Potty Training - where to start?

Carmine - posted on 11/17/2010

My daughter is 22 months old, we started PT just after she turned 1 and for a little while did "pantie days" where we had the potty available, and she learned that if she had accidents it was yucky. That was when she was about 20 months old and now she hardly ever has accidents unless its in her sleep or something is amiss(teething, not feeling well, change of environment, etc). By the time she is 2 we want to HOPEFULLY have her completely out of diapers! What we did was sit her on the potty, give her a blanket to cover her legs and a book or toy. Let her sit there as long as she wants, and we'd put her on there every 2 hours when she usually peed in her diaper. We still do that now, but if she has to go before then she's pulling her potty out and grabbing a diaper!

Kiala - posted on 11/14/2010

My daughter will be 2 on Nov. 25. She started off playing with the wipes & wiping herself, then she wanted to flush the potty for me. So I got her a potty & as long as she was in pull-ups (9 mos) she had accidents. So I got pretty princess panties & told her they can't get wet. The only time she wet then was over night & she woke up to ask me to take them off. She has been in big girl panties since

Rmenda - posted on 11/12/2010

my lil girl is 3 1/2 .. She will pee in the potty if you take her.. She has no motivation to go on her own. I've tired panties off & on since March .. She will NOT stay dry for more than 30 min's. Even tried REAL panties and same story.. 30 min's is as long as she can stay dry. I spend more time washing panties than she does peeing in the potty. I've spent a wk with in panties for 8hrs a day and no luck with staying dry very long. Limit her liquid intake and no success. I really want her to start school in August 2011 but unless something "CLICKS" she will be staying home until Kindergarten. There is no daycare to send her to so she can see MORE kids going to potty.

Amy - posted on 11/01/2010

It has always worked for me to wait for them to initiate it. I tried to "coax" my son, he was our first, and it took twice as long because it was "my" idea and not his! I would get a potty, get some books, and wait for him to become interested!

Tricia - posted on 10/31/2010

My son is 26 months old. However he was a premie born at 26 weeks. He takes diapers off when they are wet. He hides when he goes #2. He tells me poo poo and I check his diaper, nothing. Then 10 min later I see he went #2. I think he is ready to be potty trained. I bought potty chair and even let him sit on it in front of tv and watch cartoons. He doesnt want to sit on it for more than 1 min. He doesnt go in it. I tried to make it fun. He loves spongebob. I told him spongebob goes on potty. He still doesnt like it. My 16 month old wants to sit on it. But I try not to let him cause I feel like I should focus on his brother first. Any ideas?

Angie - posted on 10/30/2010

I started potty training my boys as soon as they turned two, regardless of if they showed signs or not. We go and buy underwear that they pick out. I refuse to buy pull-ups because in my experience working in a daycare, they just take longer to potty train when you use them. I use regular diapers at night until I see signs that they are staying dry through the night. My oldest is autistic and they are usually the hardest to potty train, some not being fully potty trained until they are 6-7. However, he was completely out of diapers within three weeks. My 2nd son has Asperger's, and it took him just a little longer. He was completely out of diapers by 2 1/2. As soon as they wake up, I make them sit on the potty chair and we put the underwear on. I have them sit for at least 5 minutes each time, reading to them or we sing songs. After that, they sit on the potty seat every hour from the time they go. So, if they sit for 5 minutes and don't go, but have an accident 10 minutes later, that's where I start my hourly runs. I am ALL for rewards, this is a common way for kids to learn motivation. For some kids praise is enough. Some need a visual like stickers. Some need a taste reward like Skittles or M&M's. Find what works for yours and be consistent. For mine, it was Skittles. They would get three if they went potty, one for sitting and trying. This helped get over any fears of the potty chair. Ha! Now, I did scold mine for accidents, where others say don't. Again, my experience is they respond to positive AND negative feedback. When I didn't scold, my 2nd didn't think anything of it and didn't even try to make it to the potty. When I started scolding, so he knew it was wrong to just go anywhere, he started trying to make it and was more proud when he did what he was supposed to. You do what you are more comfortable with and what works. I didn't have to scold with my first, he HATED the way it felt when he messed his underwear so he learned real quick to listen to his body and go. What works for one doesn't always work for another. Usually, within a few weeks of teaching their body and mind to control when they went, they were potty trained through the night and I was able to go to underwear then. I used a crib mattress (youth bed) so it wasn't a big deal if they did have an accident at night, but it really wasn't an issue for us, thankfully. I have a daughter I'll start potty training in six months and I hope it goes as smoothly for her! Main thing is, consistency. Don't give up after a few weeks and think she's not ready, keep doing what you're doing for at least six months. Some kids can be really stubborn and honestly don't care if they're messy, so you have to push through that stubbornness so they can see that the reward of Mom's praise and the satisfaction of doing it is much better than sitting around in yucky diapers. Oh, I also did not attempt to potty train when we left the house until they could go as long as our trip without an accident. That was my choice, I didn't want the mess to deal with. It didn't interfere with their training at all. If you have your son in daycare make sure they are on the same page as you are about getting this done.

