How do I get my Son to Potty Train?

Erica - posted on 12/07/2011

I have to say that I honestly dont agree with the wait until she's ready... what I did with my now 3 year old was I was on leave for 2 weeks, for the second week of my leave I would wake up in the morning with the girls and set my timer on my stove for 20 minutes, when the timer went off we went to the potty, my daughter didnt like the little potties, but i think that was because her older sister was using the regular potty. Anyways, the timer went off- we went to the potty, I kept her in a shirt and panties all day, and every 20 minutes we went to the potty and we sang a song while she sat there for a couple of minutes. This enables them to go pee, or poop and start realizing what the feeling is that they get before they have to go. Give her juice or water frequently throughout the day. If she has an accident, then take her straight in and sit on the potty and tell her this is where we go potty not in our pants. It takes a lot of time, but by half way through day 2 she was telling me when she had to go and we didn't have any accidents from then on. Bed time- i decided after she started to have frequent dry diapers in the morning. hope this helps!!

Erica - posted on 12/07/2011

I have to say that I honestly dont agree with the wait until she's ready... what I did with my now 3 year old was I was on leave for 2 weeks, for the second week of my leave I would wake up in the morning with the girls and set my timer on my stove for 20 minutes, when the timer went off we went to the potty, my daughter didnt like the little potties, but i think that was because her older sister was using the regular potty. Anyways, the timer went off- we went to the potty, I kept her in a shirt and panties all day, and every 20 minutes we went to the potty and we sang a song while she sat there for a couple of minutes. This enables them to go pee, or poop and start realizing what the feeling is that they get before they have to go. Give her juice or water frequently throughout the day. If she has an accident, then take her straight in and sit on the potty and tell her this is where we go potty not in our pants. It takes a lot of time, but by half way through day 2 she was telling me when she had to go and we didn't have any accidents from then on. Bed time- i decided after she started to have frequent dry diapers in the morning. hope this helps!!

Lise - posted on 12/06/2011

Poop is actually not that hard to get out of carpet. Haha. But, I doubt any child made it through potty training without accidents. They just happen. You can track when he goes to get an idea of when he goes.

Jessica - posted on 12/06/2011

Thank you Lise..i will tried..i afraid he will do it in carpet.hard to get it out.You can called me Jessica

Lise - posted on 12/06/2011

You won't know until you try, Hoang! Accidents are also just part of potty training.

See if he will poop on the toilet wearing a diaper.

Jessica - posted on 12/06/2011

if i get a diaper off he might poops on floor..what can i do? he wear underwear on and he can do pee on his own..i just afraid if i let him wear underwear ,he might poos on floor.please help. he is 3 years old

Martha - posted on 12/02/2011

I would get a potty chair put it in the living room, let him get comfortable with it, also ask dad to take him potty with him, sometimes it's better motivation with dad. Sometimes it's only scary bc it's unfamiliar. Once he gets the idea he might learn really quick since he doesn't like to be dirty. Sometimes it only takes a few tinkles to get the idea, the most important readiness sign is if he has consistently dry periods throughout the day. If your kid pees a little all the time he's prob not ready, if he pees his diaper all at once every few hours, he probably is. That is a sign that he is physically able to control when he goes. The rest of the signs I think just indicate more how you approach potty training. A 4 yr old and an 18 mo old have different ways of understanding. If you are motivated and he has dry times, go for it! Even if he wets at night only that is 1 diaper a day, instead of 5-7. Much cleaner and less expensive. Good luck!

Lise - posted on 12/01/2011

If he's afraid to sit on the potty, or yells and gets upset, you aren't going to get anywhere. Would he go potty sitting on the toilet wearing a diaper?

Ashley - posted on 12/01/2011

thank u ive tried everything

Rebecca - posted on 12/01/2011

Don't use pull-ups...they are big diapers. I put my son in big boy undies at age 2 and potty trained him over a weekend. Started on a friday night and was done by sunday night. I took him to the toilet once an hour and sometimes he'd go other times i've have a wet spot on the carpet. He hated the feeling of being wet and used the toilet like daddy did. He hated the little training potty and used it for a stool instead. If he is afraid he'll fall in....u can get a toilet seat attachment that they have in all different disney themes that fits on the inside of the lid to make a bigger surface area for them to sit on. Also to save his mattress I lined it with a black trash bag and then put the sheets on so if any accidents occured it wouldn't seep into the mattress. Fortunately for me, he never wet the bed and always got up in the middle of the night to go pee.

Ashley - posted on 11/30/2011

My son is 2 yrs n 3 months. i have been already working with him for months and months. When I first started trying he wasnt even 2. Now he comes and tells me when he goes but he refuses to use the pitty chair or the big toilet. He keeps sayin no I fall and he has had no reason to ever say that, He wears the underwear but when he has to go he pulls them off and then pees in the floor. He knows when he has to go but I am starting to feel like im never gonna get him trained. Can anyone give me any advice HELP!!!!!

Amanda - posted on 09/20/2011

My Son will be 4 on March and we has only been potty trained for approx 2 months. It sounds like your son is just not ready... My son would tell me everytime I would bring up the potty that he is not ready. I started with getting him to pee before every bath, then graduated to when daddy or mommy goes. When I felt confident and he was telling me he needed to go I put underwear on him (no pull-ups) and constantly reminded him. My husband and I would also do treats for each pee and poo. No we have moved to suprises when he goes a week with no accidents. Hang in there he will train when he is ready. I havent seen a college grad that wore diapers yet.

