need tips, and tricks to potty training an almost 3yr old boy

Rosines - posted on 02/08/2013

my son will be 4 years this months, and for the last year I have been training my son to use the potty. He goes pee in the potty but when its time to go poop he will look for the pull ups go to the bathroom, shut the door, take his pants and underwear off and puts on the pull ups and goes poopy. but when I sit him on the toiliet he doesn't go... I have tried everything from prized, praises, games, video,dad going with him to the bathroom ect... and nothing works. Not sure what else to do?

Jennifer - posted on 02/03/2012

This might sound strange but when my now 3 1/2 yr old son was a little over 2 he got a horrible diaper rash and it was so very uncomfortable for him to wear diapers. We had been introducing him to the potty but he wasn't at all interested. While he had the rash we let him run around the house naked and it's like he just knew he needed to go to the potty. He only had one accident on the floor and after that he would run to the potty when he felt he needed to go. He hasn't been in diapers since. It worked right away for us. Hope this helps.

Marianne - posted on 01/30/2012

I have a similar problem with my little 3 year old daughter; we have been potty training since September last year. Some days she will have no accidents and use the potty or toilet with no problem and other she will just stand there and wee. She still wears a nappy at night and it is full by morning, she will even tell you or wake up saying I’m wet mummy and pull her pj's off and try and get her nappy off too. When she is at pre-school she most off the time stay's dry. I just don't know what to do as I am getting mix signals from her. I have notice if she has completely bottomless she we go and do her business on the potty fine, it seems to be when she has knickers on that we have accidents.

Antonia - posted on 01/23/2012

Also praise him when he does use the bathroom with "Yays" and "such a Big boy" as well as "claps".

Antonia - posted on 01/23/2012

my son has had that same problem .... this helped me so hopefully this will help you ... my son didn't like the small potty because he never saw us use it he wanted to sit on the toilet like a big boy, secondly when he eats wait between 5 to 10 minutes and place him on the potty and play a game or sing a song with him if he gets bored normally he goes with a 15 minute range..... the peeing part will take some time but he will get the hang of it fast if daddy shows him how ( i believe it is a guy thing) weird but true lol, my son is now 3 and a half but he poops by him self and pee accidents still happen on occasion but that is normal... hope this helps you :-)

Tracy - posted on 01/22/2012

yes stop tryin to go by the book if hes not doing it the only a nsewer is hes not ready my son was almost 4 put a potty chair in the room hes in mostly put him in a pullup first day ask him to go sit on the potty dont tell him or expect him to go next day 2 times and so on to 7 times a day and start again the nextday at 1 again no rushing no force everyones calm if u have a hubby have him take him to the bathroom show him how to use like a big boy and then allow him to try it if hes not ready just say ok we tried that was good and have him repeat that as much as he can hope this helps dont rush let him be a toddler/baby while he can there is a big change at 5 hope some of this helps and cherish the young years with him because it goes so fast you can also read him books about the potty

Joy - posted on 01/21/2012

One thing I have not seen others post that I realized was part of my sons problem was the distance to the potty chair. We spent most of the day on the main floor of our home but the bathroom is on the second floor, so after realizing that was part of the problem I moved the potty chair to the bottom of the steps so he still had a little privacy but did not have to go as far. After a week I was able to move the potty chair back to the bathroom, during that week I also used the bare bottom method and used a mattress pad protector on the couch for when he was sitting so there was lees to clean up for any accidents.

Andrea - posted on 01/21/2012

We took our son to the store and let him pick out a set of big boy underwear. He was so excited. Then we just took the diapers/pull-ups away and went "cold turkey". Took 3 days. Now he just needs a small reminder to go. But it has made life easier. Also, there have been many changes in your son's life, and so that isn't easy either. Just keep at it, and one day it will all just click...I promise. Good Luck!!