Margaret - posted on 10/29/2010

well my friend heard about a really good toilet training in just one day method . And she said it really worked. She got all the details, tips and hints and a booklet and support.
All she did was google Bedtime And Toilet Training Solutions.
She hasnt stopped talking about it.
Well I'm defnitely getting it so I know what to do when my darlings are toilet training age.

Tiffanie - posted on 10/29/2010

I would first highly recommend starting to train in the warmer weather months just because it is easier for little ones to run around without complicated layers of clothing during this process. The best way to go, is do not use pull ups whatsoever as a rule. Simply take off the diapers and throw every single one out of the house. Be sure you have bought a super pack at least a dozen pair of boy/girl undies. You can try using a chart, rewards system, whatever you think will motivate your child. Some people prefer to do timing method where you simply put your toddler on the potty as soon as he wakes up, after meals, etc. This can work but I believe it's better to let the child figure it out and decide to do it on their own. For example, let them sit and play in their new big kid undies and they will have a few accidents on their own and then after a few days they typically train themselves. If you use this method and after one week without a single diaper, the child still has accidents then they are simply not ready, In which case, you should go back to diapers and then try again after a few months. But be sure to keep a easily located small potty (I used Baby Bjorn brand from babies r us), in the rooms of the house which your toddler spends the most time in. Keeping one in the baby room with a bath mat under it for easy cleaning makes it simple if he/she wakes up and has to go at night. DVDs designed for potty training are also good, Once Upon a Potty for Him/Her are the one we used we checked it from the library and it explains easily to your child the concept of pottying. I don't recommend candy as a treat, stickers are better, or a simple chart where they can choose one big toy after a few days of successful training etc is much better as your child should not be conditioned with food in early childhood. Hope these tips help you but just remember, you have to ditch the diaper. Keep your steam vaccuum cleaner on the ready and just be patient with the accidents, both of my children did this method and were trained by day 4 in this way and they are girl and boy. There may be accidents in the night which is why you must use a liner for the mattress as well as keep a very fluffy and thick bath towel under the bottom during naps and at night. Then you can easily toss the towel in to be laundered without having a big mess on your hands along with it. Good luck. Mom of two

Samantha - posted on 10/29/2010

Unfortunately, my son just turned 4 in the beginning of this month. My ex-husband potty trained both my daughters (now nearly 9, and 8), so this time it's all on me, and I had no idea on how to go about it. When he trained the girls, he was the one home while I was the one working, and I missed a few milestones in the process. Anyway, I've felt the "do it when they want to, when they're ready, don't force it on them" approach was the best way to go with him. He gave up the bottle on his own, just tossed it on the floor one day before he turned 2. He was done with the pacifiers on his own, biting and chewing them all the way through, with me telling him once the last one was ruined HE needed to throw it away and no more binkis. Done. Now with potty training, I've had the potty down now for about 6 months. I looked for the signs: Handing you the diaper/wipes when they want to be changed, wanting to be involved in the whole going-to-the-bathroom process by helping with toilet paper & flushing. I've gotten ideas from MANY different directions, from bribing to reward systems to totaly undies to nothing at all. I first tried pull ups in the day, diapers at night...worked a couple days, then he realized the pull up was basically a diaper and didn't care. Went to undies in the day and pull ups at night, same affect. Went to nothing at all through the day, but then he started purposely peeing under his bed, in the chair under the removable cushion, everywhere BUT the potty OR toilet. When he was using the potty, he'd go in the bathroom, close the door, and come back out screaming that he went! This happened for a day or two, exclamation and praise the whole way, and then he got smart and started taking the pot out of the potty and dipping it into the toilet water to "show" he'd gone pee but it was just clear. At this point, he will poop in the toilet (has decided NO on the potty), but refuses to pee in the toilet. I recently tried the undies thing again, but this time he figured out what the holes were there for, and ran around lettin it all hang out and playing with it. This becomes a problem, since I have had to have SOME of the sex/periods talk with my girls, and now they are embarassed when he wants to have it out and play with it. Like some of the other moms, I literally HAVE tried everything, making a huge deal about it, bribing, rewards, not making him feel bad about accidents or not wanting to go. He just doesn't care, and I don't get why. I can't even get him into preschool unless he's trained. And, let me add this: He is NOT mentally challenged, nor Autistic in any way, perfectly healthy, normal boy. And, both the girls were trained around the same age...I just hope he WANTS to be out of diapers soon (gave up on pull ups, can't afford them.)

