The Potty Training Thread.

[TravelingGal]

Yup, it had to happen eventually. Anyone interested in putting tips, tricks (but no pictures of successes, please) and links all in once thread for reference?

 

[Burk]

I'll post the website Jas12 shared on the mommies thread that I found extremely helpful to start. Thanks again Jas!

Link

 

[steph72276]

I tried rewarding with M&Ms and it only lasted a few days before he became bored of it. So I went out and got him a piggy bank. Everytime he went to the potty, I gave him a quarter. When it was filled up, he got to go buy a toy. It worked like a charm and he's never even had 1 accident at night. I would just wait until she's really ready and interested in it. I would buy her a little potty seat (we had a Diego one that he loved) and just put her on there no pressure. I tried right when he turned 2, but he really didn't become interested until 2 and a half. You just have to find some way to reward her that will make her want to keep doing it. I'm not ashamed to admit I bribed him...it really worked for me! Good luck!!

 

[MichelleCarmen]

I bribed both my kids too. I did the potty seat when each was little and when it was time to move on to the toilet, I used a step for them to climb up and then a mini-seat (Spongebob) that sticks onto the regular toilet seat. I cannot remember what the bribe for going #1 was, but for going #2, it was a toy. Yes, I ended up buying a few toys. Most were Bob the Builder stuff because that was what was cool back then.

 

[LitigatorChick]

Any tips are helpful. We decorated Miller''s potty with "Cars" stickers, and have promised him hot wheels (his fav) if he succeeds. But he just doesn''t quite get it yet. He will wet his underwear and just keep playing..........

 

[Ellen]

I've potty trained 3 boys, which "tend" to train later, and that's what I found with mine. Tried them all at 2ish, no one was showing a sign of being ready. So I backed off until I felt it was time, which was right at 3 for all. They were ready (as in showing interest), and I found letting them run around with nekkie bottoms (at home only!) and talk of being a "big boy" to work fantastically quick. I mean like a month or less.

 

[brightlight]

I don''t have a baby yet, and I''m already afraid of potty training.

 

[packrat]

We used the big desk calendars for London, and put the month on the fridge and had stickers. Every time she went, she got to put a sticker on that day. We had a hard time w/her tho, and we later found out she had a random issue so she couldn''t empty her bladder completely. Quick surgery and it was fixed-never had another problem after that. We brought the little potty in and set it in the bathroom, and Trapper likes to pretend whenever someone''s in there. He yells "Pie, Pie", and asks for "Puppa". That''s about all the farther we are w/him..he was 2 in March. I did see someplace they have a little stand up urinal for boys to train with-I thought it was really cute!

 

[hlmr]

Date: 6/1/2009 4:59:27 PM
Author: Ellen
I've potty trained 3 boys, which 'tend' to train later, and that's what I found with mine. Tried them all at 2ish, no one was showing a sign of being ready. So I backed off until I felt it was time, which was right at 3 for all. They were ready (as in showing interest), and I found letting them run around with nekkie bottoms (at home only!) and talk of being a 'big boy' to work fantastically quick. I mean like a month or less.

Definitely agree with this!! 3 years seemed to be the magic age for daytime, but nighttime came much later.....sometimes the bladder does not develop quickly enough for the growing body.

 

[somethingshiny]

JT was completely trained by 2.5 yrs (even at night) and has only had one accident--after which he replied disgustedly, "I thought I had to toot!"

When he started showing interest, I bought the potty. He was 18 months. He would walk over to it and sit near it and play (I put it in the playroom on a tip from a friend so he would LIKE to be near it) Occasionally he'd sit on it and rarely pee on it. Then after he turned 2, I started putting him on regularly. First thing in the AM (he also had a potty in his room), after meals and at snacktimes and again at bedtime. During that time he wore a pull-up. He started going regularly on the potty about 3 weeks into training. We created a sticker chart out of a piece of poster board and hung it over the potty. I got hundreds of stickers in everything imaginable and rewarded him with them. The chart was hung where he could reach it so he would afix his stickers accordingly. He did have a few accidents on the floor. I believe I wrote in the HLT at one time something along the lines of "peeing all over the house" actually. Eventually, after cleaning up 2 accidents back to back I decided to make a small change. Anytime he peed on the floor HE had to clean it up. He cleaned up 3 accidents and never peed on the floor again. Night training was actually really easy. I quit giving liquids at around 6 pm and had him sit on the potty right before bed. He never had night time accidents. During those couple three months I had to actively search him out and put him on the potty to go. Then one day he started doing it all on his own (still with stickers) about a month before he was two and a half.