Betty - posted on 09/20/2011

I bought my 3 year old some of those platic dipers & he hated it, everytime I would put them on him he would fight me & cry about it so I told him that he would use his potty I would put on his big boy underware & it really took a weekend to get him into the habit but here he is 4 months later & he is using it like he is suppost to, it is a prossess so just be patient with him.

Kerry - posted on 09/18/2011

I got a potty sticker for my daughter and when she went for a wee a cartoon sheep appeared and she loved it, I would recommend trying one of these as a start. and maybe try sitting him on the normal toilet and see if that helps rather than a potty, obviously he'll still have the odd accident but it worked for me so maybe worth a try. Hope this helps.

Lisa - posted on 09/18/2011

He's too young, Period!! Even though he hates being wet, he's not ready for the potty. Boys generally (I said generally) do not train at 26 months.

Rochelle - posted on 09/15/2011

I'll say that both my kids were potty trained shortly after they turned 2. I'm not a big pusher so they trained on their own time and didn't make it to the potty chair every time. But I will say that my daughter is just 2 yrs and 4 months old and she is pretty much potty trained even through the night. She still has accidents, but I don't worry. I just watched for the potty readiness clues...(you can find a list at www.babycenter.com and type in the search field "potty training readiness") and then start the process. It does say that one of the signs is disliking a wet diaper so he's definitely showing at least one sign. My suggestion would be that if your son doesn't like sitting on the potty, start by putting it (if you have a little potty chair) in the living room and trying to get him to sit on it fully clothed with the lid closed and once he does that comforable, open the lid and let him sit on it fully clothed and transition until he's naked with the lid open. You'll both get it.

Jackie - posted on 09/15/2011

After reading these, I think he might not be ready. I didn't even know there was a Criteria for Potty Readiness! I will say that I have tried giving him treats for sitting on the potty, but he didnt really seem to understand it. He seemed to think the Potty was just a seat. I think he knows when he Has to go, because if he is naked, he'll run off to another room and go on the floor in there. I tried putting him on the "Big Potty" and turning my back to give him privacy, but he just threw himself on the floor every time I took my eyes off him. Looks like I'll just have to wait for him, like I did with his Sister. She is 3 and we finally got her Potty Trained. I just wish Diapers werent so expensive!!

Vicki - posted on 09/15/2011

Maybe he isn't ready? We've been sort of training for about a week (I say sort of because it's just when we're home or at my Mum's and we've been out a bit). I started because he didn't want to have a nappy put on and was telling me when he wee'd and poo'd. He's now fine at home, he's usually naked and as long as he can see the potty he uses it. He DOES NOT want to sit on the potty when he doesn't need to go but will run to it as necessary. I haven't given rewards, although I make a big deal of him being able to flush the toilet so that's kind of a reward. He just seems happy with himself for being able to do it (picks up the potty, runs it to me and proudly announces 'Wee!').

ANSON - posted on 09/14/2011

Mayb u can try bring him straight to the toilet pee-ing in the bowl instead of potty. Coz my elder son also. doesnt like the potty at all. I trained him straight to the bowl. Or you can let him see how his daddy go toilet as kids monkey see monkey do. u can try 30mins or 1hr. reward him if he does it right.

Ania - posted on 09/13/2011

very true, but you have to watch the juice and water intake before nap. i dont give him any fluids at least one hour before nap. we avoid accidents that way. =)

Gretchen - posted on 09/13/2011

Does your son meet the readiness criteria for potty training? Sometimes boys aren't physically ready for potty training until they are closer to 3 years old. They simply cannot control their bladder and bowel movements yet.

My pediatrician gave me advice around this when I asked him when is the best time to start training. He said to not even bother until he was routinely waking up from naps with a dry diaper. Before that, they do not have the muscle control to be able to do the potty training.

Ania - posted on 09/12/2011

i got rid of all diapers in site when i was ready to train. he was 18M old when i started seriously and it was really pretty easy. first 2 weeks was me walking around with a mop but i have hardwood floors. I have to say that letting him around naked was key. i read somewhere that if there is no underwear and no diaper they have to figure out where to go. I bought the frog potty (walmart really cheap) and stuck it in the middle of the living room right in front of the TV. I rearranged the furniture so that his closest seat was the potty. He battled with me and refused to sit on the potty. but every time he would sit i would give him 1 MM. i mean i had to watch like a hawk so every time i see tinkling or him looking kinda confused i would put him on. after the first week he was used to sitting on it and would pee once in a while. after he was used to it, i would give him 1 MM when he would go potty. after 2 weeks he actually started sitting on it by himself. he didnt say potty for months, but he just went there and sat down and peed. MM's and nakedness are the key =) good luck

Oh, and you need to literally hide those diapers. I felt so bad when my baby would grab one and come running at me...

Katie - posted on 09/12/2011

two questions - does he know what it feels like when he has to pee? and do you have a little potty? maybe you can try having a "potty party" day where both big sister and brother sit on the potty for story time or songs! if you pee you get m&ms, if you just sit, you get a sticker!
if she's not available, just take the potty with you into the room you're playing in so it's not far when you catch him in the act! reward, reward, reward!
nakie-time season is almost up - take his diaper off and let him be nakie all day. give him tons to drink and have a day of "potty parties"! get a sticker chart ready (or let him keep a shirt on so he can have stickers on him). hopefully he'll catch on pretty quick that it's a really good thing to sit on the potty!!!
helpful hint: keep him in one room with towels laid out for when he has accidents...