Jessica - posted on 10/29/2010

My son is 2 years old and a few months. He will go #1 on the potty but is very nervous about #2. Any suggestions as to how to encourage him that it is ok for him to go #2 on the potty? Is that an issue for most kids?

Kaylynne - posted on 10/29/2010

I have five kids and totally agree with the mom's replies before me, once you start, never go back to diapers. I have potty trained all of mine, boys and girls, right around 24 months. If you wait until they are older they become smarter and more stubborn, and it makes it more difficult. The first thing to do is give up diapers, except at night. It makes it hard for a few weeks. You have to be totally dedicated and be close to a bathroom. But, if he has an accident, no big deal. Just change his clothes and talk to him about it, and stress to him to tell you the next time he has to go. But also, take him to the bathroom a lot, so you can "catch" him before he has an accident. Eventually, he will get it, but you can never bring the diapers back out, or he will know that he doesn't "have" to learn to use the toilet because mommy will just bring the diapers again. With each one of my children I had a day where I thought this is not working, but you just have to keep trying and it will work! Good-luck!

Jamie - posted on 10/29/2010

When I was potty training my now 13 year old twin girls, we used the pretty panties and I told them that if they had an accident in them then they had to throw them away. The youngest one had an accident one time and only one time because I made her throw her "pretty panties" in the trash herself,and this broke her heart, the other one saw her do it and neither one of the ever had an accident again. They were both completely potty trained with no accident by 18 months. My 2 1\2 year old son on the other had, is giving a terrible time. We tried the cool underwears thing and he had an accident in his and I told him he would have to throw awy his Woody underwears so he took them off and threw them away with no problem, so each child is different. He is a work in progress but does much better with lots of praise when he goes, we make a huge deal out of it.

Jessica - posted on 10/28/2010

I bought a little potty that played music when he went to the bathroom I offered or tried at first in the bathroom when I would go because you know how they are always in there anyway.... After no success I started with the potty in the living room and tried here and there after a few weeks I started having him sit every 2 hrs to at least try or anytime after meals or snanks when he had a drink....he went a few times and then didn't care to much....by 2 1/2 I bought underwear with his favorite character on it and again at first did great then didn't care when he started not caring then I put him on there every hr and he saw how it felt being in wet/ dirty underwear and didn't like it, it was difficult when we were out but the every hr thing for 3 days... Then buying the sears that go on the toilet he did great. Still had pull ups at night but we just got the plastic liber on the mattress and he had 3 accidents and then he was trained completely by a little over 2 1/2. Boys are harder to train then girls are for some reason so the key is stick with it and be patient, also don't push to hard in the beginning because that makes them lose interest fast and when that happens it's near impossible (exaggeration a bit) to get them back into it! Also we did stickers when he went he got to put stickers on a calander and after a week he got surprises if he did good!!! It's challenging especially with your first but don't give up it will happen is what I learned if he's not doing it it's probably isn't somthing u are doing kids just have a mind of thier own and do things as they are ready!!! Good luck!!!! :)

Angela - posted on 10/28/2010

I brought in a potty when my sons first learned to walk to keep them curious. Id have them go in and watch daddy since they are boys while there potty was next to daddys then tell them yeah daddys a big boy. They look up to us and want to be big so i thought thats what i used. Also i investyed in a carpet cleaner and let them rome free. I started that when they showed signs like tring to take diaper off and one pee or pooh. Hid for privacy. Also when they would sit on the potty or tell me they went. It makes a few messes but works in the long run. My first boy was completely potty trained at 2 and my 21 month old has started with peeing in the potty and no wet bed after sleeptime. Also if you have private yard you can let them rome free outside.My boys loved that to. goodluck hope this helps

