Need Potty Training Advice / Tips

For reward, I used cotton balls to reach a goal. I had a tall plastic container that his growth chart came in and my son and I put stickers on it together and used blue paint tape to go all around the container about 3 inches from the top so he can see when it goes over. We did this at 18 months and talked about what we were going to start doing soon at 20 months.

At 20 months, every time he sat on the potty, he got 2 cotton balls in the container. Pee pee or poo poo got him 4 cotton balls in the container. Once the cotton balls went above the blue paint tape, we go to the store and he gets a big toy. I would give him the cotton balls to put in himself.

I chose the cotton balls as they were big, cheap and reusable. Plus no sugar, like M&Ms. And we got to practice his counting. He liked the visual and was proud to show his grandparents when they came over.

Good luck!!!

I did a Potty Party using a doll where the child helps you first train the doll in the morning, then you train them in the afternoon. I dont remember the name of the book, but I had my son trained by the end of the day. You can Google Potty Party books and find it I'm sure. Good luck.

For a couple of days watch when he poops. Half hour after meals? Then start sitting him on the toilet (no need for potty seats). Get him real underwear with superheroes or cartoon caracters he likes. (no need for pullups either). As for rewards, a clapping celebratory mommy is all it takes. But start after the camping trip so you can be consistent.
Word of warning: it might be too early to potty train. Sometimes boys don't care until around two and a half.

We did the 3 day method and it worked great! One thing for my daughter though, was she didn't like the "small potty". She wanted to sit like us on the big potty so we bought a cushion and from then on it was great. She was potty trained in less than a week at 25 months. I agree with the other mom, every 15 minutes the first day, then the second day you will pretty much know how long you can wait. There will be a lot of accidents on Day 1 (we have hardwood floors and removed all the rugs beforehand to make for easy cleanup), day 2 will be much better and then before you know it, it's done! We didn't do pull-ups or diapers at all, just underwear (no shorts) even at night. And we didn't go anywhere at all for 1 week. I have heard the best time to potty train is when they can hold it overnight, but I have multiple friends that still put diapers on at night and their kids were still potty trained for the day. Good luck!!!

i had the same question a while back and out of all the responses this is What worked for me...i got my daughter her own potty . I put it next to ours and every 15 min (you'll know by day two how many min before having to take them in)I waould tell her mommy has to go potty. And shed be exited becasue id get all exited so id take her hand and say "come help mommy" so she'd come in. Id sit on mine then id take her to hers. Id pretend id be pushing and holding her hands and she'd push as well. lol that's how it happened. She got potty trained fully a week before her 2nd b-day. You just have to continue it and make it fun every now and then for him becasue ive heard of some children going back to dipers after potty training. I wish you two the best.

Yes, they (we) are all different. My oldest did well on the "reward system"; my second cuoldn't care less about the reward; and my third was so much younger than my oldest boys that I told them to potty train their brother...
It confounds me that most of these messages are from the moms who have all the responsibility. Where are the dads training their sons to use the toilet? Or do we want them to learn to leave the seat up?!!!
Best wishes, it's all part of growing up, dear.

We started potty training when our son was 2 1/2 and it took about 2 1/2 -3 days (we tried a little earlier but he just wasn't ready). After talking to several moms, we decided to forego the pull-ups and go straight into underwear and take him to the bathroom every 15-20 minutes. The thought was he wouldn't like being wet...well at the end of the second day I was ready to give up because all I did for two days was pick up pee and poop - he would sit on the potty (we tried a little potty, our potty with a cushion seat, standing, etc) but wouldn't go, then he would start to play and decide he needed to pee but never say anything.

The second night we had dinner plans with family and decided to keep him in underwear, even though we hadn't made much progress...and he actually asked for the potty when we got to the restaurant - and he felt like such a big boy for going in the big boy potty!! After that it was smooth sailing, with just a few accidents here and there.

One thing I was not prepared for with potty training a little boy was the whole "positioning" (up to my son we only had girls in the family). That night we went out for dinner, I brought him plenty of clothes for those accidents - but never thought about bringing me anything. When he asked for the potty, I was so excited but was sure to carefully line the seat before he sat, put him on the potty, and knelt in front of him...needless to say that is the wrong spot to be :-) For a month or so after that his potty seat stayed in the car for easy access which was nice - this not only kept me dry but kept him off the public toliet seat directly (the one that fits over the regular toliet seat for their little bottoms with a cushion and cup guard).

Good luck - this can be a trying time but with lots of praise and persistence it will happen - but with boys, 2 might be a little young so you might find you start but he just isn't ready.

