Potty training

[detroitguy]

We're taking the plunge. Any advice on techniques that work?

[Pithlet]

1. Don't use Pullups disposable pants.

Other than that, be patient, expect lots of accidents, and give some kind of reward. Some frown on that, but it worked like a charm for us. I bought a bunch of cheap toy race cars.

[detroitguy]

4. Hmmm... race cars...

...I might use that one. Thanks.

[SW FL Dem]

2. Its been a while but my best advise is persistence and patience

First, make sure your kid is ready, some kids take longer. If your kid is showing signs that they are aware of their bodily functions and are uncomfortable in dirty or wet diapers, they are probably ready. Trying to force it can be a great source of stress for you and your kid. My SIL learned the hard way, she insisted on starting to potty train her boy at 2, it took over a year until he was able to stay dry. Based on my pediatrician's advice, I waited until my son was just short of three and he was fully trained in less than a week. He was ready and motivated so there were no fights. At first, take your kid to the bathroom every hour or so, and encourage him/her try to go. Once they start letting you know when they have to go potty, you can start leaving it up to them to tell you. When successful reward them verbally, but don't scold the mistakes which will happen.

[detroitguy]

3. Thanks!

He is ready, that much I know. And his motivation level went up when his best friend became trained. he's also looking forward to wearing Thomas the Tank Engine underpants (hey, whatever works, right?).

I totally agree, any scolding surrounding this whole thing would just make it harder... and unnecessarily rough on him.

[LeftyMom]

5. Do nothing

just have a potty and underpants ready and wait for it to happen. If you want to hurry the process a bit switch to cloth diapers, if you don't use them already. Cloth diapered kids tend to potty train a bit earlier because they can tell when they are wet and because they are changed a bit more frequently and don't become used to that situation.

LeftyKid potty trained himself over the last couple of weeks and all I had to do was ask him every now and then if he needed to go and wash his pants after a few mistakes. If you rush it, it will probably be a pain in the ass but if you let it happen on it's own it will be easy.

[arismomkoofie]

12. DD is in cloth diapers and has begun training herself! (m)

I am not ready myself, as I just bought new (cute!) diapers in November, but she seems ready. She just says "peepee" or "poopoo" and off we go! Of course, we don't make every time, but we are down to about 3 diapers a day, and 1 at night (sometimes less). Pretty good for just turned two!

So anyway, I would recommend cloth diapers, and if your child is ready it shouldn't take too much work!

GL

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

14. My son seems to pee the most during his sleep.

Every morning his bed is soaked. We put a cloth training pant over a regular disposable diaper when he goes to bed, and he still gets his bed all wet. Last night I even stopped giving him drinks two hours before his bed time, and I didn't give him any drinks when he woke up in the middle of the night. Some how he still managed to get his bed all wet again.

[arismomkoofie]

15. DD is a huge wetter at night! For awhile I had to

put her in 2 hemp fitted diapers with a wool cover. She would be soaked in the morning, but it rarly leaked. Her butt was so big, she looked like a mutant. She peaked at around 12-14 monthes, and now needs only one fitted with a doubler. Her butt is still big, but not enormous. Sometimes you just have to add more layers!

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

6. I just started on trying to potty train my son this weekend.

I'm not expecting him to master it any time soon, but I figure it's good practice.

I started with him on Friday. We didn't do anything Saturday, but then we tried again on Sunday and today. I've been letting go naked a few hours a day, usually in the morning. I think it helps him figure out when he needs to go. I keep his potty in the living room, so that he has easy access to it. Also, I've been giving him lots of apple juice, so that he will need to pee. For rewards, I bought a pack of little mini stickers (about 3000 of them for $5). I give him one every time he uses the potty. He also likes to flush the toilet, so when I dump his potty into the toilet, I let him flush it. We say "bye-bye" to his pee-pee when he flushes the toilet and sometimes he claps (he hasn't pooped in the potty yet).

I was surprised this morning to find that he used the potty without me even knowing it.

[cally]

7. I assume you are in Detroit and it's too cold

but letting your child run around with underwear or naked helps them become more attuned to their bodies. Cloth diapers also help with that. I used stickers and put a piece of paper in the bathroom. They loved filling up the paper with the reward stickers. Just be patient.

[fortyfeetunder]

8. I can call up my parrot friend

One of my relatives babysits a parrot.

What happened a few years back, my son at age 3.5 was not interested in potty training, after months of trying without success. One day we happened to visit the relatives when they were babysitting the parrot.

My son was asked by one of the relatives was he done potty training yet. While my son was squirming around for an answer, the parrot piped up "Use the potty". My son's eyes got wide in shock and disbelief. The result: he was potty trained in two weeks.

The flip side to the story -- This happened over 3 years ago and my son is still leery of being around parrots. I recall one trip maybe a year or so after his experience we saw another parrot, and he thought the parrot would ask him about using the potty.

Seriously, patience and provide lots of praise!

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

9. That's a pretty neat story.

I'm sure my son would love to here a bird talk about anything, even the potty. He's very interested in animals.

[fortyfeetunder]

10. This was a bilingual bird

He spoke both English and Vietnamese. But I thought the "use the potty" was priceless. When I finally met the owner, I shook his hand and offered him $$$ but he just smiled....meanwhile the relatives have a story on my kid that will never ever die down.

[The empressof all]

11. We used musical potty and Prudence

The book Prudence and the Potty worked wonders for us. (I think they have a male version as well) We also used a musical potty that played a tune when it got a present. My daughter loved it. We waited potty training as well- She didn't seem interested until she was around three-ish.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

13. I got a musical potty for my son...

that was moisture activated. The problem with it is he seems to think that when the music goes off, it means he's all done. So he pees a little bit, then I clean it out, then he pees a little bit more, etc. . This can go on for a while. It's pretty annoying. I might try it again some time, but I put it away for now. If he pees in a regular potty, he usually empties his bladder in one sitting.
The musical potty is good for motivation though. He loved it, but since he figured out that his pee turns the music on he's been withholding on the pee so that he can keep turning on the music on again and again.

[LeftyMom]

16. Musical potty story

A friend of mine got one of those for her son, who is a few months younger than LeftyKid. He was really fired up to use the potty, sat right down and did his business. Then he stood up and the potty suddenly started playing loud music, and he was so startled that he started crying! A year later he's still afraid of all pottys and grown-up toilets. :(

[phylny]

18. For my kids, the "terror toilets" were the ones that flush

automatically.

When they were little, we'd routinely drive from Indiana to New York, and we'd have to stop at a rest stop. I recall our middle one screaming when the toilet flushed and she was on it. It was a difficult trip, to say the least! :)

[flygal]

17. We worked on it for 6 months

The thing that finally worked was just taking away the diapers. She had been waking up dry so we figured it was ok to take them away totally (she was 3 yrs 2 mos). We went a whole weekend with accidents - no leaving the house, just letting her play and drink lots. By Sunday afternoon she stopped playing and said "Oh, I gotta go tee tee". That was it. We've had a few accidents but no more diapers since. Good luck, it's hard, but stick with it for a few days.