Potty Training a Two Year Old Boy

You do not do sound conceited at all. Some kids are very advanced. My daughter was potty trained at 2. I said if this kid can carry on an adult conversation with me she can go on the potty! He does sound ready with all that he is doing and honestly you sound like you are half way there. #2 is the hardest when it comes to potty training. And he did it! It took us about 6 months until we were fully potty trained, meaning no diapers at all and no accidents. And accidents will happen so cleaning dirty underpants go along with it. In my opinion pull ups are useless! They would leak at night and if you pull them up more than twice they fall apart. I would put him on every morning when he is more likely to go and make it routine. And just ask him a lot and remind him about it. I would pull away if he acts afraid but always mention it and rewards are great. Some days will be better than others but it sounds like he is doing great and you are doing great with him. He will be a big boy before you know it. I dont know why but this is the only milestone that made me sad (dont ask why) but I officially didnt have a baby anymore after the diapers where gone. Its bittersweet. Good luck!

My son was completely potty trained, even at night just before his S. birthday. Sounds like he has all of the signs of being ready. Good luck to you & being diaper free!

He's ready. He was probably ready at 18 monnths. Keep at it. I don't plan on waiting until my son is 2. No one waited to start until that late a generation ago. You probably won't have to rinse underwear that much; he won't like feeling dirty. It's different than wetting in a diaper. Also, they have reusable cloth training pants at cloth diapering stores/websites if you want something for overnight.

Carrie, there is nothing wrong with being a proud mama. I think you will find there are many of us out here.

My oldest is 26 and my youngest is 21, I have 3, 2 boys and a girl. My girl was trained by 18 months and both of my boys were completly trained by 2.5 years. It was expected. I dont think the bodies of children have changed, I think the ideas on this type of thing have. We did not punish our children for the accidents they may have in their pants. However we did potty train them, meaning we expected for them to learn that this was the time and place for elimination. We did rewards and we made it as fun as possible. I guess the point I am trying to make is that we waited for signs of readiness and then we took the lead.

I know that on this board there seems to be a lot of discussion about when is too early and letting the child decide. It is a very different process than the way we did it. So if the bodies are the same then, yes he is showing the signs and he is ready. In my experience any child will respond with a "no" if asked if they have to go, in the beginning. We trained with the understanding that our children would follow our lead, they did. If we siad it was time to use the pot, they would go with us and use the pot. I did not take no for an answer until they had reached a point that I knew they understood the process and their "no" was an accurate answer.

There are many times in life when taking the lead in training a child, is the better way to go. A child can not know what is best for them, that is what they rely on us for. They can not be expected to know what you are waiting for, or how to move to the next stage of life. They depend on us to guide them and lead them. The natural inclinations of a 2 year old are not always pleasant. If they learn to trust that as the parent you will take the lead and instruct them when needed, it makes for a very close, long lasting relationship. It allows them to come to you and ask for you help and guidance, when needed. Take the lead.

Good Morning Carrie, There for a while I thought you were talking about our Gr son Corbin :) Percentiles, language, colors, numbers to 15, ABC's ...etc are exactly same. I do brag cause he is my gr son. :)) I have kept him daily since he was born, will be 4 in March. He has been like this since he was between 18/20 mo's also. He has a one y/o brother Zane who I keep also.

He was a little different to potty train, He is pretty much completely trained now. Will have on accident occasionally with poopy, he does the little old man shuffle to get to the bathroom fast. He goes by him self all the time, with Nana helping to wipe only. We're working on that now.

It does sound like your little guy is pretty much ready to go for it. And ya know Carrie the small pkg of pull ups aren't that bad. They can pull um down and up pretty much by themselves too. Does he use them at nap time or bed time?
Corbin doesn't anymore during the day but at night still uses a pull up most night. He gets up dry 5 out of 7 nights. When he does wet he changes into big boys undies by him self. He hasn't trained himself to wake up at night to go pp yet.