Shauna - posted on 01/21/2012

My 3 1/2 yr old daughter just started saying "potty" and sat on the potty in her preschool one day! She loves flushing the toilet too, all of a sudden!So the next day (Sat) I tried putting her on he potty ALL day long myself and she peed in it 3 x's !! :)I left her diaper off and let her run around naked and I could tell by her body language (squatting) that she had to go. It took her atleast 30-60 mins. on the potty to stop holding it and pee in it!! A lot of kids don't like the feeling of going in the toilet and LOVE to hold it!!! Once they realize by sitting on the toilet ,they can't go in their diaper eventually they will have no choice but to pee in the potty!! But I read boys like to hold it even more than girls and are harder to train?!!:( She also finally doesn't mind sitting on it at all ,( i use a padded seat and step stool for her feet so she feels secure)l! I give her all kinds of toys to play with too! I even bring her dvd player in there so she can watch Dora!!! Give her salty foods and a lot to drink!! To make her more likely to go. I started putting underwear on her with training pants over them( I use the Bum Genius ones), they come with padded inserts too which I put under the underwear so she doesn't pee her pants once she started holding it longer!!! They help them transition from diapers to underwear and helps them actually feel the sensation of peeing or pooping so they will eventually go in the potty instead. Since shes in preschool m-f it makes training actually possible in school too!!! I also show her the M+MS or cookie rewards she will get as an incentive to go!! She is Autistic too so if she can learn it, so can he !! I would be in the bathroom all day sometimes waiting for her to give in and go and it worked !!!I And she LOVED it. Its been 2 weeks now and she still has accidents in preschool ,and won't go there ,and accidents here at home...but she goes atleast 4 x's everyday now in the potty!!! She even went potty at the mall ,our first trip potty training. I brought her Dora potty seat and M+MS and she did it !! I was sooo excited!!! She now holds it for 1-2 hours hours at a time but i still try to get her to go every hour!! Before we leave for school or out to the store !!

Just don't give up ,he may not need as much consistency or practice as her ,but as long as your putting him on the potty every 30 mins. he should eventually go. Unless hes not ready yet ,he might need another 6.-12 mos.till his ready like she did??!!

GOOD LUCK! - Shauna

Helen - posted on 01/20/2012

I feel your pain, its frustrating isn't it, but the other ladies are right, they will decide when they're ready. What worked for me was doing it in summer, she was 2 1/2, and biting the bullet - ie, simply not using the nappies/pullups any more. What def helped was that her friend the same age was doing it too and had this awesome singing potty that she loved! But mainly it was taking the nappies off and just using knickers. It was more washing, and rinsing that poop off was G-R-O-S-S, but it worked! Lots of luck, it'll happen when he's ready :-)

Christina - posted on 01/20/2012

You're not doing anything wrong and every child is different so you can take all these suggestions given and if it still doesn't work then the bottomline is that he's probably not ready. I didn't pressure my guy until he was about a month from turning 3. The only reason I did was because I was going back to work and I didn't want him in a class with 2 year olds because he's just too quick and aggressive and I wanted him to be with kids who could handle themselves better and who were more advanced. I just started putting him in underwear and told him he had to tell me he had to go. We did treats when he went in the potty and none when he had an accident. I think in the first week he had about 2 accidents a day on average but after that first week it was more like every other day. And by the time he went to school I think he only had about 3-4 accidents the first month he was there. Just remember every kid is different; doesn't mean you're doing anything wrong on there is anything wrong with the child they just all do it in their own time.



My son does have issues with his bowel movements so going poo has been a struggle. He was terrified of going poo and would hide because when he went he would literally be screaming it hurt so bad. He would only go about every 3-4 days. Finally the doctor had us put him on a 1/2 dose of miralax in his milk or juice each day and he is fine now. I just make sure that if I think he has to go, we head home if we're not there already b/c it's a big ordeal. It doesn't hurt anymore but there is lots of grunting and it takes him a while to be able to go. He usually says he has to go poo 3-4 times before he actually does.

Lisa - posted on 01/19/2012

Hi Andrea - I know exactly how you feel. I am in the middle of potty training my also almost 3 year old son. He has the pee down which we managed to get right with a chart. He got a star for every pee in the toilet and once he had five he got a reward - a sweet. The pooping has been far more challenging and what seems to be working is something I read on Dr Phil's site. What you do when they have an accident is get them cleaned up, then go back to where he was when the accident happened, then make him practice. So you tell him, if he feels like a poop then you stop playing and go straight to the toilet, he must pull down his pants, sit on the toilet, try and push, call mom to wipe bum etc - make him do that, 10 times. It creates like a muscle memory. If he makes a poop in the toilet he gets a little car which is in the window for him to see. It is very tedious, but try it, as it seems to be working with my son

Gloria - posted on 01/19/2012

Boys develop different physically than girls. Their urinary track develops more slowly. If you've tried and he's not into it, I would advise waiting a few months then trying again. The more pressure, the less success with this particular milestone. (Been there. Wish someone would have told me!) Good luck!

