outdoors, apparently works really well. The timing didn't work out for DD, but a lot of people swear by it...

Rebecca - posted on 05/11/2010

Don't be too eager to start. In my experience, the sooner you start, the longer you potty train. Make sure your son is showing some indication that he is interested--dry over long periods of time, showing you a "clue" that he's going, or asking to try. Once you start, be ready to dig deep for patience. I do like pull ups cause both my kids got really stressed out about messing up their "good" underware. My son once held his bowel movement for 3 days until we relented and put on a pull up back on. Every child is different. I gave out 1 jellybean as a reward which was a cheap reward. It is amazing what you can get them to do for 1 jellybean! Be patient and good luck!

Carol - posted on 05/11/2010

20 months is usually too early. I know some areas/countries train at a year but it's really the parents that are trained. Getting a little potty works for a lot of people. Explain what it is and have him try it out. I'm willing to bet he'll like sitting on, he just won't "go" in it consistently. I always hated emptying it, so I usually flipped it over and used it as a stepping stool (that's what many are designed for when kids graduate to the 2nd step). I put the seat part on the regular toilet. Some people find that it's more comfortable for the kids to sit backwards so they can hold onto the tank and don't feel like they're falling off.

For boys you can make a game of it and throw Cheerios in and have them aim for them. I had one mom worried because her son sat when he went. I'd just be happy if they used the toilet, I don't think there are laws that boys have to stand, lol.

Most important thing is patience! They'll learn when they're ready. Forcing them too early might make the training last longer and cause a lot of fights Most boys are around 3 when they're potty training. My youngest decided to do it at Disney when he was about 2 1/2. We certainly didn't intend on training him there and spending half our vacation in the bathrooms but it was the best thing that came out of the trip. My oldest was bribed at 3 and it lasted a lot longer because he just wasn't interested yet.

Good luck.