Author Topic: Potty training: tips? (Read 6617 times)

kander · « **on:** August 30, 2015, 11:36:44 AM »

A few days ago we've started "potty training".

How we do it now: we put him on his potty and read a book for him. The last two days he peed every time we did this. And today his daiper wasn't very wet, but when he went on the potty he peed a lot. So is it possible that he already understands what we "want" of him?

What should be our next step?

He's 22 months old...

MilStachian · « **Reply #1 on:** August 30, 2015, 01:14:04 PM »

Kander,
Our little guy is about 25 months and we started about the same time as you guys.

We've found that in the first few weeks it's important to put him on the potty at least every hour, whether he needs to go or not. When he pees, cheer like he just won a Nobel. The positive reinforcement will sink in quickly. The next hurdle is pooping. My son likes to poop about 20 minutes after he has breakfast, so we concentrated our attention and encouragement on his morning routine. He's got it down very well and has only the occasional accident.

Good luck!

vivian · « **Reply #2 on:** August 30, 2015, 09:31:37 PM »

Use a reward system: candy, stickers, whatever works for your son. My son got one skittle every time he went potty. Also, he needs some way to tell you when he needs to go. Getting him to tell you in advance is key to actually being potty trained. And I agree with MilStachian, take him every 45 minutes to an hour.

We started later than you, but moved him out of diapers into underwear after about a week of taking him to the potty frequently. Give him tons of positive reinforcement about what a big boy he is with big boy underwear. But don't make him feel guilty for having an accident.

slschierer · « **Reply #3 on:** August 31, 2015, 07:51:26 AM »

We basically did the 3 day potty training method with both of our kids. My son was trained in 3 days and my daughter only took 1 day. She even started sleeping in panties that night! The 3 day method suggests that you concentrate heavily on potty training for 3 days by having the children run around in just a t-shirt (no diaper or underwear), drink lots of water, and eat salty snacks. This will cause them to have to use the restroom frequently! In our case, I couldn't stomach the idea of the kids running around practically naked (I was concerned about the potential mess on my floors!) so I had them run around in a t-shirt and underwear (big boy/girl underwear that they specially picked out at the store the day before!). Both children found that they did not like the wet feeling, and they caught on very quickly. Both of my children were ready to be potty trained, and it was very easy! Also, if they peed, they received 1 M&M, and if they pooped, they received 4 M&Ms. For my son, this was very motivating! After he caught on to the reward system, he was asking to use the restroom every 15 minutes!

La Bibliotecaria Feroz · « **Reply #4 on:** August 31, 2015, 02:23:12 PM »

Just be patient.

I did the one-day potty party last year with my then two-year-old. (27 months, maybe?) And he did get the idea. I was lazy and didn't follow up like I should have.

A year later... He is finally having fewer accidents. It's a long haul if you are not super on-the-ball about it. (I would alternate between taking him at certain times, or leaving him be so he would learn the sensation of having to go.)

Basically, my method is teach them how to go, then be really lazy about it and wash a lot of laundry :-). Good luck!

GorgeousSteak · « **Reply #5 on:** August 31, 2015, 03:23:34 PM »

We're kind of at the tail end of potty training our almost 3 yr old. We got him used to the potty just doing real low pressure letting him sit on it and talking about (and occasionally he would pee). Then we did the 3 day power potty training weekend others have mentioned to try and get over the hump. After this, he was pretty good at peeing in the potty if we took him regularly, but would drop deuces on the floor. So, we decided to give him treats for poops for a while (somewhat reluctantly), which ended up working probably after about a week or so. We're probably about a month out from the 3 day power weekend now, and he basically has no accidents, will run to the potty and poop by himself, but we still seem to more or less tell him he should pee (but he won't pee his pants...he just holds it). And we still do pull ups at night, which I think will take a long time to overcome but is not something we're keen on quickly eliminating.

Anyway, my guess is every kid is different, and you kind of just have to have something of a plan but be prepared to adjust on the fly based on signals your kid is giving you.