Stephanie - posted on 01/19/2012

TREATS! My 3 yr old would not even sit on the potty until we brought treats into the equation. We are doing great with pee pee but still working on poop, haven't found a solution for that one yet...

Natalie - posted on 01/19/2012

I found with my boy who has just turned 3 I had to put him in just shorts. If he was wearing undies it was like a nappy to him so he would just pee and tell me after. Now, a week later he can wear undies aswell. I am still in the prosess of training and we are only at the potty stage atm and he still asks for a nappy when he needs to poo so when the nappies 'run out' and we have none left i'm hoping he will be alright with doing poo's on the toilet or potty.Nappy pants, training pants or underpants just didn't work for me at all. He also goes to kindy one day a week and sees the other kids using the miniture toilets there and he has no problem using those toilets himself but is only comfortable on the potty at home atm.

Samantha - posted on 01/19/2012

Does he have any friends (boys) that are potty-trained? Hanging out with them might encourage him.

But if he is getting distressed by this take a break.

Simone - posted on 01/19/2012

Hi Andrea, I totally feel your frustration. Been there, trust me.

My first two kids happily toilet-trained at around 2 1/2 - one a boy, one a girl. Child number three??? Completely disinterested. I tried EVERYTHING. Taking away stuff, promising stuff. Star charts and rewards. You name it.

Mr Already-Three would have none of it. He was very happy being a baby thankyou very much, and all this talk of being a big boy, wearing big boy undies...? NOT INTERESTED.

He knew what to do. Oh yes. Three and a half... oh the shame! Him in pullups/diapers and every other kid i knew was in undies.

Then one day, I heard someone in the toilet.

"What are you doing?" I called

"I'm doing a POOOOOO!" came the reply. It was him.

And that was that. He made up his mind to be a big boy and he was in undies from then on.

Once HE decided it was a piece of cake. We had a few weewee accidents, sure, but NEVER a poo one.

It was so painless.

I totally recommend waiting until the child is ready and WANTING to do it, what a waste of time all my angsting for the previous year! He just took longer to be ready than my other two. A whole YEAR longer, but still. once he made up his mind it was so easy its laughable.

Honey, if you've got other difficult stuff going on, put toilet training on the back burner. Put him in pullups of diapers or whatever and take the pressure off yourself. Wait til he wants to do it and then it will happen so fast.

Some kids just take longer than others.

Best wishes from Simone @Greatfun4kids

http://greatfun4kidsblog.com

Carrie - posted on 01/19/2012

My son is not even 2 yet and is basically potty trained, you have to stick to a rountine everyday and not go easy on him. I always took my son the the bathroom with me..and would tell him, mommy goes pee, xavier goes pee. then praised him with claps and yays!!! everytime he went. he still thinks I have to be in the bathroom with him when he goes, mainly because he can't get his pants down quick enough...he realizes when he has to go now, he does the potty dance lol and says poop poop..and most of the time he does have dribbles in his BIG boy pants, but that alerts him that he really does have to go. we still put a pull-up on when he takes naps and goes to bed...but it comes off as soon as he wakes up and BIG boy pants come on!!! I hope this helps a little! don't get mad at him when he goes in his pants,just tell him he made a bad choice, try to refrain from saying he's a bad boy. also saying stuff like grandpa and grandma where big boy and girl pants and go potty on the toilet, don't you want to be like them? or pick a favorite person that he likes that he would want to copy certain things from.

Kaila - posted on 01/19/2012

Skip the pull-ups all together other then at bed time, I know its a lot more washing but get him in only underwear, when he pees or poops get him to change himself, its a lot of work for a child to take off wet clothes, have him put it in the laundry and get him self dressed. It my take a bit of hand over hand helping but he will get sick of doing this and will want to be on the toilet to do his business. Good luck!

Candi - posted on 01/19/2012

An important developmental step for every child is potty training. Most children begin using the toilet as toddlers, usually between 18 months and 3 years old. (Note: It usually takes a little longer to potty train boys than girls. Boys, on average, can be successfully potty trained in 12 weeks. Girls, on average, can be successfully potty trained in 10 weeks.)



