Potty Training - Kansas City,KS

I don't know how much advice I can give you, but I recently potty trained my 2 1/2 yr old boy. I started when he was 2 letting him set on it and stuff, but I didn't push it or anything I just offered him t he chance to go. When he started telling me that he had went in he's diaper and was able to go for 3hrs without needing to potty I then took him out of diapers except at night and just told him he had to use the potty. He just took off he has been potty trained ever since. That was in March. I think it depends on the kid. Just start of gradual and train him when you feel he's ready. Hope this helps some.

research shows that children develop the ability to "hold it" when they need to go between the ages of 3 and 4. That doesn't mean they can't be trained before then (just don't expect them to hold it!) but it is much easier after the age of 3.

I'm nowhere near the potty training stage yet. I just wanted to say that it's good that you have the potty and he's interested in it. Just encourage and him and let him get used to it. Don't be surprised if he does use it, but stops once the baby gets here. It's a totally normal form of regression that a lot of kids do. Good luck!

Hello M.,
My son was already almost completely potty trained when he was your sons age. If your son is interested then go for it, no book is going to tell you when it is right for your child to start potty training. All children are different, but I agree with the no pull ups thing they are just too absorbant to be uncomfortable and it was hard for both of my kids to actually know when they started to go. I did use pull ups at nap and bedtime and my son stil wears one to bed, he just hasn't been able to come out of his sleep when he starts to go to the bathroom.
Good luck and congratulations.
Michelle

My son just potty trained at 42 months (he's 3 1/2). I truly believe that he wasn't ready until now. We actually started trying at around 20 months, when our former ped told us we *must* start him NOW but he just wasn't ready. Between now and then we tried pullups, underwear, setting the timer and making him go every 30 minutes, sticker charts, jellybeans/treats....nothing worked until one day he just said, "I want to wear underwear". I put them on and he's been virtually accident-free since then. For us/him, it *had* to be his choice and when *he* was ready, not when *we* were ready. His current pediatrician said the average age for boys is 3 years 8 months. There are some who pt way before that and some who are still not pt'd until after that. Each child is different. If you think he's showing signs of being ready, then go ahead and start but don't be discouraged if he's not ready. He'll get it eventually wether its when he just turned 2 or if he's nearing 4. Good luck!

Hi M.,

In summary of your 11 responses: a small percentage may be able to potty train early, but the majority of little boys will train more around the 3 year old mark. I've had 3 little boys and this was true for all of them. As soon as they are ready, not you or me, they will transition without hardly looking back. That being said...it still takes 3 - 6 months before you can sit back with a satisfied sense of accomplishment and say, "My little boy is potty trained." This is because sometimes they have all kinds of different 'quirks'...like not wanting to go poop in the potty! They will pee all day long at the right time, but not poop! Almost assuredly, with a new baby and a big brother only 23 - 24 months old, you will see some 'backtracking' in his behavior. You will also see him in a different light...he will appear SO MUCH BIGGER than the baby and you will begin to expect more from him because suddenly he's not your baby any longer. All this is healthy, but be prepared that (if he's given up his pacifier) a pacifier may all of sudden seem oh, so delightful to have again!

My advice? Definitely begin using the 'potty' verbage with him and if's he's interested, let him try it out. No expectations. It ultimately is your son's decision. I would go out on a limb to say no amount of stickers, candy, toys, praise, anything! will bribe a child into potty training UNTIL THEY ARE READY. With my last one...when a younger child (friend of the family) became more involved in our family I used her 'youth' to compare to his 'maturity' and discussed how she used diapers and he was a big boy and went potty. That may be a slight form of peer pressure, but it helped my little guy differentiate appropriate behaviour for his age. (Bottles, baby food, diapers, pacifiers, etc. are for babies, not big boys) The same may become true for you when your baby arrives. Right now...just enjoy that little guy and the fact there's only ONE OF HIM! HA You'll be fine and he will be fine.

Hi M.,

First I'm gonna say I'm not an expert but I've had 4 children their ages are 15 yrs, 6yrs, 3 yrs, and 7 months. That being said I have a couple of thoughts.

First of all I wouldn't even get into the "potty training" right now for a couple of reasons....
1) your son us only 20 months old, you are better off waiting until he is atleast 2 1/2. he hasn't even had his second birthday yet.
2) With you getting closer to time with having the new baby there is no reason to cause uneeded stress for you and/or anybody else. When you start potty training you don't want to stop in the middle of it and backtrack. No matter how much you try there will be an adjustment for everyone when the new baby gets here. Not just for you but for your son and husband. If you are gonna have someone come help you with your new baby or your son you don't want to throw potty training in the middle of that.

You have a 3 1/2 months left of your pregnancy give or take depending on when you are due. I would make the most of these next few months with only 1 child because when there is 2 it's a whole new ball game.
If and when you start potty training I would wait atleast until Feburary of 2008 your new baby will be 4 months old, the newness will be gone of her being here and pretty much life will be back to normalfor the most part just with a new family member. In my opinion at 20 months they don't know how to communicate very much, they are not yet in control of their bladder.

When you do start I would make the transition from diapers to pullups with no potty training mentioned at this point.
Then wait a month or so and on a Monday morning put him underwear that you went out and purchased together and don't turn back.