I think your doing fanatic to let him move at his own pace. And by not asking only builds his own wants to go. Cause most kids when asked will say No, but they normally do have to go.
We did the pp and poo poo dances to. He gets a small hershey's mini chocolate bar for poop-n, in the potty now. He will remind me too If I should take a little while to get it out of the frig too..lol

God Bless Carrie your doing great and so is your little man!!
K. Nana of 5

Hi, Carrie. It does sound like your 2 year old is a bit advanced for his age academically. I think continuing to put him on the potty a FEW times a day to see what he does is a great idea. Always make it a consistent time, like when he wakes up (if he is dry in the morning) and after lunch, and before bed. If he starts showing signs he doesn't want to do it, then stop and try the next week. I think sitting him on there for max 5 minutes each time is sufficient to see if he needs to go. If he is really ready, he will go in that time. I am a believer in Pullups so that kiddos learn to be self sufficient in pulling their own pants and clothing up, They have also designed them to be easier to remove and put on, so that helps. Now they don't have to take their pants off to put on the pullup. They are more pricey, but when he is ready, you won't go through them like diapers, either. I do believe when he consistently goes every day for a week or so, try the underwear. My son took only one day in underwear, and he was potty trained. I didn't try until he stayed dry at night for a long time. He was closer to 2 1/2. Good Luck!

Reading what you wrote was like reading something about my oldest. Our oldest was very smart for his age. New his colors by the time he was one, played file folder games before he was 2 (games that are for preschool age)and was also in his 97 percentile for his height and weight. We started working with him after he turned 2. There were many times that he told us that he needed to go and he was right, both potty and poop. We honestly worked for close to a year. He did a great job with it, we used sticker charts. After he went potty 5 jor 6 times he got a little toy. Plus he got to pick out his own sticker for the chart. He also got a bigger prize after he went poop in the potty. After going 3 times he would get to go to McDonals or pick out some new big boy underwear. It became frustrating at times to me, because I felt like he was ready so many times but we kept going in our pants. He didn't become potty trained until he was ready though. My advice is to keep working on it everday. Don't push him to do it though and don't get frustrated about it. He is already asking to do it from time to time then you are off to a good start. Like I said earlier, it took the better part of a year for our oldest to decide he was ready, and when he decided that he was done going in his pants he really was done for good. I also agree with you on the pull ups thing. They are a giant waste of money. Good Luck!!

Try the big toilet instead of the potty chair, I am playing a game with my grandson he doesn't want the potty chair at all, I tell him to see if he can hit the man in the hole in the toilet, of course my daughter thinks I am nuts but said it works so who cares. Xavier is 3 an does wear pullups. I have to ask him if he wants to see the man in the hole or that I am going to get it before him he will run to the bathroom just to beat me. No way on the S. end though not having the greatest luck with that one at all.

I'm not experienced in this at all (my daughter is only 17 months) but it sure sounds like your little guy is ready to me! My mom tells me that our daughter will likely be the same way...that I was pottytrained well before 2 and that my brother was finished with training by 2 1/2...
The guidelines "they" give seem to change every year.
Sounds like you're doing a great job! Enjoy that wonderful little boy of yours!
P.S. Don't apologize for trusting your mom more than strangers you "meet" online! I know I do! That's how it should work!

Tough one - all kids are so different. I have a daughter who is 28 months, and about 2 months ago we had a total of 4 successes on the potty. After lots of praise and encouragement, she seemed bored with it (as though she has mastered that skill!) and even though I gently suggest she like to try again, she always says NO. Yesterday I decided to put the potty away for a few months. After all, she doesn't have a deadline, and neither should I (although my hubby thinks differently)!
As they like to imitate, maybe your son should see his dad go to the toilet? Hope this helps!