The biggest tip I can give you is do not use pull ups in the process except for rare occasions. They feel the same as diapers, and te kids don't get the idea of bein wet and uncomfortable if they do have an accident. Also, be very patint. Boys definitely take longer to potty train and generally start later than girls. They hve to wat to do it, otherwise, you are spinning your wheels and fustrating everyone. Don't punish for accidents, as that will definitely turn him off. Be patients, give lots of praise for success, and be understanding with setbacks. He will master peeing long before he masters pooping. A lot of kids are afraif to poop on the potty at first.

I have potty trained all 4 of my kids, my youngest is 3 right now. They were all a little different and took different amounts of time, but they were all completely done by 3. My first was the learning experience, then I used what I learned on the other 3. Patience is definitely the biggest thing. They will go when they are completely ready to go, and I have never met a child over 4 who wasn't fine in that area. First, I switched them to undies during the day, and pullups at night and shopping trips. And never went back to diapers. I just bought a ton of them and kept the washer ready. If you have carpets, you'll want plastic ones to go over the top. They also ran around all day in nothing but that. I took them to the potty after each meal, right before and right after naptime and bedtime. After snack. Before we went somewhere, after we got back. Sometimes they would only sit for a few minutes. I just said how proud I was even if they only sat and nothing else. Sometimes I could get them to look at a short story or drink a cup of water before they got up. When they had an accident, I just said ewwww, cleaned them up, took them to the potty, then redressed them. Making a big deal didn't help. Eventually they would go. Then I clapped and let them know how great it was. Sometimes it would be awhile before it happened again, but it did. After awhile, accidents just happened less and they started going on the toilet more and more. One day, you will just realize it's done. Most of it is just perseverance and patience.

Potty Training requires consistency and a lot of patience. First the child must have interest in achieving. Watching parents go or sit on toilet helps or even siblings. You can try at a very early age, but if they are not interested it is not going to happen, so wait a while and try again. Reward, reward, reward I think was most important. I used a butter mint as a reward and kept them in a jar on the back of the toilet. They would only get one when they succeeded, but it worked. I think because they could keep their eye on the prize. I too used cloth traiing pants, they can feel the wetness, so if they dribbled but still went in the potty they could get the mint. It didn't take long once we got started. Have fun, we also did the potty dance everytime too (get creative).

Hi S., I trained my daughter in 3 days!!But it took a lot of time and effort on my part. I kept a potty training diary but too long to post on here so if you would like to take a look at it I can send it to you via email if you would like to send me your email address! Good Luck, L.

I think it might be too soon. Two is really kind of young, especially for boys.

Before you jump into full fledged training... Have you asked yourself (and answered) these questions:

1) Does Leif show any interest in using the potty without prompting from parents?
2) Is Leif aware of his bodily functions and can he tell you he is about to go before he does?
3) Is Leif able to remove his pants himself easily?

If he can't do 2 & 3, then you might consider waiting a bit longer. It will help keep you both from becoming quickly frustrated with the process.

If he can, but doesn't exhibit 1, then you should begin talking with him about using the potty and taking him into the bathroom with you and your husband and let him watch you use it. Explain what is happening (in terms he can understand). Read books about using the potty. All this will help pique his interest.

Good luck, and always stay positive.. be joyful and give lots of praise for all good efforts; and never chastise for not succeeding.

p.s
One other thought:
We started out with pooping, not peeing. It is easier to notice when they are about to go for them and for you.. and you usually have a little bit more time to rush to the potty before an accident occurs. As a side benefit, I think it helped avoid what some kids go through with withholding or refusing to poop on the potty after being pee trained. We did poop first, then the pee, and we NEVER had ANY withholding issues or fear of the potty issues.

Well it's boring to sit on the potty! What 2yo wants to sit when nothing is going on! He wants to be where the action is! :) Give him some books to look at while he's sitting, or better yet, sit with him & read. It will get him sitting & relaxing (something might happen then), & will also get him interested in books (always a good thing). Try to take him every hour to keep on top of it (you might set a timer). Good luck & don't get too frustrated if it doesn't happen right away. I have twin boys & one trained immediately after turning 3, the other was almost 4 when he was trained during the day, but 7 1/2 to be dry all night - every kid is different.

I have two boys and toilet trained them just before their 3rd birthdays...it was not hard at that time...

He is only 2! Go ahead and use the wonderful advice you have received, but a child can NOT be training unless they are truely ready. I have never understood pushing them or boot camping them! Besides, you might have to wait, but it is so much easier then. My son was 3.3 before he trained. He took my up on the offer to go pick out underwear, put them on and within 1 week he was fully trained and only had 3 accidents. We used pull ups only at night. If he responds poorly, please don't preasure. If he jumps into it, the yeah for you! Read him, not tips.

I took my daughter to the store and let HER pick out a potty and got really excited. Now when she has to go she can't wait to use the "pretty potty". Previously I had a tot pot i got at her shower but she would not (and still won't) use that one, but she feels when she has to go and will tell me so ican help her get to a potty