Potty-training While on the Go

When I potty trained my now 5 year old. I'd tired for months on my own, until I fianlly asked my mother for advice. She told me to put regular underwear on my daughter and to take a change of clothes with us. She told me that I must sacrifice conveinence and comfort for awhile and that my daughter would eventually be potty trained. Once I followed her advice my daughter was potty trained in about 2 weeks and she never once had an accident while wearing her panties outside of the house.

I agree with ditching the training pants and pull-ups. We went cold-turkey into underpants and use real "baby diapers" for sleep. Keep a cloth diaper in the car so if there's an accident while you're out he can go home nekkybutt sitting on the diaper (to save your sanity and the carseat for the ride home). I've found that if we don't absolutely have to stay someplace it's better to leave immediately in this fashion than to nonchalantly replace wet garments with new dry ones. If you find him peeing when he doesn't want to stay someplace then of course take him to the bathroom to finish peeing (there's always more after an accident!) and then put the clean undies on with a pair of boxer briefs (look like shorts) and continue with your errand. Pee before leaving the house and in the middle (if it's a long errand) and at the end of an outing before getting back into the car. Even if he peed before getting into the car still go to the bathroom immediately upon returning home. Anything that distracts or engrosses your son will cause him to ignore his need to eliminate. The few times my son has watched a DVD movie he's had accidents. While the TV is on make a habbit of taking intermissions :) One of our challenges was him associating going to the bathroom later in the evening with starting the bedtime routine and subsequently didn't "answer the call" in time. About an hour after any meal is a good rule of thumb. If he has reluctance using public restrooms don't ask if he wants or needs to... tell him you are both going and when you get in there ask if you or he is first taking a turn. For the first month or so you will definitely feel like a slave to the toilet but it does get easier!

Getting rid of the Pull-Ups is the only way to go. You have to just use the training underwear (the cloth kind), with the plastic cover-up over it. I did with both my daughters and had them both fully potty-trained by the age of 2.

The Pull-Ups/other training diapers feel dry, so it doesn't even bother the child when they are wet. Also bringing reward for the child when you go out and still potty training maybe a good incentive for the child. I used to use fruit snacks.

Hi K.,
Actually, he's doing well for a 27 month boy. With our son, who had no interest in being potty trained, we told him that, at the end of the week, there would be no more diapers at our house. Of course he informed us that we could buy more at the store, and we told him we knew that but that there wasn't anyone in our house who needed to wear them now that he was such a big boy. Then we explained to him that "they" don't let people who pee on the floor at the bagel store/Walgreens (yes, he loves Walgreens)/music class, etc. Mind you, this is when we were first training him (well, re-training him, thanks to those training pants -- get rid of them!), but he was over three. He wet his pants (at home -- he refused to go around naked) on the first morning. We were careful not to get mad but did let him know that he would need to stay dry for the rest of the day if he wanted to go to the bagel store the next day because the bagel store could not allow people to pee on the floor. He wet his pants again, and we were very supportive but let him know that he could not go to the bagel store and would not be able to go to the activity he had the in two days unless he stayed dry the next day, again because the place didn't allow people to pee on the floor. We were careful to sound matter of fact about it as opposed to making it sound like punishment. we told him we knew he was trying and it was okay to have accidents but that there were just places he could not go until he reliably used the potty. The next day, his dad went to the bagel store without him, and we didn't have another accident. We always made sure he went to the bathroom before we left to go anywhere and carried one of those portable potties that fit into a small carrying bag with us. Training pants just made our son think there wasn't any real difference between diapers and undies. We all learned how to use the toilet without pull-up style diapers, and we found them to be not just useless but counterproductive. Oh -- we also made sure as parents to stop ourselves in the middle of activities to go pee so that our son cold see that everyone needs to take breaks to pee. We called it "team potty" -- we're such dorks, but it made it more fun for him. Good luck!

Our son is 5 yrs old. boys generally do not want to stop any action espesially for use of the bathroom... Honestly, lose the trainers! your child needs confidence to take care of using the bathroom through HIS own choices. if you spend sev weeks w/out the trainers and accidents are consistant - he's simply not ready and this usually is not just about skill but includes the rate in which the bladder develops. if hes pretty consistant award him appropriatly and give praise! These things take time, the speedy world we live in is sometimes unwittingly transfered 2 our lovely, curious, pure children. when u take time to teach & say "you will learn this, in your own time & you are making great progress" YOUR patience boosts there self-trust, therefore side-stepping numerous accidents and the child from con- stantly reverting backwards. FLEXIBLE gOALS + PATIENT TEACHING = a happy child whom depends on himself to move forward. best of luck. make sure you do somthing for your self, u deserve it!!! Jenn H