Lisa - posted on 10/28/2010

This may seem unusual, but when I started potty training my son, I took him on a tour of the bathroom, let him know what everything was for, let him flush the toilet (which he loved) and told him if he goes potty, he can flush it again. When he would go in his diaper, (number 2), I would have him take it to the bathroom and put it in the toilet.I would tell him "this is where your poop goes. Not in your diaper." I would flush then tell him if he put it in the potty and not in his diaper, he could flush it himself. He was so excited to be able to flush it like a big boy that he started going on the potty. It only took a couple of days. It may or may not work for you, but it's just a suggestion. Good luck!

Alicia - posted on 10/28/2010

in regards to the potty songs one mom brought up, i like the "plop plop, fizz fizz, oh what a relief it is".....old alkaseltzer commercial ;) also, there's always the movie "look who's talking too".....there are a lot of potty songs in that movie.

Maia - posted on 10/28/2010

Katie,
I started introducing the potty to my daughter around 18 months. I purchased the seat that sits on top of the toilet which I felt made her feel like she was doing something both me and her dad did. Periodically I would sit her on at special times of the day such as, first thing in the morning, 30 mins after meals or drinks. It helped get a great uunderstanding, & then at 20 months I started pull-ups during the day and diapers at night. Again still using the same ritual of using the potty.
Now she is a week away from being 2 years old and this is the 2nd week we have been wearing underwear during the day, checking with her every hour to use the potty and then only using the pull-ups for naps and night time.
I feel like this is a major milwstone for toddlers and I wanted it to be a very comfortable transition for her, this is what has worked for me maybe it will for you too! But now is a great time to start, I started my nephew around his 2nd birthday and in a couple months he was potty trained. Do feel better hearing that everyone tells me boys are alot easier than girls!

Rachel - posted on 10/28/2010

Just do it! I tried the long drawn out process. THen I googled potty whisperer - I followed her cold turkey method about 90%. One day, I locked us in the house. Fed him lots of junk food and pop, so he would eat and drink. He spent the day nearly naked until he went #1 and #2. Now, he does still wear a pull-up at night but not at nap. But he is always dry int he morning - I am just nervous. Also, he was about 2.5 when I did this.

Theresa - posted on 10/28/2010

Keep doing what you are doing. My pediatrician put it this way, everything in their life is not in their control, bedtime, what they eat mostly what they wear, what they do so what they have control over are things like refusing food and refusing to go potty in the chair or toilet. They want to be the ones who decide when and where they will do this. Just keep up what you are doing and he will decide when it's time.

Doris - posted on 10/28/2010

My son is going to be 3 next month. He loves to go to the potty but nothing ever happens. He was telling us when he was dirty but now doesn't. I work full time M-F so I am only able to work with him on nights and weekends. The preschool he attends sits him on the potty but nothing happens there. He is a little behind in speech so I don't know how to get him to understand. He is very smart and I wonder if he is just being stubborn. Any advice?

Theresa - posted on 10/28/2010

Cynthia, my daughter potty trained herself at 21/2 yrs. Completely trained! Then, two months later her brother was born and she regressed, completely. I tried bribing, praise, read stories and had that be our special time together, offered kittens, toys everything you could think of. She resisted. Our pediatrician said the same thing, not to make it a bad experience and not to push it cause it's more about the power struggle, she wants to feel in control. So I did nothing more to push just encouraged when she showed interest. It was so frustrating, but I have a strong willed girl and that was all I could do. Finally at 4 she one day out of the blue said "I'm tired of diapers." and she totally trained again. She didn't even need pull ups at night. Once she made up her mind she did it. Now we are having the same problem with her brother. I am once again pregnant so I am not pushing it cause the chance that he will regress it good. Good luck and I hope this helps.
Theresa

Danielle - posted on 10/28/2010

Kudos to you ladies that have found the trick for your little ones. My oldest was litterally trained over night before reaching 2 yrs of age. My youngest I used the same exact method with and he is still not trained and will be 3 yrs in February. He is stubborn and goes when he wants and doesn't go when he doesn't want...good luck to all!

