Potty Training a 2 Year Old Boy

Every child is different, but you can potty train any child, whether or not they are exhibiting "ready" signs. The key is patience and never being negative or upset about accidents.

Most people wait until kids can pull their own pants up and down, but that is because they don't want to potty train only to have to help the child go potty every time, anyway.

I trained my son by 21 months. I did have to take him to the potty every time, but I preferred that to keeping him in diapers, because older children can be much more stubborn. It is better for their skin to be out of diapers, too.

As for being dry all night, some kids wet the bed until they are 12, so that would be a long wait . . .

I had never heard to wait until they wake up dry to potty train. If that were the case, my oldest daughter shouldn't have been potty trained until she was 4, but from 19 months on she was dry all day. My second was potty trained at 22 months. I think that if they're acting interested, go for it. I have heard of so many kids not being able to go all night for YEARS after being day time potty trained. I think that the younger you start introducing the potty the easier it is to potty train. You have the right attitude of patience and not worrying too much about if it happens right away. You'll know if it is time quickly!

K.

Only thing you can do is let him go at his own pace, when he sits on the potty even if he dont do anything say good boy your tried, we will try again later. Just let him play on the potty then he will eventually go potty. Patience is the key.

As you know, patience is the key here, you will NEVER win the battle if you try to "force" him. My daughter just keeps the potty chair in the bathroom and whenever she or Dad go potty...our grandson loves to follow them in there and "go potty too". Of course sometimes it is with his clothes on..but...at least he is getting the idea...lol.
Maybe, as he gets a little older and better able to understand you can start a "chart" and "reward" him for being dry and clean for a certain amount of time.
Good luck...all I can say is that I am glad potty training days are BEHIND this Grandma!!!

Alot of kids are potty trained before they go all night without wetting, thus they usually end up wearing a diaper/pullup to bed for another 6 months (or however long) after they are daytime potty trained. I wouldn't stop if he is showing interest, it just takes longer. Boys are easier in the spring/summer if you let them run around outside in shorts & underwear. Depending on where you live, when they're outside & have to go real quick, they can always pee on a tree ( as hoosierly as some may think that is, little boys love it). I've also kept a potty chair near the door so when they feel they need to go one is with in quick reach. The main sign I always watched for was: Were they waking up from a nap dry & were their diapers dry most of the time when I checked, like they held it for a long time before they went? Actually the fact that he goes #2 on the potty is great because this can be difficult with boys. Have you tried teaching him to stand up & potty? I know...messy! My youngest(a boy) got potty trained early because he never kept clothes or a diaper on, so when I would see him without clothes starting to potty the only thing I could do was run him in there & there was no chance of sitting him down unless I "wanted a bath". In no time he learned to catch himself pottying & ran in there when he felt the need to go. Good luck, I hope you get plenty of useful advice!

I do agree that sleeping all night is the best sign. But there really is a rather high number of kids that have accidents at night for several years after daytime training. So the night-time dryness isn't always the only sign.

If your child is understanding # 2, you are really a step ahead of most! :) Whenever he is ready, the # 2 is usually the hardest thing.

I would NEVER try and get a child sit on the toilet if they are not ready. It just slows things down later.

You should just keep asking him if he wants to try and go. When he starts to wake up from naps dry you can try and put him on. After meals and snacks is sometimes a great time since eating can stimulate things.

Suzi

He is absolutely NOT too young and don't listen to anyone who tells you he is. Just be patient and let him do it in his own time. Don't force the issue but keep up the incouragement. Once he gets the potty training during the day, he will figure it out at night too. I think the pull ups are great for night time but if you really want to be serious about it, go straight to the underwear. He will learn a lot faster if he can feel when he goes potty.

Wow, are you lucky! My four kids did the #1 early on, but dug their heels in about #2. Ick! I had one boy and three girls. What worked with my son was floating a cheerio in the toilet. Then, I'd let him stand and try to 'hit' it. He thought it was a wonderfully fun game. If he had to go when we were out in the yard, I'd see if he could hit the 'spot' on the brick wall. There was a paint chip on the recycled brick. He loved trying to aim and hit things. That also helped with the typical 'boy in the bathroom' mess later. He knew how to aim. haha!

be very careful to not let the "sitting on the potty" become a game...it makes it harder for the children to understand that there really is a job connected to it! I had one family who allowed their daughter to sit on it for 45 minutes at a time - with books & toys....& then they wondered "why" their daughter was not potty-training!

Usually, the dry night diaper comes after the daytime potty training. Sometimes as much as 6 months later!

It's fantastic that your son is showing signs of awareness. If he can tell you beforehand on the #2, then your biggest hurdle is almost out of the way! Just be patient (but firm...) about using the potty. Never forcing or punishing (yes, I've seen it all with my daycare kids/parents). If you're consistent with rewards & acting upon his telling you, then he should adapt easily.

If I waited to potty train until my son was dry all night vs dry all day, I would have had an unpottytrained four year old. The dynamics are different for potty training itself, and staying dry all night. Don't hold off potty training for that. That said, 26 months may be a little early, but not much! At my son's daycare, they started potty training at 2 1/2, and stay dry 80 percent of the time before they could move up to the three year old room. They also would not allow pull ups. It was undies and those plasticy over undeipants. I know that sounds old fashioned, but it was just two years ago. We did use big boy pullups at night and nap, but for the daytime, I think big boy undies that he helps pick out ( and I personally would rather change pants a hundred times a day then deal with rubber undies again) and lots of extra clothes in the diaper bag is the best way to go.