You know your son best as far as when he's ready. However, I can offer some advice based on my experience (my older son is 3). First, skip the potty chair. Get him used to using the regular toilet--it will make it easier when you're not at home. Plus, you won't have to transition from the potty chair to the big toilet. S., you're right about the pull-ups. Again, I think it's just another crutch you'll have to break eventually. Third, I think time is a big factor. We tried to potty train our son at 29m. After 3 days of accidents and constantly asking, "Do you have to go potty", I decided he wasn't ready. We tried again at 31m and he was trained in one day. He had 1 accident in his underwear on the first day and never again! He is now over 3 and never had an accident after that first day. He was just ready.

I notice you work. I would check with his day care provider to find out their methods and opinion on his readiness. They are an important piece of the puzzle since they have him for a majority of his awake time.

Good Luck!

Congratulations Carrie! You are doing great with him! My son was the same way, and advanced for his age too, so I know where you are coming from! But if you don't keep at it, and trust me, they are smarter than you realize, he will regress. Mine did...but I just broke down and told him what I expected of him, and he has only had 2 poo accidents, but quite a few wet accidents. But he is now 4 and does everything by himself...and gets mad at me for trying to help! Again, congrats...and I think you should go for the underpants now!

Your boy sounds like my oldest. He was starting to use the potty ring at 18 months and would stop us on our road trips so we could get him to a bathroom. He had a great vocabulary and is very bright. If his daycare would have helped me, I think he would have trained at 18 months but I had to wait for summer for their support, and it was over in no time. Frankly, too, we used M&M's. He had accidents for the first two days and my husband and I almost gave up, until the M&M's. He got one for telling us he had to pee or poop and he got one for actually going on the potty. It was a big incentive as we don't do a lot of candy in our house (esp. at 2yrs old!). Anyway, I recommend a potty ring vs. a potty chair too for the ease of when you're not at home. And FYI, my S. son didn't train until he was 3 yrs old. He's pretty bright too, however, they're all so very different. Good luck to you. It sounds like he's ready to me. Just be patient and offer lot's of "BIG BOY" kudos!

He's ready, obviously. My son was day trained by 21 months.

My youngest son is the same way! He has always been big (in height & weight) for his age, he has always been advanced for his age (in everything - numbers & colors).
The only signs that I can think of are: staying dry/able to hold it, able to pull his pants up & down & asking to go potty. My youngest son will be 3 in Dec. & we started potty training him last month. It all started because he could hold his pee for 12 hours (day & night) & out pee a size 6 night diaper & even the S/M Goodnights (made for much older kids). I was already washing as much laundry with a diapered son as I would be with a son in underware. Pull-ups are just diapers & the kids know that. The cool-alert did not even faze my son so he just wares underware & I deal with the mess. Every now & then I tell him that he needs to go to the potty, before bed, when he wakes up in the morning & before leaving the house. Some times he just goes to the potty by himself. It is rare that he tells me that he needs to go. Now that we have been potty training him he stays dry all night & only wares underware. The only time I put pull-ups on him is when we are going on a 3-6 hour car trip to visit family.
Each child is different. My oldest had a fever right before his 3rd birthday that lasted a week. The day his fever broke he decided that he wanted to ware underware & has not turned back. He never wet his pants at night & only had a few accidents. Pee running down his leg was enought to make him flip out, so he went to the potty. My youngest hates to make messes of any sort (food or an accident).

God Bless!

I would stay away from Pull-ups personally my daughter was almost totally potty trained just before she turned 2, and I started buying pull-ups because I thought it would help and it took until she was almost 3 1/2 to get her potty trained. It actually took the director of the YMCA preschool saying get rid of the pull-ups and on the week end and tell her teacher the Friday before that there will be no more pull ups, she had a few accidents, of both kinds, but when she went to school, she had even less accidents then at home, one or less a day. They also recommend not using a special potty, or potty seat because then they have to learn to using public restrooms, which was very traumadic for my daughter, actually it still is and she turned 4 in August, but I was trying to potty train her before she started pre-school, and she had a potty and a potty seat. Then there are the automatic flushers, I haven't met anyone yet who really likes them, but kids seem to be extra scared of them. Sticky notes are the answer, cover the sensor and then remove it after they are finished so it doesn't scare him because it flushed while he was on it. Hope this helps, remember every child is different, my friend has a son that is pretty much potty trained, he has to be asked to go still, but she started working with him about the time he turned two, she is very consistent, so it really didn't take long. I start doing something or get distracted way too easy. Good luck.
M.