Now, our goal is to move him to the big potty. He will stand at it (and barely reaches over the side), but he refuses to sit on the big potty. Any tips for that would be great!! (we tried stools and inserts and they don't help)

eta- I wanted to add to look for the signs of being ready before committing yourself to training an unwilling participant! The child should show at least a couple of the following: Knowledge of peeing when they pee, interest in sitting on the potty, not liking to sit in a dirty diaper, being dry for at least a couple hours at a stretch

 

[puffy]

i am thinking that i just have a kid who really loved the whole potty thing. he is almost 18 months and we have been completely diaper free for a few weeks now. i started early just to see if he would take to it, and he did. but if he didn''t show any interest in it, i would have been completely fine with it also.
i started by letting him go in the potty before his bath and he would just be so proud of himself, clapping, smiling, screaming for joy. and when he did have his diaper on, he would rub his crotch area when he had to go, then tell me, "potty." i didn''t get him an ordinary potty though. i got him this urinal type thing where they stand up and go potty. and when he''s done, he flushes it, which makes all these crazy sounds which he loves, and he loves to see the water whirl around. it was pretty cool.
at night, i have him in a toddler bed, and he will get out of bed to use the potty. i give him a toy each morning if he is accident free. or i will let him go outside and play while i get his breakfast ready.
even though we''ve been doing well with it for awhile now, i won''t be surprised if he has an accident. he has had accidents and HATED them.

 

[MustangGal]

My little guy is only 4 months, but I''d love to get potty ideas lined up! My nephew is just over 2.5, and has only gone in it twice. My SIL just keeps saying "he''s not interested", but he knows when he goes, so I would think he''s ready... I''m already sick of diapers now, I can''t imagine 3 more years of them!

 

[qtiekiki]

Date: 6/1/2009 9:35:35 PM
Author: puffy
i am thinking that i just have a kid who really loved the whole potty thing. he is almost 18 months and we have been completely diaper free for a few weeks now. i started early just to see if he would take to it, and he did. but if he didn''t show any interest in it, i would have been completely fine with it also.
i started by letting him go in the potty before his bath and he would just be so proud of himself, clapping, smiling, screaming for joy. and when he did have his diaper on, he would rub his crotch area when he had to go, then tell me, ''potty.'' i didn''t get him an ordinary potty though. i got him this urinal type thing where they stand up and go potty. and when he''s done, he flushes it, which makes all these crazy sounds which he loves, and he loves to see the water whirl around. it was pretty cool.
at night, i have him in a toddler bed, and he will get out of bed to use the potty. i give him a toy each morning if he is accident free. or i will let him go outside and play while i get his breakfast ready.
even though we''ve been doing well with it for awhile now, i won''t be surprised if he has an accident. he has had accidents and HATED them.

I think what I highlighted is so true. I mean in a general sense that some kids just gets the whole potty thing.

I was talking to my mom when she was in town for Memorial Day weekend a couple weeks back. She was telling stories of when I was a baby. She said that shortly after I turned one, I told her that I don''t want to wear diapers at more. She responded with "ok, but don''t pee in bed" and I agreed to it. I peed in bed the first night, and that was it. I never peed in bed again.

Now if only M would be so easy. I doubt it though.