Jamie - posted on 10/27/2010

You have to get him a potty training book with his favorite character and read it to him every time he uses the pot or attempts to it is not hard you just have to stay consistant until he is trained buy him uner roooos with character also worked well for me potty trained at 13 months

Christina - posted on 10/27/2010

SOMETIMES HE WAS STUBBORN, BUT HE KNEW AND I KNOW HE WAS READY.

Christina - posted on 10/27/2010

BEST METHOOD EVER, EVEN THOUGH FIRST TIME MOM I WOULD DO IT AGAINI offered potty to son since 1 yr old. He would pee on it here or there. i did not force him, but praised when he did. anyways he will be 3 in december. i recently am able to bwe home with son. I swear this is the best way. I took him out of pullups and did not put underware on him. He finally figured it out with in 2 wks. we r a little over 2 wks and in underwarefull time. U must make time to be home if u can. when we went to stores i would ask him if he has to go. He now goes to potty with out me telling him. Calls me to wipe his butt. so basically eliminate anything that catches poop or pee. it may be hard to do, but they just get after it falls on the floor and they get wet. i swear by this methood. once i saw progress of him going with out me telling him, we went on a big underware shopping spree. we now only use a pullup to go to sleep. i am so proud of him. i would cheat hwere or there if going to a wedding which we did. like i said eliminate underware and pullup, just put pants on. remind them to go potty i sweart it is a great way. he is not even 3 and i hear boys r hard. go tackle that potty training. its the best feeling when he calls u after he has gone poop and u did not even have to tell him too.

Sharyn - posted on 10/27/2010

My daughter is 22 months, and i've tried twice to train her, but clearly she isnt ready ... dont force your daughter .... or bribe her ,.... shes prob not ready ... wait a few weeks or even a few months and try again ....

Sarah - posted on 10/27/2010

There is a series of books an author wrote, one of which I own is called "The No-Cry Potty Training Solution" by Elizabeth Pantley. My son isn't ready to be potty trained yet since he's only 14 months old, but the book has an area in there that assess how ready your child is to be potty trained, and some steps you can take to encourage a happy potty-training experience, along with possible solutions when you encounter a problem. But really the book is about encouraging the parents to be ready for potty training, not the child! Its a good book, I also have a couple of other books by her, I would definitely recommend it for the parents who are encountering a wall in the potty training process!

Amber - posted on 10/27/2010

i had been trying with my daughter for over a year....she was never really into it until a month after her 3rd birthday. We were at walmart and I decided to let her pick out her own underwear to see if that worked and it did! After that, all she wanted to wear was underwear. The first few days she wore her underwear till she had an accident, which wasn't long because she didn't like wearing the pullups after wearing the underwear...

You could also try giving treats of something they don't get often, i know that's what worked when my mom potty trained me (cuz i tried it with my daughter and it didn't work...lol).

Kandis - posted on 10/27/2010

My son just turned 3 and he does great going to the potty during the day at home. But as soon as we leave the house or its time for bed he screams for a pull up and then has accidents. I am at a loss. In the mornings when he wakes up it takes all I have to get him out of his pull up he has no want to put his underwear on. I think I am just going to have to cancel out pull ups all together and start cleaning up accidents so that he doesnt fall back on pull ups. He has been doing this since age 2 you think it would be better by now. ahhh help?

Andrea - posted on 10/27/2010

Well, for my children (they are girls though) I talked about the potty for a while. I let them come in when I went so they could ask questions and become more curious. If they never see or hear about it, they will never know what to expect. Then we would try just sitting on the potty. If they go, great if not, they get used to sitting. We talk about big kids using big panties and babies using diapers. Go to the store and buy underwear together. I also talk about feeling the urge to go. Especially with poop. I started putting them in underwear and having them go every 30 minutes or so. I am lucky enough to be able to stay home so it was easier. If they go I used a lot of enthusiasm and praise. Sometimes we even called grandma to celebrate together. After about a week or so, they started telling me that they had to go. I still ask just to ward off any accidents but for the most part, they now the feelings. At night, I limit their liquids. My oldest is 4 and is almost ready to give up diapers completely at night. I read that sometimes kids aren't completely night trained until kindergarten. I don't worry about the 'average' because my kids aren't like every one else. Don't be discouraged. And NEVER get upset about accidents. Always leave the house prepared. That includes a potty break just before leaving and extra clothes for any trip out of the house. I also heard that for boys needing help with aiming for the toilet you should throw in a cheerio or fruit loop and tell him to aim for it. Then just flush it down when he's done. lol. Hope that this helps. Good luck!!