Jesstache · « **Reply #6 on:** August 31, 2015, 03:59:26 PM »

We did the 3 day potty training method by Lora Jensen. My friend got the book and gave me a copy. A week leading up to it you talk up using the potty and how gross it is to go in your pants and that you're going to throw away all the diapers on a certain date. The day comes and THEY help you throw the diapers away (I pulled them out and saved them for the next kiddo after she went to bed). Have small prizes for pees, big prizes for poops. She super did not want to poop on the potty so we made the first few poop prizes BIG. Like a new doll she's really been wanting big. Small prizes for pee like $1 store kinds of things. Candy/food was NOT a motivator for her.

You don't take them to the potty and make them sit on it unless they tell you they have to or you catch them in the act. You have them pants-less and underwear-less all day and then tell them repeatedly to let you know when they need to go potty and be super positive. If you catch them in the act, you bring them immediately and set them on the potty. If ANY goes in, they get a prize and lost of praise, even if it only went in because you held them over the toilet in time. They will get it. If they don't make it just say, "Next time tell Mommy when you have to potty, ok?"

I started telling my kiddo to let me know days before we even started the official 3 days of training and she got it super early on the 1st day. The poop took a couple of days and I actually had to catch her in the act and lovingly force her to sit on the potty while she did it. Once she got the first two in, she was super into it and thrilled and never looked back. I also a made a magic poop wand (lol) that she held so that when she had to go it wouldn't hurt for her to poop which is why I think she was scared to do it on the potty (she thought it would hurt). Worked great. We even made up a song to sing while holding it (Magic Wand! Magic Wand! Poops don't hurt!) HAHAHAHA

I actually even followed the night time methods in the book as well but was worried it would not work. Prior to going cold turkey from diapers (day AND night at the same time), she was wetting through her diaper at night. It probably took 2 weeks before she started having minimal accidents at night and making it through all night. I did a lot of laundry during those two weeks. Waterproof mattress pads are your friend. After a month, I don't think she had any night time accidents or they were very rare.

I'm actually spooling up to do this with my younger child who is almost 2 years old. We have a trip coming up in a month and I plan to do it a few weeks after the trip so we won't have any disruptions. I think he'll do great. I'm already planting the "tell mommy when you have to go" seed now. He's actually starting to tell me already, yeah!

BTW my daughter was about 3 months shy of 3 years old when we did it with her. She's 4.5 now and she STILL tells me that she has to go potty, then gets up and goes. It's like she can't un-train herself to have to tell me, lol

Immerito · « **Reply #7 on:** September 13, 2015, 11:04:52 AM »

Interesting. Thanks!

TVRodriguez · « **Reply #8 on:** September 13, 2015, 06:42:06 PM »

We let the kids be naked at home and encouraged use of the toilet from about 18 months on, but we didn't do any formal training. They all "took" at their own pace and in their own time. DS#1 was daytime trained at about 2, more or less. Probably about 20-22 months, but since DD was born at his 21 months, we didn't want to pressure him on that with the new baby. DD refused to use the toilet until one month after turning 3, and she simply decided one day and that was it. DS#2 was in the middle.

There were some accidents of both types, but we never made a big deal about any of it, either positively or negatively. And they are all using the toilet just fine now, at ages 8, 6, and 4.

DH comes from a family that strongly encourages early training (his mom had them crawling to the toilet to use it before they could walk, and SIL followed that advice, so her two were both under a year old). Based on the kids I've seen in his family, they are no better or worse than kids who waited until age 4, so DH and I figured that low pressure was more important than saving money on diapers, wipes and whatnot.

ShoulderThingThatGoesUp · « **Reply #9 on:** September 17, 2015, 06:25:49 AM »

Rewards are good. Those peanut butter baking chips you use for baking worked for my daughter. We've been at this for about two months and she is doing very well, though I posted another thread about a temporary setback we had. By now she doesn't really care about the chips and we could excise them totally if it really mattered. Obviously after brushing teeth she doesn't get any.

We were just at my parent's house with my sister and her kids. Her three-year-old son has been pee-trained for a long time but demands (and gets) a diaper to poop in. My sister was a little embarrassed that my not-yet-two-year-old is potty-trained and her son isn't. He realized that my daughter asked for a "treat" after going sometimes and thought this was a great idea. He's been pooping on the toilet since they got back home.