 

[soocool]

My DD who is now 16 was and still is somewhat stubborn, so toilet training was quite the challenge. She knew what to do and had control over her functions, however, her stubborness stood in the way. She peed completely on her own by the time she was 2 1/2 but continued to have bowel movements in her diaper until she was 3 1/2. I told her that preschool will not take little girls who still poop in their diapers and she promptly sat on the toilet and that was it! I learned since then that they are ready when they are ready and no amount of rewards or bribes will make them go any sooner unless you find the one magic thing that will get them on the pot. In my DD's case preschool was the catalyst that got her over her stubborness.

 

[Burk]

Date: 6/2/2009 6:52:31 PM
Author: qtiekiki

Date: 6/1/2009 9:35:35 PM

Author: puffy

i am thinking that i just have a kid who really loved the whole potty thing. he is almost 18 months and we have been completely diaper free for a few weeks now. i started early just to see if he would take to it, and he did. but if he didn''t show any interest in it, i would have been completely fine with it also.

i started by letting him go in the potty before his bath and he would just be so proud of himself, clapping, smiling, screaming for joy. and when he did have his diaper on, he would rub his crotch area when he had to go, then tell me, ''potty.'' i didn''t get him an ordinary potty though. i got him this urinal type thing where they stand up and go potty. and when he''s done, he flushes it, which makes all these crazy sounds which he loves, and he loves to see the water whirl around. it was pretty cool.

at night, i have him in a toddler bed, and he will get out of bed to use the potty. i give him a toy each morning if he is accident free. or i will let him go outside and play while i get his breakfast ready.

even though we''ve been doing well with it for awhile now, i won''t be surprised if he has an accident. he has had accidents and HATED them.

I think what I highlighted is so true. I mean in a general sense that some kids just gets the whole potty thing.


I was talking to my mom when she was in town for Memorial Day weekend a couple weeks back. She was telling stories of when I was a baby. She said that shortly after I turned one, I told her that I don''t want to wear diapers at more. She responded with ''ok, but don''t pee in bed'' and I agreed to it. I peed in bed the first night, and that was it. I never peed in bed again.


Now if only M would be so easy. I doubt it though.

I absolutely agree. T is ready (she''s 16 months). She''s been ready but I was working so I couldn''t really start with her. It all depends on the kid-you just can''t force it on them.

 

[TravelingGal]

All very interesting! OK, so can anyone give suggestions on good pottys to get? What the heck IS a good potty anyway?

 

[Burk]

I don''t necessarily know what a good potty is, but I got this one because there weren''t many options at the Target I went to and this particular one was on the cheap side and can be used as a step stool and you can use it on the regular toilet. Happy potty shopping Tgal!

 

[Allisonfaye]

I finally got my 3.5 year old potty trained but I am kind of baffled about how to get them to go through the night. My 5 year old still wears a pull up and it is still pretty wet in the morning. My 3.5 year old has started getting up in the middle of the night to go but I noticed when she did last night, her pullup weighed about 4 pounds. How do you get them trained not to go at night?

 

[soocool]

Date: 6/3/2009 3:01:15 PM
Author: Allisonfaye
I finally got my 3.5 year old potty trained but I am kind of baffled about how to get them to go through the night. My 5 year old still wears a pull up and it is still pretty wet in the morning. My 3.5 year old has started getting up in the middle of the night to go but I noticed when she did last night, her pullup weighed about 4 pounds. How do you get them trained not to go at night?

Make sure they don''t drink a couple of hours before they go to bed and make sure they go potty right before bedtime. I waited until my daughter had 7 consecutive nights with a dry diaper before we stopped putting a diaper on at night. It is all a matter of when their bladders mature and if they can wake up during the night when they get the signal they have to pee. My DD was a solid 12 hour a night sleeper who could drink milk right before bedtime and hold it in all night when she was around 4 yrs old.

 

[somethingshiny]

I completely agree with bladder maturity. JT (3.5) is limited on beverages for about 45 minutes before bed. But, it never fails, he drinks an entire glass of water after brushing his teeth. He sits on the potty briefly and then heads to bed. He never has accidents and doesn''t even run for the potty in the morning (and he sleeps for 12 hours).