My daughter the 3 yr old had been going in the potty for about 3 months on and off before my daughter the 4th one had been born but I new what was coming up...I was pregnant, one of the parents that I watch her little girl offered to watch my daycare kids plus my own while I was in the hospital, she had asked me what she wanted her to do if Jillie want to go to the potty and I told her if she wants to cool but if not it's no big deal. I told her I would worry about it later and I wasn't going to cayse uneeded stress for her , the other kids or my daughter. So after the dust had settled everything was calm again and 4 the next few weeks when I came home my 3 yr old didn't go to the potty we just let it be. When my 4th had turned 4 months old thats when I started potty training my then almost 3 yr old we started in March and within a week I had her fully potty trained, that week we had 3 accidents total and the following we had none. I am so glad I did it like that and I did it with my 2nd to 3rd and there was no stress.

I am telling you if wait tell he is 2 1/2 enjoy the time you have and it will go smoothly and there will be no glitches I promise, you. Remember slower is faster, slow and steady wins the race.

I hope this helps you and anybody else that is in this same situation, W. mom of 4 and home childcare provider.

P.S. potty training is stressful on its own for the child, the parents, and in your case the people that would be or will be helping you out when you are having the new baby. Don't fix what isn't broke at this point.

Since he is interested, I would start, but not pressure him. My son started at 18 months and was trained by 2 1/2 - completely. I never made it a big deal, when he went I gave him stickers and we put them all over the bathroom door. He was so into putting stickers on the door that he wanted to use the potty all the time. Don't be surprised if he has accidents after the baby is born. My son had a few when I had my daughter when he was 3. I started giving him as much attention as I could (nursing another baby) and he stopped. Good Luck!

Every child is different. It depends on their interest. If you ssaid your child is very interested now, then this is the time to start him. Always take advantage of his interest. Make it exciting and let him know that he is becoming a big boy. Children love to know that they are growing up and the excitement that you have gets them motivated to do it too. It is wonderful that you sat it out so that he can get used to looking at it. That is exactly what I did for my first daughter. It is very crucial that you do this since you are pregnant again. My daughters are 23 months apart so just like you I was pregnant when it was time to potty train my oldest. You want to introduce it to him before the new baby comes so they do not feel like things are changing drastically because a new baby is arriving. Children tend to link new things with a new arrival of a baby. You don't want him to think that he has to hurry up and move out of the way because you are having another one. If you can have your husband go in there too with him so that he has a man figure to look at as well. This way he feels more connected. And when he goes on the potty no matter if it is the first or 15th time it is a celebration all around. Shout and clap and sing and praise him and he will want to do it all the time for the celebration. Put him on there every hour until you get his schedule. I usually sit them on as soon as they wake up, right before nap, right after nap and before my 2 year old goes to bed. Those are my set times. But depending on how much they drink and eat, there are times in between those that you need to sit him on. You will get used to knowing when he goes after you start. Don't let it stress you out too much because they can feel that stress. Good luck and take care.

My pediatrician told us boys tend to get it around 3 years, some even as late as 4. So I wouldn't worry if he's not potty-trained yet being that he's only 20 months. My own son just turned 3 and he isn't even potty-trained. I think he's really close though, he just hasn't actually peed on the potty yet but he sits on it all the time (before naps, after naps, after meals/snacks, before bedtime, etc..) He even asks to use the big boy potty and takes a book to read on it but nothing comes out! I'm hoping the when it finally does he'll realize the sensation and things will click for him. We'll throw a huge freakin' party when it happens! lol! :)

M.:

We put the potty chair out for my son to get use to at about 20 months. Started training around his second b-day. However, he was excited at first but then lost interest. You don't want to "push it", so we stopped. He is showing interest again, so will try in a few weeks. Be patient, boys take longer than girls.
A. L

Tons of people will tell you to wait, but I'm not sure why. I started putting my son on the potty when he was 16 months. After a few weeks, he started to pee every time I put him on. I now put him on several times a day and am ready to start potty training for real. He is 19 months. I am pregnant and due in December, so he's going to be trained by the end of the summer, I'm sure. They understand so much at this age, and he can obviously control it (I ask him to pee, and he pees), so I don't see any point in waiting.

I'm no expert but my oldest boy was completly potty trained by that age. I think the most important thing is that your son is interested in it. I just took my son to the bathroom with me when i went (which is great for you because that is every five minutes or so, right ;) I set him on the potty and if he went we got very excited and clapped and everything, if not oh, well. He was interested at first then wanted nothing to do with it so i didn't make him try. After about two to three weeks of no interest he started using it pretty much on his own. My youngest boy is one now so we will see if I was just blessed with the first one, lol. Good luck.

First you have to make sure you are ready too.

I started potty training around that that time. I don't believe in pull-ups during the day. So I just let my son pick-out several pairs of big boy undies. One day I just told him he was big enough to go potty on the potty. I didn't use the potty chairs, we used the seat insert.

The first couple of days I set the timer for every 30 minutes and told him it's Potty time. When he did have an accident I just reminded him the potty belongs in the potty. And had him help wash his potty clothes.

When it came to going out in public- I would have him go before leaving. I packed a few extra clothes, extra socks, ziploc bags for any accidents. When we arrived I would have him go potty again. Just remember if you out and about for awhile keep taking him to go potty.

It really only took about a week for him to catch on and in about 2 months he was pretty much accident free. He would have a rare accident, but that's to be expected.

I didn't have to do reward charts with him instead I would show him excitement when he went and told him how proud I was.

I was pretty lucky with him, he was ready to leave the diaper stage behind.