Dont even know where to start??

Joanne - posted on 06/05/2010

So far I have potty trained 2 girls and 1 boy. I still have a boy (30mths) and a girl (3mths) to potty train, but that's later. With my kids the pre-school initiated and I just continued. We pretty much went cold turkey and put them in big kid's underwear during the day with frequent checking on their status. We've had a few accidents but we have tiles, wood and lots of sun and Febreez to get us through.
Each one was different. The first girl was the easiest. I bought a potty but they were never interested. They all used the toilet. But then again that's what they had to use in school. My second girl now 7 still waits till the very last second to go so she still has a few accidents, sometimes even at night. You just have to be patient with these things. My younger brother didn't stop wetting the bed until he was almost 12 so I know it can get very frustrating.
With my first boy he took nearly 6 months to potty train. I started him in pre-school and had to take him back out because he was giving so much trouble. Some days I would have him bare so when I start to see anything it's straight on the toilet for him to finish. But of all the stress during the day he has not had an accident in the night. The only time he wets the bed is if I get up late and don't get him to the toilet in time. But he's getting the hang of that too.
You can't avoid accidents you just have to be vigilant and prepared to clean it immediately. You also will have to ensure that only certain parts of the house are acceptable for play. I had to ban him from the sofa and my bed until he had better control. I would even try to use that as incentive, "You want to lie in mummy's bed you have to use the toilet, you can't pee in mommy's bed" things like that. At one point he was holding his poo until he got the diaper in the night. So whenever he pooed in the diaper I would take the diaper and empty the poo in the toilet and tell him "Poo is for the toilet". He eventyally got the idea.
But it is essential that they see the connection between their waste and the toilet. Once they make that connection, you'll be good to go. Have fun!!!!

Jene' - posted on 06/04/2010

Hello! I have potty trained 4 boys @ 2 yrs. old it is harder on us as moms then it is on the little guys I promise! My Grandmother taught me this method and it worked like a charm but once again it will be harder on us but once it is done which should only take a week or 2 I promise!!!!!!! It is worth it!

Once you make the decision you can never turn back go back or givr in because u would be confusing them!

Make it a special thing have him go to the store before you start the process pick out a back pack and some really cool underwear(ones that you would not be to attached too because some of those first time undies went straight to the ole garbage") then make it a big deal for him to pack the bag himself with older clothes that you do not care to get soiled and undies. Now you have made them in charge of something and they love this! They carry it every where with them so that they know they have a reresponsibility. I always started my boys backwards on the toilet it gave them a sense of security to hold on and they did not make a mess by peeing out the front of the toilet. I put undies on them first thing in the morning after they would get up and go potty and then I reminded them ever so 30 min or so if they had to go potty. I made them feel if they were dry or wet so they could feel the difference. If they were dry I made a big deal out of it and praised them and took them to try to go if they were wet I went with them to get new undies on and they changed them their self but also i made them know what wet felt like so they would catch on quick. aftera long day of trial and error I would put either a pull up on or diaper whatever I had left @ end of day! I would definitely make sure they were ready for bed though and not confuse them with being awake with a pull up on. Then let them tell u in morning if they were dry or wet and start all over. Once they are dry for a long consecutive number of nights then you have also mastered night time but do not worry all of my boys took there time with this one! any more ?'s I would be happy to answer!

Liz - posted on 05/30/2010

I haven't started to really potty train my almost two year old b/g twins yet, but a friend of the family just went through this not too long ago with her youngest who just turned three in April. What she ended up doing was putting the underwear on her daughter and then putting a pull up on top of the underwear. That way she learned what it felt like if she went, and there wouldn't be a huge mess everywhere. From that she gradually transitioned her just to wearing underwear and she's been doing great since.

Omnia - posted on 05/30/2010

Oh Dear,
I'm almost in the same sitiuation but instead the moving issue my 26 months old daughter went through a hard constipation for 2 weeks, the thing got her traumatic from sitting on the toilet again. every time I make the invitation she starts panicing and crying. I started yesterday to use the underwear but no response so far she's also asking to put the diappers again. I don't know what to do.

Christina - posted on 05/29/2010

OH! Before I forget, you do have a water-proof matress pad, right? I have one for my girl and, even tho her sheets have gotten a few stains, her matress is spared!

Christina - posted on 05/29/2010

Oh, honey. Take a deep breath. Take another one. Hold it, count to five slowly, and release. Now, did that help? Even a little?

I feel your pain. I'm in the beginning phase of potty-training and I'm still not sure what to do. I have a little girl, so I won't be a lot of help, but I'll try. Okay, my thought for my daughter was to put her in big-girl undies cuz she's figured out she can pee and poop in her pullups and it works just like her diapers. That's not a good thing. I figured putting her in undies and then putting on her sweat-pant capris, she would feel what it feels like to pee on herself and make a warm, nasty mess, then maybe she would be more inclined to use her potty. I'm not sure how that'd work, tho, cuz I don't want to traumatize her or get her not wearing her capris anymore. I also wouldn't look forward to cleaning up pee messes on the couch, recliner, carpet, or upstairs where the dogs would get into it.....or washing a load of her pee-covered clothes every other day.

I will say, with your boy, I think it'd be best to teach him standing up if his dad will be helping with the point-and-shoot part of it all. He needs to learn that from him cuz, obviously, little girls and little boys have different anatomies when it comes to peeing.

As for them telling you when they need to go, I have no idea when that starts. My daughter loves Shrek so she walks around saying it all day long, without the 'k' at the ens tho cuz she hasn't quite figured out how to get that one on there. I was thinking, and am hoping, that if I just put her in panties and she realizes that not going in her potty means a big mess, maybe she'll start using her potty by herself without even telling me. Either way, tho, I make it a point to tell my daughter when I need to go, and what I need to do since she follows me into the bathroom almost every single time I go in there.

I wish you luck, and myself luck. Good luck to both of us! :D

Kalena - posted on 05/29/2010

well...i like the lil potty chairs on the ground. This is because my son can pull down his underwear and sit down all alone! I tried the lil seat on top of the big toilet and it was too much. He had to climb a step stool and he couldn't get on easy and then he would take the lil seat with him on accident when trying to slide off! now...sitting or standing?? I say let him sit down and learn...one thing at a time. The seat has a lil catcher for boys. Once he gets the potty on the toilet thing down then u can move on to teaching him he can go a diff way. Thats the way im approaching it anyway! About the pull-ups at night...my son hasnt made it far enough yet to try it at night yet....we still have to make it through a day!!! lol but i would say u can try the pull-ups and when u notice they r pretty dry or dry completely in the morn u can give the underwear all night a try! im sure we will both have a few loads of bedsheets to wash before its all over though!! GOOD LUCK!