My sister might be annoyed at me, but whatever.

Your kid will be very proud once he gets the idea of it, and that starts doing your work for you. Putting too much pressure on him will make him fight back and refuse to sit on the toilet, though, so it's a balancing act.

Geostache · « **Reply #10 on:** September 18, 2015, 08:26:36 PM »

We didn't 'train' per se. We introduced them to the concept of the potty around 2, which is coincidentally when their daycare class starts having everyone practice. We didn't force the issue for either of our kids (boy/girl twins). Our daughter caught on earlier, and only had a 1-2 accidents a day for the first couple of weeks. I made DIY potty training pants (http://soeasybeinggreen-blog.com/2013/08/diy-cloth-training-pants/), which were more absorbent than the unmodified ones. We found that using pull-ups in both cases were counterproductive. It seemed like one day, a switch just flipped, and they were ready. Our son followed suit a few months later. The beauty was that there was no fighting and no struggle. The downside was that it took longer than it probably could have. Our daughter is now completely trained, and our son is all but night trained. They will be 3 in December.

In both cases, setting a schedule was key. Put them on the potty on a regular schedule, day after day.

jengod · « **Reply #11 on:** September 18, 2015, 11:08:53 PM »

We've been screwing around with potty training for months, but haven't used a diaper in 10 days since introducing an M&M reward system. He now goes to potty without complaint and only wants to wear his Thomas the Train underwear. We've had a handful of misses, but it's gone so well I'm thinking of selling a box of leftover pullups.

Circle of Control · « **Reply #12 on:** September 19, 2015, 05:59:57 PM »

We started watching "potty time" from the people who do "baby signing time? at 9 months. Then at 18 months my daughter went to a preschool of mostly older peers who were all potty trained so at 20 months she REFUSED the diaper. I was disappointed since I loved the diaper (no worries about potty timing) so we did the 3 day naked weekend. Loose clothes (sweatpants and no undies since it was winter). I bought those pee pads and cut a hole in them to fit over the car seat for any trips out of the house. And for the next 3 months we traveled with a training potty for emergencies. She is finally (at 3.5 yrs) getting good at nature pees and not peeing all over herself. The overnight pee training didn't come until 3 yrs when I realized she was just peeing because she knew she could. I believe being around the older kids is what brought on the desire to no longer wear diapers.

FLA · « **Reply #13 on:** September 19, 2015, 06:34:52 PM »

my son was a late bloomer, the ped said he will do it when he is ready, but I, of course, was worried they wouldn't let him start preschool if he was in a diaper. But nothing was working, so I backed off for a while. Then he started talking about it, did it with very few accidents after that. He did it 3 weeks before preschool started!

his fav thing was if I threw some cheerios in the bowl and let him use them as targets.

jollygreen23 · « **Reply #14 on:** September 23, 2015, 08:54:56 AM »

I've potty trained three of my own kids, now. The best advice I can offer is to praise, praise, praise! and to not get upset about the accidents. Punishments, yelling, scorning, and shaming move you in the opposite direction. It can be hard, but staying positive and patient goes a very long way.

MrsPete · « **Reply #15 on:** October 09, 2015, 08:00:31 PM »

Yeah, rewards. That's a definite.

Other things that worked well for us:

- Start this chore (and, yes, it's a chore -- most things dealing with children are wonderful and fun; this one isn't) ... anyway, start this chore in warm weather. The fewer clothes the child is wearing, the easier it'll be.
- Give up those cute little overalls you've loved and dress the child ONLY in elastic waist pants that're quick on /quick off.
- Introduce a few small, stay-still type toys that can ONLY be used while sitting on the potty. My mom told me to "save" the Viewmaster for potty training. She was not wrong! We also picked up some glittery crayons. I can't remember what else, but we really played up the idea that these were BIG GIRL toys and could ONLY be used during pottying.
- Consider placing a TV tray in front of the potty so the child can enjoy these small toys while "waiting". Potty training is all about the waiting!
- Give the child LOTS and LOTS of juice and other drinks to encourage pottying. Limit cheese, peanut butter and anything else that could, um ... hold things up.

