Potty Training Advice - Wesley Chapel, FL

I'm not in the potty training stage yet....my daughter's only 6mos old, but my best friend has 2 boys and her oldest is 2 1/2. She used the book Potty Training in Three Days and said it worked great! Another one of my friends is now trying it with her 14mo old.

Hope that helps a little!
M.

Pull Ups don't help much. They need to "feel" the wetness to know they don't like it. Give them a mini potty to sit on often. Keep them naked and put them on potty often. You can't force them though. When they start pulling off wet diapers and sitting on their potty, they are getting ready. Pooping on potty comes later. Make a BIG deal out of it when they do. I heard giving them sippy cups while on the potty relaxes them to pee.

I have 2 girls, one is 4 the other 20 month old, and I can already tell you potty training for just them is completely different. We started using pull ups on my older one because they fit her better (we weren't even in training mode yet.) The 20 mth old is in them now because she decided to keep taking off her diaper. I like Huggies. The sides pull apart so you can still change it like a diaper, but can also just pull down. Store brands might be good, I've just never tried them. I did when the girls were in diapers, and they weren't very soft (and some not very good at leaks). My now 4 year old did not even think about training to go potty until she was 2 1/2, but she was quickly trained. I think it's because of the wait. Basically we had the potty seat, and one morning she woke up dry, so I sat her on the potty until she went. I had books, stickers, markers and crayons in the bathroom because I was determined that she had to go, and eventually she did. Praise, praise, praise when they do! (Treats work too if you are okay with it!) When we were at home, she wore underpants (because she didn't want to get "Tinkerbell" or whomever wet or dirty), and reminded her to go. In no time she was done! My 20 month old has decided to try to train herself. She doesn't like wet or dirty diapers (a "sign" according to books). She doesn't like her pull ups, but we still use them. She still needs them, but goes to the potty several times a day. I've heard boys are different, I couldn't help you there. I do know some moms who got something called "peter potty" from One Step Ahead, and loved it. We also got something from One Step Ahead when we were trying to motivate the 4 year old to go. It's a potty seat and "ladder/step" in one. We love it! So, with all that said I hope it helps. Neither of my children showed any true "signs" (waking up dry from naps, lets you know when wet/dirty, shows interest in potty,) there's more, but I'm drawing a blank. Okay, so the 20 mth old did show some signs... I think a lot of that has to do with her big sister though! Good luck with it all, and just remember ... patience and praise! I think pampers and huggies sites also have some good tips and reward charts that you can try.

I have girls and I know boys are different and sometimes potty train later but you'll know when he's ready. I was totally against pullups because they're too much like diapers and do not teach the kids when they have an accident. I went straight to big kids pants. I also put potties in different rooms in the house (each bathroom and the living room) and the first week we would sit on the potty every so often (with clothes on) just to get them used to it and talk about it. I also had a lot of support in day care so you'll need to work with them if he goes to day care. Good luck!

My 2 year old boy started showing signs a little bit after his 2nd birthday. He was fascinated with the potty, would constantly tell me when he was about to go potty, etc. I never forced it with him -- we were all about potty "awareness" at first...talking about it, reading books, sitting on the potty when he was curious about it. In January, his day school teacher said he was ready to start training and said we should just send him to school in his underwear. I took one long weekend and had him pretty much naked the whole time. That helped tremendously because he was able to sense more. After the naked weekend, I sent him to school on that Monday in underwear. A week and a half later, he was FULLY pee trained. And within a couple of weeks, he was standing to pee. The pooping stuff is another story. He's not all that interested in doing that on the potty...but we're getting there.

I'm with the other posters -- no sense in doing pull-ups at first. It is basically a diaper, so they can't tell the difference. Go naked, or do underwear...that will allow him to sense when he needs to go or when he's gone and will be a bit uncomfortable, but I believe that helps them learn. We did pull-ups at night though...at first. Actually, I still do them sometimes, but he hasn't had a nighttime accident in a very long time. It's more for my peace of mind, and a little selfishness (who likes changing sheets in the middle of the night?). He will wake up during the night if he needs to go, so that has been good.

Good luck. Just keep in mind, each kid is different...take your time, be patient and follow his lead.

K.

Hi A.,
I run a home daycare and I also have a 3yo son and a 2yo grandson that live with me and I can tell you it's best to wait til they are ready. Some signs that they are ready would be they want to take off the diaper as soon as it's dirty. Also they will start to have predictable bowel movements (around the same time daily). The best thing to do to get them thinking about the potty is to talk to them daily about being a big boy and letting them accompany you to the potty. My son has been trained since November and he turned 3 in March. I would ask him every night and every morning if he was ready to go potty like a big boy and he would say no. The next time I asked he said yes and he's been goin every since. We never did pull ups he went straight from diaper to undies, but that depends on the child.
Hope this helps,
A.

We used Pull-ups for our girls. Most generics are not as good because you can not reseal them. When my daughter wakes up dry, we reuse the pull up the next night. (she only uses them at night now) Once I was able to find a generic that went on the same way, I ampretty sure they were from CVS. Hope that helps!
C.

I am a mother of 2 wonderful boys. In my experience pull-ups don't work. They feel just like diapers so it is easy for children to forget that they aren't! Talk to him about it and get some underwear with his favorite character on it. In most cases they don't want to mess them up. I only used pull-ups during nap or at night time. My youngest son would actually hold it all day until nap time and fill that sucker up!!! Then the same thing for bedtime lol. We just stuck with it and he eventually got the hang of it. I also got a big bag of tootsie rolls for incentive. Everytime he used the pottychair we did the peepee in the potty dance and he got a tootsie roll : )

I have 2 boys ages 7 & 9 and a girl. The boys were closer to 3 before they were completely potty trained. Boys are more difficult to potty train in my opinion- they will only do it when they are ready. With my daughter all it took was offering to get her silky panties and she was done. I would use pull ups when away from home. Try letting him pick out his own underwear at the store with his favorite character on them. Let him wear those around the house during the day. Ask often is he needs to go potty. There will be accidents so be prepared. I think he is ready only when he shows an interest in using the potty. Maybe get Dad to take him into the potty when Dad is going and he will want to be more like Dad and use the potty. My youngest also liked the book/movie "potty time". He would watch it over and over. Also, don't plan to potty train when you will be going on vacations. Vacations tend to mess up any new routines (that includes sleeping as well as potty). I hope I've helped! Good Luck!

A.,

I am a 2 year old teacher at a daycare center. Every child is different and may start potty training at different times. Do not force your child to start if they are not ready. Yes, you will need to start transitioning with pull ups. The children get used to the idea of having them on like underwear. Once they start they can feel the sensation and hopefully start telling you that they need to use the potty. Generic pull ups are fine but the best ones (for me) are the new kind that have "velcor" on the sides so that they are easy for taking off and changing. (You don't have to completely take all their clothes off to change them!) Also when they do go potty you definitely need to praise them. I give them a sticker (on a chart) every time they go on the potty and when they fill up the card they get a small prize. Once you get them started and consistently telling you they have to go, start putting underwear over the pull up. They you can start them with the pull up and eventually take it off completely. You could still have them wear the pull ups at nap time and at night to get started.

I hope this helps and good luck with your 2 year old!
M