Wait till he starts waking up dry before you really start trying to potty train him, but no harm in getting him used to his potty now. My son loved the Elmo potty.

some kids are quicker than others and age 2 is certainly a good time to start. If he is telling you when he has to go #2 great job. that is harder to usually conquer than going pee and usually the hardest so keep it up as long as he is telling you. Usually around 2 1/2 is about the age most kids really get it. Just encourage your little guy to go and take him a few times a day to get a routine going especially before he goes to bed and when he wakes up in the morning but at this point don't make him sit there too long, just a few minutes and if he goes good, if not it's a good routine to get him used to especially those 2 times of the day, you can take him a few times during the day too.

I absolutely agree with everyone that you just need patience. If he's interested, then it's not too early to start! Books to look at on the pot work, as does just making it easy to use the potty. I kept the portable potty near us wherever we were in the house so he could just go over and use it whenever he wanted.

My son was mostly potty-trained by just after 2--it's easier in warm weather when you can let them run around naked or at least without pants! However, my experience is that with our second child, we will NOT use pull-ups. They confused our son, and he wasn't completely potty-trained until he was nearly 3, so we went nearly an entire year going back and forth. We're going to forgo the ease of pull-ups, live with the mess, and just get trained! Good luck.

Your son may be a little young. If he does say he needs to go #2 you might try to take him to see if he will go. That would be a start. Every child is so different. My daughter was 3 1/2 when she was trained, then first son a little past 2 and last son was almost 4. Staying dry during the night usually doesn't happen until maybe up to a year after day time training so don't depend on that.

I'm not sure who told you to wait until they are dry all night, that is silly. There are many reasons children don't stay dry overnight. They may sleep too deeply or bladder hasn't matured yet. You know your son better than anyone. My son enjoyed having something to shoot in the potty so I put m & m's or ice cubes in the toilet water(m&m's were easier) and he would shot them while urinating. His dad took him and showed him what fun it was and then he was hooked.

Good luck,
D.

i'm sorry to say i haven't read the other responses, but i can say that one thing i have read on here (my own questions included!) is that a lot of times around this age kids will show an interest. mine did too. there is some difference in opinion from what i can tell, as to whether this actually means they are ready or not. i have seen mamas who swear that their kid was ready as soon as they started showing signs, and by god any mother who hasn't potty trained their child by age two is just lazy! (swear to god someone actually said that) anyway. be that as it may, from what i have seen it's totally normal for them to show some interest just from starting to figure out what goes where. it doesn't mean they are ready. i am more a believer in, when they're ready, they'll go. my son is a very advanced 2 1/2 and has shown interest off and on, but when i start pushing is when things seem to "dry up", so i've quit pushing. i think you just have to work with the personality of your kiddo. by all means try it and see if he is really interested! just don't be too frustrated if he loses interest. good luck!

Hey J.,

Looks like you've gotten a lot of great responses but I thought I'd go ahead and second what others have said. I also have 2 boys (27 mos apart) and they were both very different in their responses to potty training. My oldest also showed an early interest in #2 but then it dramatically changed (for no apparent reason) and he refused to go and it was our last big hurdle to being trained. So what I'm saying is, don't suddenly panic if he changes his mind. :)

Otherwise, I'd take him to his Elmo potty everytime he says he has to go and positively reinforce it with praise. If you like, you can set certain times to try and go #1, such as "after snack, we'll go pee in the potty" and not worry about it otherwise. It's really up to you how you want to handle it. There's no magic signs, but I've found it's very hard to be consistent with potty training if your son doesn't usually have some dry times during the day. It can make you nuts!!

Since you asked, I'd say 26 mos. is too young to be stressing about it. The last thing you want to do is turn it into a power struggle. Daytime and nighttime potty training are very different, so I wouldn't use "dry at night" as a guide. Other than that, trust your own instincts. Do what you feel is best for your son and you'll find your way. :}

Good Luck!
S.

i tried to pt my daughter before she was 2 1/2 and it back fired big time. my son, i waited until he was 2 and half and he piotty trained himself just about. make sure htey can take on and off theire own clothes EASILY by them self. and i recomend a no frils potty chair, that soesnt make noise or anything. the one that worked best for us ( we wnet thru 6 or 7 tryong to get my daughter to use it) was a simple 10 dollaar one, white. and get books fromt he library. also be patient. remember, he will not go to kindergerten in a diaper :)

Try putting fruit loops or cheerios in the toilet & letting him sink them, while he is going #1. Good Luck!

Just take it slow, don't try to force him, or you'll definitely lose the battle. And as far as staying dry at night, my oldest will be 4 in a few weeks, and has been fully daytime potty trained since he was 2 years, 5 months, and he is still unable to stay dry at night. Sometimes that has something to do with genetics. Some children don't wake up at night when they have to go and they just have to outgrow that. So, I think that "sign" is useless, being that I was a bedwetter myself, I knew not to look for that necessarily. Anyway, good luck.