Hollie - posted on 10/27/2010

My daughter was potty trained by about 26 months. However, from about 20 months, we started introducing the potty to her. Not seriously potty training at all, just having them around and having her sit on it once in a while. I was put on bedrest about that time, so potty training had to wait. When I got serious about it it only took a couple of days.
A friend told me to let her go without diapers and underwear for a couple of days. She said that even if they have on only underwear, in their mind they feel covered. They don't usually want to soil the carpet, so if they feel exposed they are more likely to go to the potty. I kept several potties around the house so one was always nearby. This also helps in that they don't have to know how to pull anything down and can go sit on their own. That is what she did the first day we tried it. She started to go play upstairs and turned around and walked to the potty and used it just like that. Then she got tons of praise and a gummy bear. She does not get much candy, and I always start with her gummy vites, so they are really vitamins. After she got better at it, I did not mention the treat unless she did. I don't mind a gummy bear every now and then in exchange for no diapers.
I was never able to put her on the potty every 30 minutes because she was very resistant to that. I did not want to force her and make it a power struggle and a bad experience, so I just asked her constantly if she had to go potty to remind her to think about it. Once she got it, she just went on her own. She even takes the potty out and dumps it in the toilet and puts it in the sink and then washes her hands all by herself. Although now we use the big potty with a potty seat more often. Good luck and good for you that you are trying now. I really think do it before it becomes so ingrained in them to use a diaper and then they are older and more manipulative and it is harder IMHO.

Amanda - posted on 10/27/2010

My son is 3 1/2 and refuses to start potty training. He has done it once and won't do it again. Any suggestions?

Belinda - posted on 10/27/2010

My son started pull ups to get used to the up and down action. I put him on the toilet whenever i remembered and it seemed every 30 minutes he had to go. talk about busy! he just had to learn to hold on. After a couple of weeks I would give him a cloth to help me clean up accidents and he was very helpful and started to identify it was better to go on the toilet. The best advice I got was to be consistent and persistent. Initially be positive at all times and celebrate by dancing and cheering - wall charts with stickers work well with some kids. mine liked that. We avoided fear of a "big" toilet by going straight onto the big toilet with a kiddy insert but had to wait until he could get on and off the step. I'm training number 2 now, I put him on before his bath and he claps his own success. We call anyone close by to join the cheer for success, and a soft "oh dear maybe next time" for misses. Good luck

Candyce - posted on 10/26/2010

@ Cynthia C-L: Let it go for a while. Introduce the potty just like you would anything else. If she isn't ready, it's just going to take longer for her to want to go. Ask her every once in a while, even in diapers, if she has to go potty, but don't make it a big deal. You could say, "Mommy has to go REAL bad, do you want to go too?" But if it takes another year or two, don't stress it. She'll do it when she's ready. I don't know anyone who graduated highschool in diapers, so she'll be fine. Teaching her to dress and undress herself might be influential, because she'll be more aware that she's wearing a baby diaper, and while big girls dress themselves, big girls also wears undies.

Blessed Be

Candyce - posted on 10/26/2010

@ Amy Virgin - Tarp or old sheets work wonders. And keep some baking soda or something on hand for the messes, lol.

Blessed Be

Candyce - posted on 10/26/2010

I'd probably start when he began to show an interest in the potty. With some boys, it's much easier to begin outside, if it's practical. When his dad or another male you trust is around, have him show him how "strong men" do it, either in the potty or on a tree. My son learned by watching my husband on a tree, lol. Strange, but it worked. They copy everything while they're this little, so put it to good use. Disclaimer: My son wasn't fully potty-trained (no accidents for a few weeks, dry nights) until he was a month shy of four. But every kid's different.



Blessed Be

Amy - posted on 10/26/2010

Thanks for all your tips, everyone. I'm trying to train my daughter and it's been stop and go for awhile. I like the underwear idea but I'm not sure my carpet could take it...should I buy a tarp? ~L~ Seriously, what do you do if you have carpet?

Lacey - posted on 10/26/2010

With my youngest son i toilet trained him by giving him nappy free time fo about an hour a time and asking hievery 10 or so minutes if he needed to do wees or poos. We started at home and at convenient times so neither of us were getting frustrated. then we added more nappy free times to the day, then joined hem together when he got use to going! then when i was ready to brave it i took him out in jocks to the shop, and still asked and made sure he knew to tell me if he thought he had to go... od lots of praise and fun!!! it only took 2 weeks for him!!

