The Potty

Dear K.,
My son was easier to train than my daughter so don't believe all the stuff about boys being more difficult.
Both my kids were easy. They hated a wet or dirty diaper. I took them in the bathroom with me when I went and started putting them on the toilet so they could have their turn pretty early on. They would have nothing to do with the little potty chairs.
Well, that's not true...they dragged them around the house and stashed toys in them, but never would go except on the big potty. My dad built a wooden potty stool for my daughter so she could get on the toilet by herself and my son used it with delight 10 years later. We still have it. I personally think kids are able to grasp the whole concept early on.
"This is what the toilet is for."
My son and dad had a thing about peeing outside on a rock when we went to visit.
Grandpa peed outside on the same rock with my nephew too.
I hope that doesn't sound gross, but it worked and my son was super easy to potty train.

Best of luck!

I have two boys. My oldest is 8 now and i have a 2yr old who will be 3 in march. You might want to start about a yr and a half. Buy a potty for him. Let him just get used to it. See if he will sit on it play with it. I bought my 2 yr olds elmo potty when he was almost 2. At first we had his potty in our bathroom so when ever i would go i would see if he wanted to come with and sit on his potty. For awhile he would just with his clothes on. After awhile he was not interested. After a yr. He is now going to the bathroom in his potty. It takes some time. Every kid is different. I would not force him to sit on it otherwise he might be scared. Once he starts letting you know that he has gone pee pee or #2 in his diaper he is ready to start. Lots of encouragement helps alot and what ever else you can come up with to get them excited. I've heard stickers, candy, just little things. My little one gets so excited when we praise him and make a big deal that he went in the potty. It's priceless. Good luck to you!

C. R.
Proud parent of two wonderful boys.

Hi K.- is your son showing any interest in the potty? I used to help with childcare for a lady who just had one son, and I vaguely remember a few things. SHe didn't start until after he was one year old. He may have even been two. Then, she got him a little step stool to help him get up to the potty. SHe used a reward jar for when he would use the potty. There were also some books called "everbody poops" etc. It was a safe and comfy place for him and he enjoyed being able to do it himself as he progressed. It was a great thing for him. Hope this helps!

P.S. I was just told that cheerios in the potty help little boys aim for the proper place. =) ANd they dissolve in the water.

Hi K.,

I had great result on potty training my baby's as soon as they are able to sit I would start seating them on the potty. That was about 7-8 months every time I went I would take the baby with me and sit her/him on the potty. Then as soon as I saw that they where going I would take the dipper off and rush to sit them on the potty. If they went on the potty I would make a big deal and clapp and praise them. My kids where potty trained by 1 to 1 1/2 years old my forth took a bit longer only because I was not ready to let my baby grow did the same but not as much but she understood the concept and potty trained her self at 2 years. Kids are very smart all you have to be is consistent and they understand what is going on. I hope it works for you as well as it did for me. Best of luck.
D.

Hi K.,
We have been potty "training" our little girl since 10 months. Now she can tell us when she needs to go and do her business in the potty and she is 13 months. We have this potty training DVD called "Once Upon a Potty". It has a story, and songs, and our daughter even asks for it when she needs to go. So we put her on either her Bjorn baby potty, or on a potty cushion on the toilet, depending on where we are at the time. I would highly recommend this DVD. Good luck.

Hi K.,

I just wanted to let you know that when you train a boy, it might take a little more patience than it does with a girl :o).

Obviously at 10 months old, you're not considering potty training, but you will know when to start him on the potty.

Boys sometimes do really well right off the bat, then they could "regress" a little bit after a few months.

You will have plenty of time to figure it all out ahead of time :O)

Congratulations on your growing family :O)

~N.

Congrats! My kids are 7, 5 and 7 years apart - so I can relate. One girl and three boyz.

So, MY belief is that potty training is only as difficult as parents are unwilling to buckle down and JUST DO IT. My daughter was done at 20 months. My boyz at 26 months and 23 months.

If your son gives you a "poop face" before going, start putting him on the potty before he goes. This way, he will get used to the toilet experience. I did this with my 3rd child and he never had a poo poo diaper because he went the same time every day. That's not to say he was "potty trained" at 1 year old, but when that time came (at 22 months) he was used to the toilet and it was a breeze.

When you start the actual potty training, start with mornings, before bath-time, and bed-time. These are all natural pee-pee times. Then when you are ready to buckle down for a solid two weeks, go straight to underwear, and begin with 30 min at a time. Increase to an hour, etc. etc. before taking your child. If there's an accident, no big deal, just drop back to the previous successful time interval. Give big boy or big girl potty stickers for each successful potty event. I had a drawer of stickers from which the child could pick. They could put them on ANYTHING they owned!

Tiny Tots Diaper Service does potty training pants, and this worked very well with my two middle boyz. Tiny Tots drops off clean training pants and picks up the dirties every week. I usually paid for one month and was done before that. I used diaper liners over the underwear when we went to church so I wouldn't have to change an entire outfit if there was an accident. I never used diapers at night, NO pull-ups or any of that business. It usually took 2 or 3 HARD weeks. That means leaving the dinner table, a restaurant table, a good conversation, a project being worked on, or anything to bring my child to the toilet at the appropriate time interval.

Sorry for the length! I guess I am passionate about potty training!

Best of Luck to you!

Mom of 4! 19, 12, 7, and 3 1/2 months