Potty training ?

[lucypevensie]

I know all about the signs that children are ready to use the potty. But what can you do with a boy who is 3 in November and doesn't show those signs yet. Should I be waiting?

It is nearly SUmmer in Australia, I was wanting to start training, but we have taken him out of nappies and put him in underpants around the house but he isn't sitting on the potty or toilet. We have a potty and also a ladder thing that goes over the toilet seat. He just wets anywhere he wants to. This has been since MOnday.

I think in this instance if you are sure he's capable and coordinated, then I think it is fine to tell him this is the last pack of diapers, then it will be big-boy pants from now on, it will be lots of fun to be a big boy and we will have fun learning to use a real potty just like mom and dad and grandma, etc....

People have this idea that if the kid doesn't think by himself to use the potty that it's going to be like pulling teeth, and it's going to be an uphill battle, it'll make your kid rebellious, etc. Some kids don't even think the toilet applies to them, but when we show them that it does apply to them they get very excited! Well, that's how it happened with us anyway...

BUt I admit that my opinions on this matter are "old-fashioned".

 

[Zoe]

My daughter is two and while she is advanced with most things, she is not ready to begin potty training. I think if I wait until she is ready the process will be so much easier. I would introduce the potty at 18 months but not push it.

 

[alaskamolly]

I'm like LuciePevensie...
When I know they are ready, then we go for it cold-turkey!

I mean, there's been lots of prep beforehand (such as making a big deal out of using the potty myself or the older siblings and Daddy using it), etc... and it's always done with a good attitude and no "emotional pressure," but it's matter-of-fact that diapers are all gone now and the potty is where we go.

Then there's that difficult stage of trying to keep a smile on through a few days of accidents EVERYWHERE and ANYWHERE, but then...usually, it's done! A week later, they're doing great, I'm doing great (I do remind them to go about 20 minutes after they have a drink, though!), and we're thru w/ diapers!

One of mine has had to continue diapers for naps and bedtime, which is fine: they can't help what they do in their sleep, after all, but the others have trained instantly thru nighttime as well (strange how that is?)...

My girls were trained right before they turned 2, and my son was trained right after he turned 2. We keep it fun and sweet and NO getting mad or pushing emotional trips on them...but it's just a matter-of-fact thing: this is where you go potty now, isn't that special? And the first couple days I give out rewards for going potty (a little raisin or chocolate chip or something) because you gernally NEED some extra incentive that first day to help them REALLY want to figure this thing out...

BTW, I got a TON of great ideas from "Toilet Training in Less than a Day" which I got at my local library. I use their method almost exactly, and it does take more than a day, but generally there are only two days of accidents everywhere and then about a week of a few here and there, and then they are usually fairly dry!


I think the biggest potty-training key is being prepared for a week of urine everywhere! ...Then you won't give up after the third accident of the morning--you'll be prepared for it--and you'll know there are probably eight more coming that day (heehee), and you've got the mental stamina (since you were aware of this BEFORE you decided to start) to make it through and perservere (with a smile, even though you're probably faking that smile-ha!)...


I always feel kind of sorry for them during potty-training, because after all, I was the one who trained them to go potty in a diaper for a couple years!


Anyways, that's my 2 pennies!
Blessings,
Molly
Mom to 4, one more on the way!

 

[HeatherJay]

LOL, and did I mention those waterproof mattress covers (yes, I know I already did)? You might want to get one for your own bed as well if your little bit likes to nap there. Believe me, it's way easier to wash a waterproof mattress cover (get the kind that are machine washable and dryable) than to try to get the urine smell out of a mattress. And accidents will definitely happen.

Good luck.

 

[bshaw96]

One is a bit young IMO. My dd was potty trained by 23 months. My son potty trained completely (no more accidents) on his 3rd bday. Good luck, but girls are easier than boys in my experience

 

[AlinaK]

Katya was about 22 months, but it was quite easy with her because she was a child that always liked to mimic what adults do, including the toilet. When she showed in intrest, we put on the potty and said it was a 'small toilet' and she got the hang of it by the time she was two.