Signs that your child may be ready to start potty training include:



Staying dry for at least two hours at a time.

Having regular bowel movements.

Being able to follow instructions.

Being uncomfortable with dirty diapers and asking for them to be changed.

Asking to use the potty or saying that they need to urinate or have a bowel movement.

Showing interest in the toilet and/or wearing “big kid” underpants.

When you begin potty training:



Dress your child appropriately for potty training. Garments with elasticized waists, Velcro, and snaps are usually easy for your child to take off and put on.

Choose a potty seat that your child can easily use on their own.

Your child may want to personalize his/her potty: by letting him/her write his/her name on the little potty, a sense of ownership can develop. Your child may be more likely to use a potty if s/he feels it is uniquely his/hers.

Assure your child that s/he will not fall in the potty (many children have fears of falling in a toilet while sitting on it).

Encourage your child to use the potty at regular intervals - or whenever s/he show signs that s/he needs to go.

Use proper terms (urinating and defecating) as well as the terms your child may be more comfortable with (peeing and pooping). Make sure that you define your terms so that your child becomes adept at using the terms him-/herself.

Start with the basics. Both boys and girls should be shown how to potty from a seated position first. Once boys master urinating from a seated position, they can “graduate” to learning how to urinate while standing. The reason boys should learn to urinate while seated first is that bowel movements and urination often occur in the same bathroom visit . . . additionally, the delay in learning to urinate while standing minimizes the likelihood of your son making messes while enthralled with the spray he can create by urinating.

Teach your child to wipe properly. Show him/her how to remove toilet paper from the roll, wipe, and throw the used toilet paper in the toilet. Instruct girls to wipe from front to back, which helps avoid urinary tract infections. (Note: your child may need help to wipe effectively, especially after a bowel movement, until about age 4 or 5.)

Be supportive and use rewards, such as stickers, when your child is successful on the potty.

Use praise, applause, special songs, reading a special book in the bathroom, or whatever else resonates with your child.

Avoid pressure: your child will likely have accidents during the process. Don’t punish him or her for any setbacks.

Be sure that your babysitter understands your approach to potty training and is consistent with rewards, praise, etc.

Let your child pick out new ‘big kid” underpants with his/her favorite characters (Dora, Thomas the Train, etc.) on them.

Use potty-themed books and videos to reinforce key messages.

Don’t begin toilet training during a stressful time (e.g., moving, new baby, starting a new preschool, etc.)

Recognize that your child has control of his/her bodily functions, and you can’t get him/her to “go” on the potty until s/he is ready. Don’t turn this into a power struggle because it’s one that you won’t win. If your child seems to develop a resistance to potty training, don’t continue the potty training. You can resume potty training when you child again expresses an interest in learning to use the potty.

When your child has completed a visit to the potty, show your child how to flush the potty. Some children experience fear of the flushing mechanism: they fear that they themselves may be flushed away. You may need to flush the potty for your child for a period of time, until your child observes no harm resulting from each flush. At that time, your child should naturally develop a desire to try his/her own hand at flushing the potty. Once the potty is flushed, show your child how to wash his/her hands.

Calmly and patiently teaching your child how to use his/her potty can be a trust-building, bonding experience for both of you. Let the potty begin!



http://tinyurl.com/ybyxqhu

Lisa - posted on 01/19/2012

Bottom line, HE IS NOT READY!! leave him alone. leve the potty out, let hium sit on it when he wants (with clothes on), so he's used to it. Most boys don't train until 3 1/2 years old. This is one thing you cannot control!

Andrea - posted on 01/19/2012

he is using pull-ups a good chunk of the day, and sometimes underwear. he's been in underwear all day today now with no accidents yet. and he's been getting "treats" for when he's going to the bathroom with no accidents. hopefully this will work, if not we'll wait until march after his sister is out of her cast.

Samantha - posted on 01/19/2012

Are you using diapers, pull-ups, trainers, pants, pads? In my experience at the preschool the kids with just regular trainers or pants could feel the wetness and trained faster. But also, it definitely helped when there were 10 or 15 other boys their age or older (or younger!) going to the toilet too.

But with the situation with the baby sister, he is under a lot of stress right now so be careful to keep it positive.

