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How do I start potty training my 28 month old son?

Leah - posted on 06/21/2012 ( 3 moms have responded )

I can get him to go on the potty when he has to poop, but how do I get him to understand when he needs to pee, and to tell me? Do I just start putting him on the potty at different times throughout the day? I know not to force him to it, and sometimes he won't get on the potty at all, any suggestions, or helpful advice? I have an 11 year old daughter, so it's been a while since I potty trained a child, I forget a lot of the things I did with my daughter, although, I do remember her being more eager to go on the potty. He'll say the word potty, but when I bring him to sit on it, he won't get on, or if I get him on, he won't stay unless he has to poop, in which case, he wants me to sit with him and hug him while he goes, which I do, because I don't want him to be scared, or uncomfortable, I wonder though, if doing this will cause more harm than good, in the long run?

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Jennifer - posted on 06/24/2012

To start, get rid of the diapers! We only used it for night time and those got put on literally as he was falling asleep and got taken off right after he woke up. Take him to the store with you so he can pick out his favorite undies. Buy a couple packs because he might go through a lot of them the first couple of days! We also had my son pick out a stool (so he could get on the big potty) and he picked out the potty seat he wanted (we bought the kind that sits right on the big potty, I don't like the little potty's). Do NOT do pull-ups. We made it very fun. We'd get all excited every time we took him to the potty and even "raced" there sometimes. I took him there about every 45 minutes the first day. If he has accidents don't get mad at him. Just tell him he needs to do that in the big boy potty next time and clean him up. Every time he went #1 or #2 in the potty we'd get very happy and give him high fives and stuff. My son was potty trained in 3 days. I have heard that boys are harder to train than girls and have some friends with sons who didn't like pooping in the potty. My sisters friends son would put on his little sisters diaper and poop in it every time he had to poop because he didn't want to do it in the potty! Just encourage him a lot and tell him how proud of him you are. We made a big deal that he was now a "big boy" because he used the "big boy potty"! Good luck!

Brittney - posted on 06/22/2012

1,508

I routine trained my daughter (when she first turned 1), so I would start with that. Put him on the potty every 45 minutes and tell him to go potty, if he does, then praise him if not tell him at least he tried. Are you using a little potty or the big potty? The big potty is overwhelming sometimes, but my daughter wanted to use the toilet because we didn't use her little one. Then when she was about 18 months she didn't want to sit on it anymore, so I put her little potty back together. As for telling you when he has to go...I'm not sure. My daughter will be 2 in a few months and only tells me occasionally when were out in public. She has been potty trained since 15 months and diaper free before that. If she is bare bottomed she will go by herself when she needs to go. If I'm in the bathroom with her, she will ask to go after I go.

-Once you get rid of diapers, do not bring them back
-consistency is the key
-praise whether he went or not
-do not get mad at him for accidents
-we had an open door policy (where she could see us use the potty)
-offer toys, books, stickers to keep him busy while sitting on the potty (I would leave Ruby on the potty up to 5 minutes unless she wanted to stay)

If you have any other questions, let me know!