As far as good pottys---

Some kids will want the pottys that sing to them when they get wet, some will want the ones that have tp holders attached, some will want the prettiest, some will want the softest. My suggestion is to let the child choose. We had two different pottys and JT definitely preferred one over the other. Of course, he preferred the one he chose rather than the one I just brought home to him.

And, a quick note on musical pottys (the one JT chose) They are extra hard to keep clean because of the sensor in the bottom of the potty. I was forever scrubbing it since it didn''t have a completely smooth surface across the bottom.

Also, at first you''ll want to know that your child is going in the potty and you''ll want to see and be able to show your child. After they get the hang of it, keep just a bit of water in the bottom of the potty -- it makes clean up a whole lot easier.

Oh, good pottys are ones that don''t provide pinches on boy parts!

 

[Ellen]

I''ve been out of the "business" way too long to know what a "good" potty might be now. But I can assure you, the most basic will do, as that''s what I had. I''m sure there are some super duper ones out there now though, that might be more "fun".

 

[curlygirl]

TGal, we have this one in pink, of course! http://www.buybuybaby.com/product.asp?order_num=-1&SKU=118439&RN=7054& It''s fine, no bells and whistles, serves its purpose. I''m thinking about getting one of those seats that fits on the regular toilet seat too...

 

[msb700]

curly: thats the same one i have in blue for little k!

so i''ve taken a week off this month to do this whole PT thing..wish me luck!!...

question for those who have PT''d already: do u put anything on top of the mattress at nite? im sure we''re gonna have some ''oops'' at nite...also, do u recommend PT all thru (even at nite) or do i still put on pampers at nite? he hasn''t woken up yet with dry pampers unfortunately

 

[soocool]

I remember that we bought a waterproof mattress pad just in case.

 

[TravelingGal]

Thanks Curly and Burk for the potty suggestions. I''m going to pick something up next week. I don''t think she''s actually ready to be trained, but she is predictable enough on BMs that I think I might get lucky with getting her to go in it. We''ll see.

 

[TravelingGal]

OK, after reading a ton of reviews (there are a lot on amazon), I think I am going to get this potty for Amelia this week.

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2914740

Looks like it''s basic enough, as my kid gets distracted easily.

I''ll let you know what Amelia thinks!

 

[D&T]

don''t know how i missed this, but I had my little girl trained in one week, it just seemed to click for her one day, I used the big kid potty seat that went over the toilet (I had to since I was pregnant and poopies for a 2 1/2 year would make me dry heave if I had to clean the little potty) A baby bjorn. Love it, and will be getting another one when it is time for my second one for potty training. it is adjustable, and is around $25 I think. I gave her MMs (one for attempting to go on the potty, two for peeing, and five for Pooping) then when she got used to doing it I took away the one for trying (as she then would get smart and knew she would get one no matter what). I did not use the big kid diaper/pants, because she would still go in them, so I just went right into Underwear, and yes, she made about two messes and that was it. Took her every two hours even when DD would not want to then I let her tell me after three days.

 

[D&T]

sorry should have posted a picture.


http://infant-bathroom-products.babycatalog.com/potty-seats-and-step-stools/bjorn-toilet-trainer/580009.html

 

[D&T]

Date: 6/9/2009 8:14:19 PM
Author: soocool
I remember that we bought a waterproof mattress pad just in case.

we did buy one, and still have it on my DD twin bed, and she''s only had one accident with it, great for clean up, but sooo noisy.

 

[TravelingGal]

Potty Training Experience

I thought I'd post this here because there aren't many easily searchable potty training threads on PS with experiences. It's long, but I know that before PTing Amelia, I would have been interested in detailed reports for ideas.

I just wanted to share Amelia's potty training experience, as well as open up this thread to anyone else who wanted to share. I admit to being nervous about the whole thing because I really had no idea how to go about it. Plus you hear all this information about kids not being ready and that it could be traumatizing for them. So here's our experience:

The book I never used:

Ages ago, I looked on Amazon for books. The book I bought was Toilet Training in Less Than a Day (http://www.amazon.com/Toilet-Training-Less-Than-Day/dp/0671693808/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1286899040&sr=8-6), mostly because it had a gazillion reviews, mostly positive, and who wouldn't want their kid trained in less than a day?