Children do tend to be more motivated when they go from diapers straight into underwear (skipping the training pants step). However, once you use underwear there is no going back as that will send mixed messages. When you are out, try giving a little warning and then instead of asking, let him know it is time. "In a few minutes it will be time to go use the potty." Then in two minutes, tell him it is time and take him. He may be a bit stubborn at first but if you are consistent it should work. At first you may have to try every fifteen minutes or so just to avoid accidents.
S. A

Have you tried bribery?
I know this sounds bad, but in my experience it worked like a charm. I offered the little boy I nanny for a small piece of candy (mostly skittles or a jelly bean) every time he was successful at using the potty. So of course he tried to get more by sitting on the potty and pretending to go, but i explained it was only if he really did a pee pee or a poo poo. He was trained in 2 weeks. After he would go I would make a really big deal about it to, so eventually when I was confident that he would go on his own, I just acted really proud of him and stopped the candy. He was fine - he was so proud of himself, he didn't even notice that he wasn't getting candy.
His older brother Henry was 5 before I potty trained him. He would pee on the potty but would ask for a diaper to poo in. His mother unfortunately let him do this. I was appalled, so when they went out of town for a week I told him when I was around he was to use the toilet. I explained that it made me feel like throwing up when I had to change his "big boy poops" I said if his Mom was around he could ask her to do it, but that I was not going to. He threatened to poop on the floor (he's still a discipline problem to this day.) And I told him if he did, he'd be the one cleaning it up. So he went on the toilet.
Anyway, my point is sometimes it takes a little "sugar" and sometimes it just takes a little discipline. You'll need to judge for yourself what your son needs.
Good luck :)

my recommendation is to empower him with the control his own toilet training. If he needs diapers or training pants when he's out, so what? When he is ready to use other toilets and/or gets tired of the pants, he will never have an "accident."
Of my 3 kids, the oldest was trained during the day by 2y 3 m, the next was trained by day at 4 and at night by 6, and my son
was completely trained by 4 but felt anxious at night so put his training pants on himself when he thought he might need them.
I felt that going out into the world was stressful enough and decided not to add pressure to use the toilet into the mix. All people eventually want to!

First things first...don't push it. The more of an issue you make it, the more likely he will balk. My son was doing great with his potty when he was nearly 2. His grandmother wanted to "help" despite my pleas that she not. She is a very pushy and insistant person...My son refused to go near a potty until he was 3 because he was 'traumatized' We had to start from scratch.

Home is his comfort zone. You might start moving the potty to a different location; so he knows that there can be more than one location for a potty. Then have him practice at home with his clothing on, so he gets used to having to disrobe before usnig the potty.

Then go on to using the potty in the public; but remember, he has to become comfortable with the idea of doing it in a different place. It can be scary when it is new.

If he pees in his trainers after he was prompted to use the potty in public, don't get too wound up about it (I know it is really frustrating sometime...and kids pick that up even when we don't think we are obvious). Just go, "oh, that is a bummer you had an accident honey, but that is ok. Maybe next time you will try the potty and you won't get wet." Knowing that your current opionion of him doesn't hinge on using the potty at that moment will make it less of a big deal; which will increase his comfort level.

Hi.
Have you used any gimmicks (like Froot Loops floating in the toilet for him to sink, or drops of blue food coloring so that his yellow leak will turn it green)? Pick one to keep in your purse when you go out, and take him potty before it is urgent. Find something fun to do in the public restroom (hopefully it's clean enough) so that he has fun going in there with you (like make silly faces in the mirror, or trying each sink to see which one has the hottest water). Perks like these might make a potty stop seem like an adventure for him.
If you don't want to see puddles appear at the Home Depot (like I've seen), please keep him in his trainers. Being out in public is exciting for kids, there are several sensory distractions that make controlling their bladders difficult.

I have 2 almost-4 year olds. My daughter potty trained easily by age 3; my son has not. He has been day potty-trained for a year, but at night still wears pull-ups. But now, during the day, he seems to be slipping and he'll go in his pants (with underwear on) and not seem to care. I have to notice and ask him if he went in his pants and even then he'll deny it. So, I make him go upstairs and change (I bring a change of pants when we're out). He doesn't seem to care if he's wet, so I'm not sure putting him in pants vs. trainers makes a difference. I don't know what's going on. But I do know that EVENTUALLY they do grow out of it. I would say don't rush it. It sounds like your son is getting the concept, but it will take time before he's fully ready. Don't fret... (I've always heard boys take longer.)

He may be uncomfortable going in someplace unfamiliar even if you bring his potty chair. When you arrive try taking him to the restroom "just to show where it's at for when he neeeds to go." You might suugest trying to go then, or just say to practice. Also a fun motivator I used was singing "happy potty training" after each success and blowing out a candle. Even when we were out and didn't have a candle holding up my finger and pretending to blow it out was fun. Good luck!