Hi Carrie...sounds like he's ready. My first daughter was finished by the time she was 2 1/2, my son was done by 2 and my youngest daughter started using the potty at 19 months. She is now 28 months and is pretty much most of the way there. I admit, I put underpants on the other two and I've kind of been lazy and put Pullups on my youngest. She has gone #2 exclusively on the potty for months now, but still occasionally goes #1 in the Pullup during the day if I don't stay on her and ask her and basically sit her on the toilet. She is dry overnight about 95% of the time. Definitely sounds like he's ready. If anything, your email and the responses from other moms has inspired me to let this be the last bag of Pullups and just do the undies while we are home! Wet panties during the day aren't so bad. ;-) And by the way, don't ever apologize for bragging. You obviously are a wonderful mom and are very proud of your little man.

It sounds like you have a quite a nice young man there. First of all, the "right" time a child should be potty trained has varied over time. When my kids were little, they were expected to be done potty training by two, and they were. (one was a boy, many times boys take longer is because we let them)
Although there is something to be said about readiness, the more important word to focus on is training. If your son was 8 years old and not reading because he just didn't seem to want to put out the effort, would you hang back and wait?
Bowel movements and urinating are natural, When and where to do them are not. Your son needs to be trained/taught just like anything else. What "method" you want to use is up to you, but I would get with it. He obviously can do it. Yes, it may be messy, but how long do you want to buy diapers?

Good luck!

Hi Carrie,
you've already received a lot of responses, and I did not read them all, so I don't know if anyone else has recommended this...my daughter is 29 months, and we successfully potty trained her a couple of weeks ago using the 3 day potty training method. I was skeptical at first, and the first 2 days were incredibly trying, but it really did work. It took every bit of the 3 days, but she is now potty trained completely...the premise of the method is not to rely on pull-ups or anything like that - straight to underpants, and after a few days (if not before) it will click with your child. There is more to it, but not much. If you have any questions feel free to get in touch with me.

--C.

For what it's worth... I'm not so sure that he's sounds ready. I have three kiddos of my own and the first one I really tried and tried to potty train him early and he would do it perfectly for about a week or so and then resort back to going in his pants. Once I quit pressuring him and a few months went by, he asked if he could wear his "big boy underwear" and he was virtually accident free from then on.
I learned that I was just making myself crazy and trying way too hard and he just wasn't ready. My first daughter was almost three and my third child is now 2 1/2 and beginning to just now show interest. She is "advanced" for her age in language and social and motor skills per our pediatrician and PAT, but could care less up until the last few weeks about the potty. I asked them about it and they said some kids minds are working on other things and they just don't care about that. Someone joked with me and said that they don't remember there being a question about when they were potty trained on their college entrance exam... Honestly I think the average potty training age is more around 3 than 2.
Good luck but I wouldn't make yourself crazy. Potty training is a lot of work and if they aren't really wanting to do it just yet it can be miserable...

my daughter was potty trained by 25 months...and so were my 7 neices and nephews....why would it be to early?

go for it !!!

If you are in a position to use peer pressure I would recommend it. Playing with peers who already use the potty or attending 1/2 day preschools or sunday schools sometimes does the trick (it did for my daughter). I flat out used the reward & bribe system. Everytime he went on the pot he got to chose a prize from a stash I had (Happy Meal toys, dollar store toys, etc.)...when he lost interest, I put them back in the basket to be reselected again later...of course there was an ultimate prize when it was all said and done...I can't remember what I got for my son but my daughter (who just finished potty training at 3) got a doll.