The premise behind this book is:
- Checking for readiness
- Spending the first half of the training teach the child to potty a doll and teaching the concept of wet and dry
- Second half is having the child do the same actions over and over and over again (putting them on the potty every 15 minutes, then rewarding the child with salty snacks and lots of beverages to make them pee more. Child should be in loose potty training pants.

It's sort of potty training bootcamp, and technically makes sense if you think consistency and repetition are key. The book is decades old and reads that way (the "cost" of diapers per year made me laugh). Very dry, very boring.

When Amelia was 21 months or so, I thought I'd try to see if she'd be interested in the first half of the book (potty training a doll). She showed interested for 10 minutes and was over it. I thought, well, I'm in no hurry to train her, so I just stopped there - especially since we were going to Hawaii when she was 29 months old and I didn't want to deal with airplane loos. Later, I decided the book wouldn't work for us because:

- I didn't want to take her to the potty every 15 minutes (the poor kid would probably get upset)
- Amelia is not motivated by food in any way (so rewards by food wouldn't work)
- Amelia only drinks water and milk, so isn't motivated by drink and wouldn't consume enough to go to the potty every 15-30 minutes.

Readiness and prep:

According to the book, your child is ready when:

- There is indication bladder control (going a lot at once instead of dribbling throughout the day, and staying dry for hours at a time)
- Physically ready - so he can take off pants, get on potty, etc
- Instructionally ready - he can point to body parts you ask, follow simple orders, etc.

At 2.5 years, Amelia was ready by the book standards, but didn't really stay dry for HOURS at a time. She also:

- Didn't tell me EVER if she needed to go, or for that matter after she went
- Simply stealthed peed and pooed - you didn't know when she was going
- Denied all bowel movements if I asked her if she pooped. Flat out said no and ran away
- Was not interested in sitting on the potty even when I asked and wasn't interested even when seeing other kids potty at preschool
- Didn't stay dry during naps or overnight

While I never trained her formally, she did pee on the toilet twice several months ago and pooed once. That was the end of it. Other things I did were:

- Take her into the bathroom with me so she could see how it was done (I've been doing this for ages) and
- Show her mommy's panties, which she was very interested in. I said she could have panties too one day if she peed on the potty.
- Take her a few weeks ago to the shops and let her pick out some panties. This was great fun for her.

The Training
Age: 30 months (2.5 years old)

There were methods I could not use like the barebottomed method as I live in a rental and have carpet. I had bought pull ups on sale ages ago and wondered if I should try those next. I asked some PS moms how they trained and Jas12 said something that really resonated with me: She said she simply put underwear on Co and told him his job was to keep them dry. I don't know why I liked that idea, but I did - it just gave the child a job to do, end of story.

Day 1: I had been putting off training (I really don't mind diapers!) but finally got around to washing those panties we bought last Sunday. She picked some up and exclaimed "Panties! I want to wear panties!" I said, sure, she could wear them, but if she wears them, she had to keep them dry. I pointed to the diaper and said, OK to pee pee in diaper. No pee pee in panties. If you want to pee pee when you wear panties, you have to pee pee on the potty. Do you want to wear panties? She said OK, and off we went.

2 hours later, she pooped in her panties. Oops. Bad momma...forgot to tell her she couldn't poo in them either.

She was pretty distraught over it. I told her it was OK, and that she could wear diapers if she wanted. At this stage in the game, I wasn't sure I wanted to really PT her, or if she was ready, and I didn't want to freak her out. I asked her if she wanted to wear panties or diapers and she chose panties. I reminded her gently and smilingly again to keep them dry.

