How can I potty train my son?

Gail - posted on 06/15/2011

I am in sympathy with you and I too have the same problem. My boy is 4 and in Kindy and he still not fully toilet trained because of speech delay. My options to you will be to get help asap. When I took my son to Playgroup they bought someone from the child development centre to talk to mothers who may have problems. If this is true in your case you can get help but it will take time as it in the waiting period. Even in Kindy the teachers are having a hard time so we are working together to make it work. Hope this help and good luck.

Shenece - posted on 06/08/2011

I potty trained my son by making it fun. I tried to see when he would go; so that I would know when to take him. I would take him when I thought he had to potty. I would put cheerios in the potty and tell him to tried to pee on them. And when he used the potty i would do a little dance with him and give him a treat. My treat would be something like a cookie or i would open a sponge gummy snack pack and give him one gummy snack.

Candas - posted on 06/06/2011

You could put him in underwear. I did both of my girls in them. They did not like the feel after they wet in them. and that helped them start going to the bathroom.

Alda - posted on 06/06/2011

I am, at this moment, potty training my 2.5 year old twin girls who were born at 28 weeks, so are a bit delayed. Every child is different and we've tried different methods. We tried the 'Potty training in 3 days', which absolutely did not work for us. We're now doing the 'Potty training boot camp' and on day 3, both girls were going to the potty and on day 4 we didn't have one single accident. Today we have them back in underwear and we've had a few accidents where they've forgotten to pull their panties down before having a pee, but nothing serious. I would definitely recommend it. Good luck :-)

Heather - posted on 06/05/2011

If you talk to a behaviorist, which we have, and our son had a speech delay too, now he never shuts up, they will give you a potty training thing with photos of a child taking off his pants, a photo of underwear, a photo of a child sitting on the potty, a photo of underwear with an up arrow, a photo of pants and an up arrow, and then a photo of the child flushing the potty, and then washing his hands. You can put this cute little chart together. Also, if he likes stickers, cookies, M & M's, and singing and dancing, every time he just sits on his potty, make a HUGE deal about it. Clap your hands, hug him, tell him he made you so happy just by sitting on his potty, do it a few times with his clothes on, or try it right before he is going to have a bath! Give him a M & M or two just for sitting on the potty, or what ever reward you like. Lots and lots of praise and motivation. He might not be able to talk, but he understands. Give him something that he can give to you when he has to go pee pee or use the potty. Tell him that when he has to go pee pee, this is after he is trained more, to give something to you, or to say the word "go." Which ever words he can say! Good luck! I hope this helps a little.

Darla - posted on 05/31/2011

Try doing a potty dance when he goes. Something like"Joey went potty in the potty yeah, Joey went potty in the potty!!" you get the idea. Dance and cheer and even high five it. Get really excited and he will too.

Janet - posted on 05/29/2011

My son went through 6 months of speech therapy and potty training didn't come easy for him. My doctor told me that he was potty trained..."He was trained to go in a diaper...but not to worry". My 2 and 1/2 daughter potty trained early (on her own) but my 4 year old would still request a diaper. I tried the hard tactics. They didn't work and just caused more frustration for him and me. I wish I had done what my doctor said which was simply to be patient. "He will do it when he's ready." And he did at 4 and 1/2 one day in a Costco no less....So, relax and remember that everyone PT's at some point. I didn't relax and continued trying suggested strategies with frustrating results. And to this day my son will say, "Mommy, remember the day you cried when I wouldn't use the potty?" I want my son to have great memories, not memories like that! As moms we have plenty of behavioral battles to fight. Don't let this one be a battle. Let him be the General in this and both of you will earn a star! Your obviously a great mom or you wouldn't be seeking out answers. Let me encourage you to let him provide the answers and timing on this!

Coralys - posted on 05/29/2011

I'll share what I did and what worked in our home, but as you know each child is different and this may/maynot work for your son. My son also has speech delay but we are able to understand some words. I had to potty train fast cause he was ready to start school in 2wks. I bought him some character underwears and I let him pick the one he wanted to wear. He also wouldn't keep clothes or diapers on. So, once he picked Nemo I just told him to make sure and not pee pee on Nemo and showed him where he needed to go to potty and what he needed to do. He never liked the small kids potty so I bought a step stool and placed it infront of the big potty. Later that day he went alone to use the potty and called me after he was done. He trained in 4 days and only had 3 accidents while he peed in the potty he just forgot to take the underwear off. I hope your son trains quickly and you don't have many accidents on your carpet. GL

Betty - posted on 05/26/2011

My son potty trained quick. The thing with kids is....they don't ever want to stop playing. So even if you keep asking do you have to go potty etc.... they are too wrapped up to stop what they are doing to even notice they have to go until its too late.--- I had a potty chair in the living room (cause thats where he plays mostly) . It was the elmo seat that talked when you pee. I had a potty chair in my room too-- Then in the bathroom he had the cool toilet seat that you put on the toilet. So he had options. Sometimes I would ask where he wanted the seat etc.. it made him feel like he was choosing things etc. At first he would get a sticker or stamp for attempting to use the bathroom on his own. After a while he would look forward to it because he liked the praise he got from me. Eventually we moved the toilets & now he uses our bathroom. Good luck--

Gina - posted on 05/26/2011

My son also has a speech delay and we trained him about a month after he turned three. The key is...put him in underwear and stock up on carpet cleaner. Don't go back to diapers at all or pull ups. The first couple of days will be hard but he will get it. If he has an accident take him right to the potty and make sure you reiterate that we pee in the potty. Don't get angry...don't make it a big deal, just be encouraging. The key is to go "all balls out" no wishy washy. It is either all or nothing. Stick with it and he will get in no time at all. I know it is scary but you will do great..and so will he :)

Also, find out what kind of reward works best for him. Everyone told me to do a sticker chart. My son didn't give a rats butt about stickers so I used popcorn. And it worked like a charm. Every time he went pee in the potty he got a small handful and when he went poopy he got a kid bowl full. Rewards are key!

Jacklyn - posted on 05/26/2011

i ageee with louise i trained my not quite 2 yr old by putting her in panties and just keeping to a schedule. When i started she couldnt tell me potty either but if you stick with it they will catch on. So start a schedule and stick to it every half hour until he gets it and then every hour and slowly increase it, also maybe try to find out the sign for potty and teach him that. It may help with him communicating it to you

Louise - posted on 05/26/2011

You have to establish a routine with him where you take him to the toilet every half an hour until he pees and then wait an hour and start again. Praise him when he pees in the loo and ignore him when he pees on the floor. The best thing for your floor is to go to the vets and buy some carpet powder. This powder sucks up the pee and removes any stains and odours out of the carpet. You simply vacuum the powder up. It is very cheap and leaves the house smelling nice.