I need potty training advice.

Connella - posted on 08/17/2009

i had trouble for awhile with my son i tried all things nothing seemed to work, i was frustratedto the "t", then he went to his dads for awhile and i thought all this hard work i did and hes gonna ome back in diapers, well after 2 weeks of being back home i thought id try again, obviously his dad didnt help!! so one day he had a accident in his pants i said ok we have to start being a big boy here i named off some kids at daycare i said you have to be big boys like them, so no more accidents ok and like after a week of that one day he said mom i have to go pee i said oh ok he pulled his pants dwn went pee right after that mommy i have to boo boo i said ok sit on the potty and he did he only had like 2 accidents and its been like 21/2 mnths now doing great, mind you i bought two diff potty nothing he was more comfy on the grown potty, he didnt even like the seat that you put on the grown pot, jus the orig pot itself now hes a big boy alot of work and patience :)

Inge - posted on 08/17/2009

Try putting him on the potty every hour or so, it may be that he doesn't realise he needs to go until it's too late because of the feeling of the underwear.

Taylor - posted on 08/17/2009

I potty train at 2--period. Just undies and try to catch the kiddo in the act and take them to the potty. Reward for making it to the potty (even just a little) and remember to remind him how big he is. It has worked like a charm for me so far.

Angelique - posted on 08/17/2009

I have found with my son that he is just too busy with other things to remember to go potty. Heres what we have been doing and its been working like a charm. I went out and found those sugar free lollipops that are in the clear plastic and are all connected. I took a large string of them and hung them up in the bathroom high enough so he could not reach them. The first week i rewarded him with a lollipop everytime he went to the bathroom with me (no matter how many lollipops he got as long as he was going). The second week he knew that if he went to the bathroom he would get a lollipop so he started going by himself. However, my son is very smart and has tried several things to just get the candy without going. He has tried to climb up on things to reach the lollipops himself and he has gone into the bathroom to act like he has gone potty so i will give him one. I have solved this issue by making him come and get me when he needs to go potty so i can see him go, and the reward gives him a sense of resposibility for his own actions. It has worked great, and the doctor and dentist both say that the candy thing is a good idea since it has no sugar. Just remember that brushing their teeth twice a day is even more important when using this method. Also a good thing to remember is that boys are alwas harder to potty train then girls so try everthing and stick to what works for you. Let me know if this works out for you, I hope i have helped some. You can reward him with other things if you are concerned about him having too much candy, just use our imagination AND DON"T GIVE UP!!!!!!

Melissa - posted on 08/17/2009

Hi. I have three children and none of them were the same. I had one potty trained at 2 one at 2 and a half and the other 3 and a half. The easiest time i had was with my youngest. I bought her a baby that peed in the potty and hard to believe but almost instantly after seeing her baby pee started doing it herself. Just an idea. But honestly until he has made up his mind it wont happen. Every child is different.

Melanie - posted on 08/17/2009

I gotta tell you - my daughter had it down PAT - and then at 4 1/2 started having problems again. She would wet herself nearly half the time. Then just go and change her undies without telling anyone! Or she'd wet the bed - change completely - put a blanket on top of the wet sheets and think everything was ok. As if we didn't notice she was wearing something new?

She's 6 now - almost 7... and it's been a completely wet free summer. Finally. It just took some time and patience. Every kid is different and they go through stages... Some kids get it right away - others take some time. I recommend patience - lots of patience. (And lots of spare undies!)

Morgan - posted on 08/17/2009

You sound like me to a T...

My son is now 3 1/2 and we are still dealing with things. Honestly, I got the point where I gave up trying and told him if he wanted to be a baby, fine, but that I was treating him like one as well. he couldn't have a cup unless it had a lid, he couldn't have toys during 'nap' time, and he had to be in the stroller when we went some where. After about a week of that he started coming downstairs in the morning and would go to the bathroom, take off his diaper, go potty and ask for underpants.

We had a few repeats and all, but I really think it had to be his decision. We've had days that he's refused to take off his pull-up to the point that he wedged himself in between the toilet and the counter and no one could get him out.

My only recommendation would be to back off a little and take his lead. Offer him underwear and some knit warm up style pants and tell him that they are for big boys only. My son is very adamit about being a big boy now. On a side note, it doesn't hurt that his 2 year old sister is potty training herself now and he refuses to be left behind.

Sonya - posted on 08/17/2009

Well sounds good to me. That will be my task all this week. Thank you and if it works i will definitly pass it on.

User - posted on 08/17/2009

Quoting Sonya:

So let me ask. If I have my son naked in the house for a week he should use the potty. If that will work I will def try it.

Let me just say this:  I avoided naked time like the plague because the idea of him spraying my carpet and furniture with pee all willy-nilly totally freaked me out.  I tried EVERYTHING else first to no avail.  Then one day when I got him out of bed in the morning and took of his pjs and overnight diaper, I just said, "hey, you're not going to wear clothes or a diaper today.  If you have to pee or poo, you need to sit on your little potty.  DO NOT pee on the floor, or you will have to clean it up."  I tell you what, that kid didn't want to clean up his pee apparently.  I wish I'd tried it first.  Now I just have to get him to do it with underwear on.

User - posted on 08/17/2009

I appreciate the advice! I do use m&m's as "payment" for successes, which is a real treat for him since he doesn't ever get candy. It really motivates him, but once he gets in down pat, I will phase the rewards out because not peeing in his pants should be reward enough.

If we're staying inside, I just let him be naked. If we go outside, I'll put undies on him, but I rarely put pants on, too, because not only is it harder for him, but I can't tell when he's "dribbling," which is a real tell that he's gotta go. During that month that was going great, he would tell me almost EVERY time if he had to go, so accidents were rare. Now it's only after he's started to pee that he tells me.

Trust me, I am not forcing the issue. He began showing interest in the potty at about 18 months, and I pretty much let him use it if he asked, but never made him. He has shown all of the signs of readiness: telling me he wants a new diaper as soon as he pees, hiding to poop, asking to wear undies, asking to use the potty at the store, staying dry for several hours and through naps, etc. I think the main issue is that he doesn't like to stop what he's doing to go. And if he thinks I have a vested interest in it, he ups his stubbornness tenfold.

I'm not giving up this time. When we're out of diapers, that's it. So I need all of the ideas that I can get. Keep'em coming!

Sonya - posted on 08/17/2009

So let me ask. If I have my son naked in the house for a week he should use the potty. If that will work I will def try it.

Becki - posted on 08/17/2009

If the being naked thing work why not try moving one step at time to getting him clothed and a star chart for when he goes in the potty?

I am not going to lie though my son who is two still isnt potty trained. I am looking for a good base to start with for him. Since reading your post I think I might try the going around naked thing for a start. I would like to thank you for posting this. You gave me a nice start.

Amy - posted on 08/17/2009

Hmmm thats a tough one! Have you tried just his undies and no pants? The only way I could get my son to go was to bribe him with his favorite candies(suckers and tootsie rolls) and after a while it worked. I hated doing that but it helped alot!! My only advice that I think that I can give ya is don't back down on the undies! If he just doesn't want to go to the potty, just because isn't any reason to go back to diapers! But then again thats just my opinion I hope that my comments weren't rude in any way!

Heidi - posted on 08/17/2009

Forcing the issue, creates issues. The new norm is between 3-4. I still remind my daughter at 4 because she forgets. He is still rather young to pull up pants. Let him do it on his own time frame and it will be easy.