IM SO CONFUSED ABOUT THE WHOLE POTTY TRAINING THING, PLEASE HELP

Jennifer Jo - posted on 08/14/2010

i used to set on the edge of the bathtub every time mine went to the potty and would kinda wiggle my butt and make funny faces to show him they he can make it worl down there. but NEVER force the issue or he will be affraid of the potty. mine was a little over 3 before he was TOTALLY trained

Rosemarie - posted on 08/14/2010

A lot of people will tell you to let him decide when he wants to go, but I disagree with that.

First of all, don't force him to sit on it or he will rebel and then never go on it.

See if you can get him to sit on it and maybe read him a story, or color with him. He will get used to sitting there and might not be so afraid. It is totally normal for children to be afraid of pooping on the potty. More kids than you will ever know have the same problem, so your not alone. Also, does he sit or stand to make pee? If he stands, then you may have a little more of a problem getting him to sit there. Try to make it fun, and tell him that he will get a prize when he finally does make a poop in the potty. The prize doesn't have to be anything big, it can be as small as a lollipop or you can buy him a toy. That is all up to you. Make a very big deal whenever he sits quietly on the potty and don't fret if he doesn't sit. Just let that go.Don't make him sit for too long, just about five minutes. If he will do that then he will be easier to train.Buy training pants in the baby section of Walmart or target. I am not referring to pull ups, I am talking about cloth underwear. They are thicker than normal underwear and they usually come in a package of 2 or 3. You will need enough to go for a couple of days so that you don't have to wash them out every night for the next day. Don't put diapers on him unless you are going out somewhere. Also, DO use diapers at night. You will need to conquer daytime potty use before you worry about night time. Keep him home for a couple of days so that you can concentrate on using the potty and take him every hour to sit for a couple of minutes.When he finally does go, be sure to make a VERY big deal about how great he did. Call Grandma and daddy so he can tell them what he did and let them tell him how proud they are of him. He'll get the picture really fast.

Shauna - posted on 08/14/2010

I'm with you there im confused too as to how to approach the actual training part of it. My daughter is 29 mos.and I just started training her . She is developmentally delayed so its hard to tell if shes catching on because she isn't really talking that much yet, or pointing either .

However she has peed in the potty 12 times in the past 2 weeks .She has pooped in it twice so far too! I was putting her right on the potty as soon as she woke up and she was going. But all of a sudden the past couple of days she hasn't been going in the morning , and when she did it was on the floor at lunch time !!

I think if you take his diaper off and let him run around naked that prepares both of you ,and you can keep trying and giving him a lot to drink it does help and can make it more predictable.

Today she peed on the floor and then FINALLY in the potty 1 time!! So i just keep her in her room with a lot of toys for her to play with,read her a book, or I put Elmo on her dvd player so she can relax and concentrate more.

I am teaching her sign language and I was sooo proud of her the other day she said "potty" and shook her closed fist and did the sign, Now i just gotta get her to do it when shes on the potty and ill be all set! I need to have her ;potty trained by next year when shes 3 ,because shes going to preeschool early because shes a preemie.

Alison - posted on 08/12/2010

Is there a reason why you are in such a hurry? It is normal for children to start developing an interest in the toilet around this age, but that doesn't mean it's time to toss out the diapers. Some people seem to think that a child should be in undies at age 2, but most kids aren't until age 3 or 4. Bowl movements tend to take quite a bit longer and boys are often slower than girls.

My advice: encourage/help him to sit on the toilet whenever he is interested (my little one often sat on the toilet with all her clothes on), never force him. If at age 3 he hasn't had his first pee pee in the potty, you may want to pursue training more actively (putting him in underpants, giving him lots to drink, encouraging to sit on the toilet every hour), but even then, too much pressure will be counter active.

So relax and enjoy this time in his life. He will grow up faster than you think!

KayAnna - posted on 01/12/2010

I know this is disgusting but, let him see you go. Show him what it means to go in the potty so he will get a better idea of what to do.

I put my daughter in pull ups so she can pull them up and down and have a sense of independence.

Also, let them go in the diaper/pull ups until they are comforatable, then I put the poop in the toilet and flush and let them see. I told her "you see the poop in the toilet." My daughter was like "wow." I also let her flush (you just have to make sure they are not flushing objects down the toilet.)

At night I put on pull ups and pull ups during the day. Almost two is a little young so don't be upset if it dosen't happen right away. My daughter is finally being consistent at 3.

Marissa - posted on 01/12/2010

thanx for ur advice..When I have to go to the bathromm, I say it out loud then he follows me in there, So then he does get the concept that when mommy has to go she sits on the potty, Im hopin that he continues to want to lear...I will try the underwear with him and see how that works..And wont push the issue with him..Thanx again for replying!

Bic - posted on 01/11/2010

I wouldn't force the issue, otherwise you might have him resentign the potty. Maybe have him come with you when you need to go to the toilet or when his father needs to go to the toilet. That way he can 'see' it in action.



I put my 2 year old straight into undies. He feels the discomfort imemdiateyl and knows to go to the toilet. However I do have timber floors so it makes it easier for me to clean up any accidents.



I tried 'pull ups' but that didn't work for us, because while he feels discomfort momentarily, it was gone within a few seconds..and he just treated them like another nappy.



We're giving this a good go for about 2 weeks. If there's no success we'er going to give it a break for a month or two and then try again.