Anita - posted on 01/19/2012

I would say keep him in pullups and don't pressure him. I tried every trick and read tons of books and my son learned when he was ready, despite my efforts to get him to learn earlier. He was nearly 4, but when he was ready, it took one day.

Connie - posted on 01/19/2012

One thing not mentioned here so far is that girls are born with the capability of being pee potty trained. Boys are NOT. There is a muscle that must develop before they can adequately control and regulate their pee. This is why you hear of boys still wetting themselves to around 13, when puberty usually takes care of all but the most severe cases. He may simply not be ready yet, and if not, nothing you can do can alter that. I agree with the others that if there is any drama in the household it will be difficult to potty train. If he's in pull-ups, etc. you may want to place regular underwear on first so that he really gets the feel of being wet, without the mess getting all over. I've potty trained a LOT of children, and we just keep it low key and their decision. Once they make that decision, it's usually like a light switch, it's just done, and it always happens by 3 1/2.

Andrea - posted on 01/19/2012

thank you everyone. i've heard about the 3 day potty training book, just didnt know if it was worth the money, but now hearing multiple stories of it i think i may have to get it. i've also heard of the timer, so i'll give that a whirl. but bribing him doesnt seem to work so well. his main goal is that he gets a "dorthy fish" like elmo if he goes poop on the potty everyday for a week..we've gotten 2 days in a row and then it stops. i've even debated putting it all off until my daughter is out of her cast and into her brace, ive heard alot about things need to be calm and as stress free as possible to help in the potty training process. i'll give this all a try, so thank you everyone for your tips it's all appreciated!!

Adrienne - posted on 01/19/2012

What worked in potty training both my daughter and my son (both who had NO interest in going on the potty!) was setting the oven timer. My daughter was afraid of the toilet. :) I don't know if it was the flushing or what but she refused to sit on either a kiddie potty or the real thing. My son was similar to yours and just didn't care about going. He was perfectly happy jut staying wet.

So I started the oven timer (it's the loudest timer in the house and it doesn't stop till you turn it off). Set it for every 30 minutes. And when it goes off, go to the potty. If they go, they get a prize. If not, better luck next time. After going every 30 for a while then you can space it out to maybe every 45, every hour, every two hours. It gets to the point when the child will get upset because you are interrupting play to go potty but they want the treat. :) but you will know its working if they start to come to you to go before the timer goes off or reminding you that the timer is going off and they need to go.

It takes pretty much all day to get this going, so pick a day when you dont plan to leave the house. But it worked like a charm for my kids. Hope this helps. :)

Jenneil - posted on 01/18/2012

Buy and download "3 Day Potty Training " book online.e. it was my life savor.

Jenneil - posted on 01/18/2012

Buy and download "3 Day Potty Training " book online.e. it was my life savor.

April - posted on 01/18/2012

no matter what we did our son (now 10) wouldnt train. we tried everything and i mean everything. rewards, stickers, cherrios in the potty to aim at. finally one day in exasperation i told him if he made on the potty i would buy him anything he wanted in the walmart flyer. well boy did that ever bite me in the behind! he went into the bathroom, did his business, washed his hands and came out with the flyer and pointed to a john deere tractor and wagon. after a trip to walmart and $180 later he went every time...in hindsight the one thing i would do completely different is NOT use pullups. they are too confusing. to him it was just another type of diaper and he was confused as to why i wanted him to use the toilet when he had the "diaper".

Lori - posted on 01/18/2012

My son refused to be potty trained, until I got this book, and followed it to a T! How to potty train in 3 days by Rosa Jenson (I think). I don't have the book right now sorry. But it works! My son was 3 years old and refused to sit on the potty, but was fully trained within 1 1/2 days and night! I have sinced trained my middle son at 22 months within 2 1/2 days again day and night! I swear by this. I have 1 more son to train, and will certainly be using this program again! I'm excited to be a diaper free home soon! Good luck!

Kathryn - posted on 01/18/2012

Might not be the best time to work on it if here's a lot of other stuff going on in the house. It takes a lot of your attention to potty train, I would be tempted to postpone the hardcore raining until things settle down with your daughter. My son was 3 &1/2 when I potty trained him and went very easily. Good luck, and don't let yourself get too discouraged, it is normal for boys to finally potty train between 3&4!

