how do you get them to eat and sit on the potty??

Brenda - posted on 10/25/2009

i have heard the cherios thing works tell them to try and hit them lol

Brenda - posted on 10/25/2009

give them a little table by the potty with books to read. and maybe make eating kinda a game

Sally - posted on 10/25/2009

not at the same time!!!

Mari - posted on 10/25/2009

This may sound unsavory to some but the toilet door vary rarely closes in my house. All my kids as toddlers saw the process before they attempted it........all in their time. I have 4 kids and have never stressed or pushed the issue of toilet training, they will do it when they are ready. My youngest turned 3 at the end of May and was still fighting the 'Nappy/Undies' decision and then all of a sudden, she woke up one morning 3 months ago and proudly announced that she was wearing Undies today...........we have had some accidents but she has not looked back :) you cannot push individual development and don't let anyone tell you different :)

Lucy - posted on 10/25/2009

We had a potty in our bathroom since our oldest was about 1 years old, so it became familiar. Then he would just follow us in there (as they do!) and would sit on there of his own accord. Then eventually at 18mths old, he made his own steps to potty training. He is now 2 and 4mths and doing fantastically.



With the eating thing, its hard isn't it! My youngest has a fab appititte, but my oldest has just recently started telling us "I dont like that" to everything!!! At the moment, he seems to live on milk, apples & beans!! Thats all he will eat! Oh and bananas! I've started making him aware that if he eats some of his breakfast/lunch/dinner then he can have a reward... such as, a sticker or a yogurt (which he also loves) or we can go and play in the garden - I would let him do this anyway, but he is 2 - he doesnt know that!!! It works sometimes, but they know their own minds dont they. If they dont want to eat, and you've tried everything you possibly can think of, dont force them. They know when they are hungary, and when they are, they'll let you know.



Hope that helps xx

Sally - posted on 10/25/2009

NO! Not sit And eat on the potty!!

Amy - posted on 10/24/2009

Some kids need a little more flavor. You can try adding mustard, BBQ sauce, taco sauce, cinnamon, etc. I'm assuming there is nothing clinically wrong with your child.

Stephenie - posted on 10/23/2009

There are great potty books and videos and I agree with the mom that putting the potty in front of the TV is a great method, although Dr. Phil doesn't agree. But, I never had a potty problem and my kids were trained by 15 mo. Make a game out of it and make it fun. My son put cheerios in the toilet and I told him to sink them. Eating is something that has never been too hard either. When they are little they do not know what sugar tastes like until you give it to them, make sure they taste everything and always provide options. Make it fun again and let them help. Try to get over the mess it makes because they love to help and if they are helping they will feel proud of what they made and will want to try it. Good luck and remember to have fun.

Lannessa - posted on 10/23/2009

potty: Our 2 year old son was excited when we introduced stickers. They are a God send. He would get a sticker on his paper to keep track of how many times he would potty. That was a big deal for him. Additionally, when we had company I would ask them to applaud if he just sat on the potty (whether or not he filled it). When he returned from the potty he was excited to know he would get applause from others. Now that he is doing the number 2 - stickers on his shirt and on the paper work. I agree with books on the potty. He enjoys having his daddy read to him every night while waiting on the #2. :-)

eating: I teach him etiquette. He likes it. I show him where the fork, knife, spoon... (he has his own set of safe cutlery and dishes). In order to go to a restaurant, we practice good table manners and etiquette. We encourage dessert only if finished by a certain time. Dessert is simple: a piece of fruit, yogurt, a homemade juice Popsicle circle.How old is your child? Hope this helps.

Jennifer - posted on 10/23/2009

We put the potty in front of the t.v. I know it sounds wierd but it worked and within a week she was potty trained and NEVER had a accident at night.

Anneke - posted on 10/23/2009

We started by having the potty in view. Sat them on it in front of the TV or while reading. Whoever went to the bathroom took them and sat them on it. I know this way can be time consuming, but try taking your child into the potty every 30-40 mins. Eventually the potty will have something in it. And when it does, don't be afraid to make a huge scene out of it! We would praise them up and down, clap and say yay. I would dump the potty and they would flush the toilet and say bye to the pee or poop. Sounds funny, but it works.

As for getting them to eat, I really don't have any advice for you. My boys are generally good eaters. I can tell you to make sure that you have lots of healthy choices for them , and as others have said, never say you don't like something or make a face at their choice of combining foods. My first son used to dip apple slices into ketchup. He's 6 now, and just recently he was eating mac and cheese and apples and putting them in his mouth at the same time. No matter how gross it looks to you, they have to try it for themselves!

Just a side note, it makes you feel really good when your 3 yr old chooses raisins or nibs! lol. Good luck!!!

Cate - posted on 10/23/2009

I have concerns about potty training..My son is 2 and im unsure if he is ready for potty training, how do you know when they are ready? He tells me when he has already been in his nappy but if I leave the nappy off he just goes on the floor, I dont think he knows the feeling of NEEDING to go..could that be it?

Maggie - posted on 10/23/2009

I'm a mum of 5, the youngest of which is only 15 months & so not potty trained yet. The main trick is not to stress about it. They will do it in their own time. Something like 98% of children are potty/toilet trained by the time they go to school - which means there will still be an odd one or two that aren't. If you wait until the child is properly ready it should only take a week or two.