I use the pull ups for bed time. And I HIGHLY recommend it unless you are overly fond of washing A LOT of bed clothes and getting up frequently in the middle of the night. Of course, if that is what you like to do, then I recommend getting the wetting pads and making the bed in double or triplicate so all you have to do is pull one layer off and add a new blanket for a quick change. But I've found that my 5 yr old is gaining more confidence in not having to change sheets and waking himself up to go to the bathroom...we are just getting to the point where he is waking up dry so we reuse those pull ups that night. Good luck!

He may not be quite ready yet. I did the pull ups thing in the beginning and they are more conivient than you think. I too had a child that was very much talking and saying complete sentences at that time and by the time he was almost three he knew the complete alphabet and he didn't learn it by watching Sesame Street. I worked with him at home. Anyway most boys are really not ready until they are closer to three and sometimes not till three and a half. For now don't push the idea of potty training as he will go when he's ready but when he's three really start pushing it more as he should show signs of readiness by then. Hope this helps.

There is a long motor neuron that connects the brain to the muscles that control urinary and sphincter muscles used in the release of poop and pee. This neuron must be covered in a fatty sheath, called myelin, so that the signal can be transmitted quickly from the brian to the muscles. Potty training cannot happen until that neuron is completely myelinated, or covered in myelin. This usually is complete around age two (with a large window). So, it is very possible that he is physically ready to learn to use the potty. Just go off of his cues, and don't stress it. There are many signs of readiness that children should show before potty training is attempted, and it sounds like he is showing many of them (telling/showing adults when he has to go, disliking a wet/dirty diaper, being able to pull pants up and down, etc).

Don't be fooled in case others mention this. There is no such thing as 1 day or 3 day potty training tricks or methods. If a child is ready, it may really only take a short time for them to get the hang of it. If they are not physically ready, a parent can try and try but it won't happen until they have physical control over those muscles.

To help him prepare, you can start by teaching him how to pull his pants up and down after diaper changes, and having him wash his hands after diapering. These are two steps that he will need to learn in the potty training process, and if he has a good handle on these, it should make the process easier.

Accidents are totally normal for quite a while after a child is considered potty trained.

I have worked with so many toddlers in childcare and we never used treats or stickers, etc. I have seen so many kids learn to use the potty without them and I personally don't think that candy has anything to do with learning how to go to the bathroom. Let it be an accomplishment in itself, without the motivation of a piece of candy. I think doing a dance afterwards is fun for him and can help him associate it with a positive outlook, but I just don't see the need for candy (I'm sure he's sweet enough already!).

best wishes,
C. G

I have 2 girls and they each potty trained differently. I started the older one with a little potty before I gave birth to my little one she was about 2 or a little later. She loved it for a few days and did ok but she soon got over the newness. I had the little one and told the older one how big she is and how she is such a big sister. On the baby's baptism I put the older one in a sundress and several people helped me change her that day rinsing her off in the shower and telling her she could do it. It took that one day to do it. After that she peed in the potty all the time unless she drank too much. She went to bed with pullups till 3.5 then I told her she would have to get out of bed to go potty in the noc and took them away. I never did pullups during the day, however. It is also way easier to do it in the summer than the winter.

The younger one was taught by the older one after preschool while I was tring to cook dinner. The little one would sit on the baby toliet and the older the adult one with a potty seat. They had potty talk I guess. Sometimes it was messy with some toliet paper on the floor but I owe it all to my older daughter. I

I never pushed my kids to do anything bottles ect they just slowly weaned. My little nephews I helped with because they did not want to listen to their mommy about potty training. If they know it bothers you I think they will just be lazy and poop in their pants. I told my nephews we would go buy some underwear and not to poop on spiderman ect. because they don't like it when you do that to them. It seems to work, no pullups during the day at my house. Not even for my nephews. I think this may confuse kids.

Good luck and just let it happen naturally.