Marina - posted on 10/26/2010

They need lots of incouragement & praise but they have to be ready in themselves. I have 4 kids & 3 of them, (4th is only 7 months) started from 18 - 25 months depending on each child. I never bothered with the potty just went straight to a trainer seat & they were dry at night & day after a couple of weeks. Try not to get to stressed & feel presured by mums with children who have been toilet trained for a while, they all get there in the end!

Shawnita - posted on 10/26/2010

I was against pull-ups at first or any other training pants, however, they are necessary. The key to successful potty training is persistance. EVERY one resposible for your child's daily care (parents, grands, older sibling, sitter...) must be on the same page! My 3 year old (just turned 3) was completely trained two weeks before her 3rd bday. We made up little "pee pee in the potty" songs and literally had her going to the bathroom every hour or so and especially right before naps and after eating/drinking. Have a cut off time for drinks in the evening. My daughter's was 7 she went to bed at 8. Let your child see you "use the potty" and even make a big deal of it when she goes. (You have to do the potty dance!) ...honestly the only secret is being persistent and don't rely on your child to tell you he/she has to go to the potty...have a potty schedule and stick to it...you can not be lazyy with it. So go and buy some Dora or diego pull ups and tell ur little one no pee pee on dora (or diego). Good luck!

Kristianne - posted on 10/26/2010

my son just turned 2 on july 28th and he is completly potty trained it took about 2 weeks to do it i got him the potty seat and kept it in the living room where he could see it and i would put him on it every 30 mins he wore regular underwear and if he made an accident witch he did there were many i just showed him he was supposed to go in the potty after a while i think he got sick of peeing in his pants so he started going on the potty all the time i also got him a couple books and movies about potty training he loved them but every child is different

Jessica - posted on 10/26/2010

Candice,
Anywhere between 2 and 3 years of age. Some experts say they can't be potty trained until 2.5 years of age. I disagree but both of my daughter began around that age. Each child is different. Watch for the cues:
Wanting to use the potty
Hiding to do #2
Asking to be changed

These are all signs! :)

Jessica - posted on 10/26/2010

Cynthia,
Take a break from potty training. Sounds like she is frustrated by your frustration. Don't worry too much! They all get there. Watch for her cues that she is ready. If she is still having issues at three then worry. Just stop for a while and try again when this is not fresh in her mind.

Candice - posted on 10/26/2010

what is the correct age to start potting training ?

Gabrielle - posted on 10/26/2010

Thanks Mrs Hopkins

Rachel - posted on 10/26/2010

You definately need to make it a positive experience! With both of my kids, Lucy 5 n Wade 3, I gave them lots of praise n was always consistant! You can't just slack off because you're having a busy day! Plus I made them a part of it! On day 1 we went n picked out undies n a potty chair n I let them choose what they wanted! The key is to be positive, keep them involved, be consistant, and don't get discouaged!

Alison - posted on 10/26/2010

The one thing I would say differently is to take a travel potty seat ( the kind that go on the regular toilet seat), they make ones that can fold up and be put into a diaper bag or whatever. I learned from my soon to be 8 yr old about that. I never did that and always brought her potty chair in the car with me. Having done that she became terrified of the potties that were at the stores and it has only been in the last few months that she has started going into the stall by herself and not needing the sensor covered. My 3 yr old doesn't even has a potty seat at home now. She has no fear of "big" potties. That was a huge mistake I made with my older daughter. I also used potty training dvds for my 3 yr old to watch and it helped get her excited about it.

Stephanie - posted on 10/25/2010

I have 2 boys. For the oldest we put blue food coloring in the water and told him he could turn it green. That worked really well for him. For the younger one he learned that when he went potty in potty it made bubbles in the water. That was very amusing for him and that's all it took

Carrie - posted on 10/25/2010

put a potty chair in the bathroom..let him get used to it and encourage him to sit on it when you are using the bathroom. also get underwear that are favorite characters, put up a potty chart with stickers for when he goes on the potty.

Jessica - posted on 10/25/2010

I have tried just about everything myself... My son will be 3 in March and I had hopes of getting him potty trained by this summer.... Needless to say it didn't work.... I don't know what to do either besides the taking off work thing and staying home with them for a few days, and that I can't afford...