As for the eating, again don't stress about it. I don't know how old your child is, but bear in mind they can suffer from teething pain until the age of about 5! As long as there's no other underlying reason (thrush in the mouth or something) then they will eat when they're ready - just so long as you're not filling them up with "junk" between meals. Hope this helps xx

Iris - posted on 10/23/2009

for me was very easy, my 32 months old is already potty trained he just stared at 28 months, now he is using the toillet by himsef. We stared playing so it was stress free.

Laketa - posted on 10/23/2009

Use finger foods so they can feed themselves or fix them a plate like Billie Jo said... at certain ages they like to do things for themselves. And for the potty -- try sitting them in front of the tv... and the book is a good idea -- maybe if you sit next to them and read to them it might help. -- Always give lots of praises when they finish on the potty.

Christina - posted on 10/23/2009

to get my son on the potty i would give him pee pee candy( thats just what i called it. they were fruit chews) he was 2 and it worked very well

Meg - posted on 10/23/2009

My daughter is 2 plus 4 months old and she is finally using the potty during the day. I just had to let her do it on her own. I would mention it often and if she said yes great, but if she said no, no big deal. I did the same with my first daughter and she was trained by two and a half. I tried rewards like stickers and jelly beans, but that didn't work at all. Reading books to them on the potty helped too. Believe me, everyone potty trains eventually. It just takes time.

Tammy - posted on 10/23/2009

If you have a boy have them go potty when ever dad, uncle, grandpa, or other male role model goes. If a girl then take her with you or other female role model. Then while you sit there you talk to the child or sing or read or whatever but when you finish, don't get up till they are finished, I say this cause they are likely to get up when you do even if they haven't gone yet. Then ALWAYS make a big deal out of it, whether they go or not. Praise child for trying and really praise them for going. Whatever you do don't make them feel bad for not getting to the potty in time, and don't use negative comparisons. My mom did this with all 4 of us girls and we all did it with our children. It worked well, with only ONE reprecussion. To this day, my sisters, my mom, all our kids, and I all have to go to the bathroom at the same time. LOL It really is quite funny I live 1000 miles away from my mom and 1 of my sisters and 2 of my sisters live even further away, my oldest daughter is about 900 miles away at school, I can be on the phone with any one of them, by the way we all have cordless and or cell phones, and all of a sudden I will hear them flushing just as I am flushing and we bust out laughing. Or we will be chatting on here and we will both type in at the same time brb, then when we get back we both end up saying, "sorry had to go to the bathroom". But overall we all potty trained quite well. LOL As far as eating, I have to agree, they will eat when they are ready. Children have small stomachs so they don't usually eat alot at once instead they choose to eat more often. My suggestion is get healthy snacks, carrots, celery, fruit gushers, fresh fruit, and have it available inbetween meals. Do easy breakfast and lunches that are easy to eat anytime. Toast and fruit, sandwiches and veggies, etc. Make the food fun for them, cut sandwiches,fruit and veggies into fun shapes. Get dips to dip there food in, ketchup, ranch, mustard, salsa, carmel sauce for apples, peanut butter, pretty much anything works, let them choose; they will amaze you with some choices they make. I don't know why but kids LOVE dipping. They may not even like the dip per say but they will use it just cause it's fun to dip. lol One more thing NEVER make a face at something they eat, NEVER say yuck when they do something like dip an apple in mustard. It's funny I know but let them decide what taste good. If they see you making faces or hear you say anything negative they will quit trusting there own taste buds and they will dislike ANYTHING and EVERYTHING that they see other people don't like cause they are children and they follow the lead of others even other children. Encourage your child to try everything and anything they can as long as it's not unhealthy for them.

Nancy - posted on 10/23/2009

I used to have my kids sit on the potty while I read them a book. it kept them there for a bit!

Amanda - posted on 10/23/2009

Come on people, she did not mean eat a set on the potty at the same time! I agree that a child will eat when he or she gets hungry, and when we where potty training my son we done a reward chart. Each time he used the potty he got to put a sticker on the chart, when they do use the potty you have to make a huge deal out of it, we would clap and give him rewards, and it worked. He was a breeze to potty train.

Ranae - posted on 10/23/2009

I don't think she meant to have the child sitting on the potty while eating. When my girls were young I used to make a big deal out of going to the potty, first was stickers, then maybe a lolli-pop, switch it up a little so they don't get bored with the same old reward. Then if they use a training potty - when you "dump" the training potty into the regular toilet I would say "Wave bye bye to your pee/poo". I know it sounds silly to say bye bye to your own waste but it seemed like it made it ok to them to get rid of their waste when it was a positive thing. Depending on how old the child is, maybe you can have them help set the table or pick who sits where at the table, let them make some decisions to feel like they are a part of the eating situations. Have them help scoop out their food, have them pick a special plate or utensil. My girls would pick a special plate that had a character on the bottom. So we would play the game of find "Elmo" or what ever was on the plate.

Jayme - posted on 10/23/2009

why would you want your child to eat while on the potty?That just gross.

Cathy - posted on 10/23/2009

When a child is hungry he/she will eat. Eat nutritious food first, snack next. Figure out the time the child need to go and sit him/her on the potty, praise the child when he/she did it. Let him/her get in habbit of doing it on potty.

Jeana - posted on 10/23/2009

huh? You want them to eat AND sit on the potty??? At same time? I REALLY don't feel that's a good idea AT ALL! Not only does it seem gross and unsanitary..but it's just not proper. A person should be taught to eat their meal and wash up., Let food digest a bit and THEN go to bathroom. Start your child off right with bathroom/potty procedures.

Billie Jo - posted on 10/23/2009

try making them their own plate at dinner time....give them a book to look at when they are on the potty...