TechMike · « **Reply #16 on:** October 13, 2015, 12:22:05 PM »

Lot's of great advice here, I don't really have much to add. We basically did what a lot of people suggest, and just take away the diaper. It took a couple days of constant reminding and accidents before he got it. Having hardwood floors throughout the house made the whole thing easier, since cleanup was simple.

It did take him about 6 months though before he stopped pooping in his pants... He liked to find a corner to stand in when we weren't looking and silently poop. Just one day, he walked into the bathroom and pooped in the potty without any help or encouragement from mommy and daddy. He hasn't had any accidents at home since then.

farmerj · « **Reply #17 on:** October 20, 2015, 04:49:15 PM »

We used the Azrin/Foxx "Toilet Training in Less Than A Day", which pretty much does as advertised. Worked very well on our two trainees thus far, both of whom were a bit over 2. It's an older program -- vintage 1960s. I knew about it because my mother used it on me when I was around one and a half (diaper rash in the unairconditioned tropics is a powerful incentive to early training).

La Bibliotecaria Feroz · « **Reply #18 on:** October 20, 2015, 05:05:14 PM »

Quote from: farmerj on October 20, 2015, 04:49:15 PM

We used the Azrin/Foxx "Toilet Training in Less Than A Day", which pretty much does as advertised. Worked very well on our two trainees thus far, both of whom were a bit over 2. It's an older program -- vintage 1960s. I knew about it because my mother used it on me when I was around one and a half (diaper rash in the unairconditioned tropics is a powerful incentive to early training).

Azrin/Foxx is, for my money, a much better book than more recent versions. Get your library to ILL it for you if their copy has worn out :-).

Sonnet23 · « **Reply #19 on:** October 31, 2015, 04:55:10 AM »

one thing that I tell parents is that if they are home with them for a long period of time, to let them run free in undies.

ALways TELL them it is time to go potty, it is not an option, don't ask them. If they resist when you tell them to go, then it is not time for them to potty train.

I keep a schedule of when I will take them to the bathroom. They mostly revolve around our meal times

everyone goes potty trained or not at:

8:15 before breakfast

9:45 right before snack

10:45 after snack

12:00 come in from outside play to eat lunch use the bathroom

12:45, again before nap

3:15 when awake from nap

4:30-

5:45 before going home.

When it is time for them to go, I take note if they went or not. If they did not go I will be sure to ask them after they get off the toilet and back to play, do you need to pee or poop poo? If they say no, then I don't make them go until the time that I TELL them to go.

You need to let her know that going in the diaper is not an option, this is why you need to TELL her, it's time to go potty.

I hope I made sense. Also, go to the daycare.com form page and ready NannyDe potty training policy and tips.

PT is hard work and takes tons of consistency all the way around. Be sure that everyone in your family is on the same page of HOW you are dealing with taking her to the potty....

Good Luck to you

Alfred J Quack · « **Reply #20 on:** November 02, 2015, 11:55:28 AM »

Quote from: jollygreen23 on September 23, 2015, 08:54:56 AM

I've potty trained three of my own kids, now. The best advice I can offer is to praise, praise, praise! and to not get upset about the accidents. Punishments, yelling, scorning, and shaming move you in the opposite direction. It can be hard, but staying positive and patient goes a very long way.

I agree with this too though I was firm when he pooped his pants on the second day and washed him off under the shower. He absolutely did not like that and cried the entire time but since then the pooping was down pat - I think something clicked in his perception because of it.

Biggest problem was pooping thereafter (though no more accidents, save for one diarrhoea). I think he was scared when he pooped because he very nearly jumped off the toilet every time he did. So I focussed on lots of fun and had him laughing while pooping soon after.

We didn't do the potty though, our son didn't like it but the big toilet (with a stand so he could climb it himself) was apparently no problem.
It's strange to see him go from diaper to fully self sufficient (wiping not included) in less then a month...

Nangirl17 · « **Reply #21 on:** November 03, 2015, 05:36:14 PM »

Naked time worked wonders for us.

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Author Topic: Potty training: tips? (Read 6617 times)