I put her on the toilet every 30 minutes, putting her on in 15 minute increments after that if she did not go. If she did go, I wanted about 45 minutes until the next round, unsure of when my child normally pees. She peed a couple of times that day and was really delighted about it. High fives all around, and a huge show of congratulations. She got to flush the toilet, which she LOVED. I did need to give her some distraction to sit there - letting her rip up toilet paper, or giving her my mirror with a light switch. Then late in the day, as she was washing her hands, she peed in her pants and became very upset again. It was bedtime, so I put her in diapers and to bed. She only was in panties 3 hours in the morning (one poop accident) and 3 hours in the evening (one pee accident). Not bad.

btw, she seemed to have accidents standing up, so wearing panties and pants were great for minimizing mess. It just soaked it up, so I changed it and back we went.

Day 2: The next day the nanny was on first duty from 8-12. Disaster. Accidents EVERY hour - 3 in total. A very upset, sobbing child. I still gave her an option to wear diapers, but she chose panties. Afternoon shift was my mom. 2 accidents, including a #2. Basically she didn't go in the potty ONCE with either of them. At this point I was concerned she wasn't ready, but many PS moms told me to stick with it. Since I believe consistency counts for something, as long as she chose to wear panties, I was sticking with it. Late afternoon was my shift - she was perfect...3 times on the potty, no accidents. Hm.

Day 3: Nanny on duty for 1/2 day. No accidents with the nanny or myself. However, she would not poo on the potty and didn't do it that day. Still, a good day!

Day 4: Preschool. I went to school armed with 4 changes of clothes, fully expecting accidents. I went back 4 hours later to find my daughter in the same outfit, totally dry. She had not gone pee once even though they put her on 5-6 times, and they pointed out that control obviously wasn't an issue for her. She did not like public potties! Ugh, felt awful, as I would have a hard time holding pee for 4 hours! Longest drive home in my life (and of course caught EVERY red light) but she came home and peed. The rest of the day, she peed, even asking me at the end of the day if she could go potty. And finally, after watching the Eureka episode of backyardigans, she said she needed to go potty. After peeing, she didn't stand up. She just sat there. And sat there. When she poo'd, her eyes got all big and she cried "Eureka!" At this point (after laughing my guts out), I knew she could do it - there was no turning back now.

Day 5: I asked her WHICH panties she wanted to wear, since diapers at this point weren't an option. She picked one and she went off and running. She pottied with the nanny, pottied with me, pee and poo'd like a champ, no accidents.

Day 6: Preschool - I picked her up at school and she was still in the same outfit she got dropped off in the morning. She pottied twice on the preschool toilet. No accidents at home for the rest of the day and at this point, I only put her on after asking if she needed to go. If she said "no" I didn't put her on. I did consistently ask, but at this point, she was also telling me if she really needed to go.

Day 7: she was 5 days without accidents: I decided she was officially potty trained.

Last notes:

- She is starting to stay dry through naps, but I still diaper her for naps and nighttime. I'll work on that next.
- I never bribed her to potty. I'm not opposed to it at all, but wanted to see if other methods would work first. Knowing my girl, she'd hold out for a bribe, and I wanted to avoid it if I could help it.
- I did reward her by "letting" her flush the toilet. Also, on a couple of occasions, she got a water cracker (her fav cracker for some reason). Yeah, I know, it doesn't take much.
- Part of the reason I didn't want to use the barebottomed method was because I wanted to teach her the whole shebang - how to take off her pants and panties and put them back on, move the stool to the sink, wash hands, etc. She does the whole thing herself now, even telling me to "go away."
- Even though I had a box of pull ups, I decided to not use those because some PS moms said it's not uncomfortable enough when wet, plus it was the panties she was interested in.
- Another PS mom mentioned they make it fun...wave bye to whatever is in the toilet. This was a hit with Amelia and she still loves waving bye.
- I had two potties...one that went on the regular toilet and the portable one (both were bjorn). She was not interested in the portable one. Flushing and seeing the water go down were the best parts for her.
- She's now fascinated with public toilets and wants to go pee everywhere we go somewhere new. And touch the flush. Ugh! (and I do that job on public toilets, btw.)


Hope that helps someone! And thank you so much to the toddler PS mommas for all their help, encouragement and support on Amelia's potty training!