Potty Training - Plano, TX

Ah, the fun of potty training :) Our twins (girls) never wanted anything to do with the little potty deals so we bought Dora potty seats and a step stool for the bathroom and away we went. We opted for the timer method where we set the time for 20 minutes and if they didn't potty, set it for another 20, but if they DO potty, we set it for 30 minutes (and did the peepee dance, lol). It took a few days and we were EXHAUSTED, but they did it! We also put them in panties, not pull-ups (only at night did they get pull-ups) and those rubber pants like we had so that they would know the difference.

Good luck - you can do it and so can he :)

My son was too tall for the little potty chairs; when he would try to sit on it, we'd end up with a mess on the floor because his front end extended beyond the pot part of the potty. We used a cushy potty seat with great success (teamed with a step stool to help him get up and down on his own). With my daughter, I had both a potty chair and a seat; while she didn't seem to have a preference, I definitely preferred the seat -- I hated cleaning out the potty bowl when she was finished. I would suggest getting both and see what works out better! Sometimes, the potty chair is fun to sit in when they're just getting familiar with the idea (my daughter used to bring it out of the bathroom to sit on -- of course, this was before she was actually putting anything in there...); some kids like the idea of going on the big potty just like regular folks. One word of caution -- my daughter hated the sound of the toilet flushing (she still covers her ears, and she's 5). Let them get out of the bathroom before flushing so the loud noise doesn't scare them or hurt their ears. And, some kids get really attached to what they put in the potty! Flushing it away can be really traumatic for them (another good reason to wait til they're not in the bathroom anymore)...And lastly -- teach your son to pee sitting down! My son learned this way, and then one day his dad decided it wasn't 'manly' enough and had him stand (which is, apparently, lots of fun for a little boy) -- but their aim is really, really bad for years (my son is just about to turn 9, and it's only been in the last year that the toilet and surrounding floor hasn't needed daily scrub-downs). I strongly recommend teaching them to sit and point their equipment into the potty to save yourself many hours of cleaning! Oh -- and I do NOT recommend using the little 'shields' they make for boys to keep them from urinating outside the potty; it makes it hard for them to maneuver around to get on the potty (or seat), and the risk of them hurting themselves on it just wasn't worth it.

Hope this helps...

We potty trained our daughter shortly after she turned 2. She got it after just 3 days and after a week we weren't having any accidents. Remember though that each child is different and to really watch for the cues that your SON IS READY (and not just that you are ready) The tricks that worked for our daughter were:

1) We made a big day of going to the store to LET HER PICK THE POTTY SHE LIKED. When we got home we put her name on it and decorated it with stickers. Each time she went in the potty she got to put another sticker on it.

2) A few weeks before we started using the potty we went to Half Price Books and let her pick a "Potty Book" We spent the next few weeks reading the book to her several times a day and talking alot about the potty. We also took the book to the potty with us and read it while she was using the potty. It helped to get her to sit on the potty long enough to go.

3) We didn't bother with the pull ups at all. We just went cold turkey and put her in panties so she could get used to them and understand the feeling of being wet. It was a mess the first few days. Just keep the carpet cleaner out. It made for some funny memories though.

4) Each time I went to the potty I would announce "Mommy's body is telling her I need to go potty" and I would take her to the potty with me and talk to her about what I was doing.

Good luck!! It's so nice to be without diapers. You'll be amazed at how easy it is to travel with them after they are potty trained. After only a year we got so used to it that when our son was born this summer we took off to his 1st doctors appt with no diaper bag or anything and of course he decided to poop while we were there.

J.,

My son would have nothing to do with the full size toilet while training! Getting a kiddie potty was the only way I was going to train him. He only now gets on the regular potty and has been potty trained a whole year. I think you can make the whole experience more special by using the smaller potty chair. The small potty is all his. You can also use it as a demonstration of "how to".

If I could also offer another piece of advice, wait until your little boy shows interest in using the potty. It took me a whole year to train my son. I believe that was because I was working on my schedule and not his. I let my in-laws influence me regarding the proper time for training. But my son was not ready and had tons of accidents. However, I observed many of my friends who waited until their little ones showed signs of interest. Their kids were potty trained in less than half the time it took to train mine - just fyi. Using the smaller potty can also help to serve as a good example as well. You or Daddy could use the big potty while he uses the smaller potty. Good luck!

- C.

We have both a potty seat that sits on the regular toilet and also a small training potty. It seems like my son can relax better and make poopies on the small potty versus the regular toilet....maybe because his feet are on the ground and he's steadier? Having the small training potty also comes in handy when wanting to go places that don't have a potty (such as a park). I just pop it in the car and take it with us.