Grace - posted on 01/18/2012

My son is about the same age and he is the same he know what he need to do wee and poo in his potty but dose not let us know when he needs to go so I'm trying under pants and he finds he is geting wet all over and dosn't like it so he gose to his potty but hasn't got the hang ov pulling his pants down so just need to help him he will get it don't panic kids hate asking for help that's all

Megan - posted on 01/18/2012

I hope this helps. This is how I trained my little man. Summer is the easiest time to potty train. With my little boy I waited until the summer after his 3rd birthday, then took his nappy off and let him run around outside. Keep reminding him to do wee's and its great if his dad could get involved and show him how to wee outside. Lots and lots of encouragement. Then once he has the hand of weeing outside, use encouragement and stickers in the toilet (or bubble bath and encourage him to make bubbles in the toilet). We occasionally have some accidents when he is playing and forgets, so I just say "oh well, these things happen when we are growing up, and he is growing up so fast". He is still in night pants, and we'll tackle that after our baby arrives.



As for poos my little man still goes and hides, and I just have to watch for the clues. Then lots of encouragement and that he is a big boy who can poo on the potty, and off he goes. You may even have to take him there while he is getting used to it. In the beginning I used rewards to encourage him to use the potty.



Hope this helps. Don't worry or stress, because he will sense that. Kids learn in their own time.

Hope there are some tips here you can use.

All the best :)

Angela - posted on 01/18/2012

I potty trained my son at 18 Months - obviously he wasn't 'ready' yet, but I sure was :) I put him in regular underwear instead of pullups/diapers. The first week was horrible! I tried to use a potty, but he wouldn't go on it so I switched him to the kiddy toilet seat and he loved it. I told him what a big boy he was and how well he was doing. Some moms reward with candy or stickers, but I didnt. Sometimes he didn't have to go right away so we would just sit in the bathroom and read stories until he relaxed and went or sometimes he didn't go at all. But he caught on quickly and was fully trained by the 3rd week - of course he had accidents once and a while, but I just let him know what a good job he was doing and didn't make a big deal of it. He's 3.5 yr old now and wonders why some of his friends do go the the potty like him now:)

Andrea - posted on 01/18/2012

yeah he wont sit forwards only backwards, and he's tried to stand a few times but that didnt work out all too well. thank you though!

Joy - posted on 01/17/2012

Something to try is to let him sit backwards on the potty. When my son was first trying to go, he INSISTED on sitting facing backwards. I think because he could put his hands on the tank and have stability. I had tried the potty seats that sit on top of the regular seat that have handles on them but they aren't balanced at all unless you spend more and get the ones that actually clip on. Anywho, facing backwards helped. That and letting him run naked all the time lol Good luck Momma!

Andrea - posted on 01/17/2012

he has just about all of the things on the check list down pat. i'll try the chart though. we do temp tattoo's for pooping and high fives for peeing. he doesn't mind sitting in wet underwear though at all, which i find odd because when he's out of the tub or spills water he freaks out and needs to get dry immediately. thank you though!!

Joy - posted on 01/17/2012

Are you sure he's ready? My son's 4 and just now potty trained, including night time (yay!). It's not uncommon for kids to not be ready yet....you just have to read the signs. Here's a general check list that I went by, just to give you an idea of readiness. As you'll read, you'll see that not ALL of the things on the list have to be checked in order for your son to be ready....but it's important that he IS ready, or the process will take longer.

http://www.babycenter.com/0_potty-traini...

Katrina - posted on 01/17/2012

hi hopefully I may be able to help. first of all does he know when he is needing to go?, is he interested in going?, does he have any fears that may inhibit him going?, have you tried potty and toilet insert? if yes to all these then try a rewards chart that you make with him and let him help pick the rewards for using the toilet and keep it really positive... also bribery works great with some children with treats such as jellybeans or sticker/stamps for going. Have you made sure there is no medical reason why he is having issues? just thought that can be an issue. Basically you probably just need to make a big deal out of going to the toilet, make it fun i.e pingpong ball to aim for or toilet stickers, and keep it light! dont get upset about accidents just deal with them and forget it but praise big time for going! hope this may help you a bit. As a preschool teacher we find also sometimes just going back to nappies/ pull ups for a couple of months and telling him that when he is a big boy he can use the toilet but until then he is back in nappies, then sart making the wall chart, talking about rewards etc and hopefully by end of a couple of months he will be chomping at the bit to use the toilet. Good luck!