2 1/2 Yr Old and Potty Training (Boy)

Updated on July 26, 2010
S.D. asks from Plainfield, IL
7 answers

My son is 2 1/2 and will be 3 in October. I tried to potty train him by setting the timer so he can try to sit on the potty every hour to practice going in the potty, and this has not worked. I have heard that placing him "big boy" underwear is the way to go for potty training but my son is one who seems to be OK sitting in wet soiled diapers. I also have another 18 month old to chase and 17 weeks pregnant and was not sure if I will have the energy for dropping his diaper/pull-ups and resort to regular underwear. I have heard that when potty training boys not to rush it, that he will go on his own when he is ready. I was just writing to ask if anyone who has trained a little boy had any suggestions on this matter. I will appreciate all your suggestions. I have read so many books that suggested different practices. Thank you!

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B.C.

answers from Norfolk on

My son was day trained at 3 1/2 yrs old. He just wasn't ready before that. The daycare place he was going to was great in that they did the same thing with the whole group of children so it was something they all learned together (and they had little child sized toilets that were easy for them to use). He wasn't totally out of pull ups at night till he was 7 yrs old. He's a very deep sleeper. When he woke up for a week being dry (and could wake up and go in the night when he needed to), we were finaly finished with pull ups for good.

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J.L.

answers from San Diego on

Hi S. D. I don't know who told you that when potty training boys not to rush. But the idea is to start early enough so you don't have to rush. My boys were potty trained at 21 months and 19 months. No diapers just training pants until they got the hang of it them for one of their rewards we went shopping and they got to pick out their big boy underwear, by 2 years old my husband was teaching them how to stand up to pee. My advice to you is use reward and discipline (yes discipline) and get your husband to help you, my husband was fully hands on in helping me potty train our sons. J.

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M.M.

answers from Chicago on

Have you read Lora Jensen's Three Day Potty Training e-book? I haven't pt'd at boy, but it worked wonders for my daughter when she was about 26 mos. She was day and night trained in about 4 days. She says she trained her three boys with this method. It does involve regular underwear. She says training pants confuse kids. My daughter was content in a soiled diaper, too, but DEFINITELY not wet undies! With having a little one to keep up with, she suggests enlisting some help (hubby, mom, friend, etc.) so you can rush your son to the potty anytime he starts to go. There is not timing method, it is just constant reminding the child to tell you he needs to go potty when he needs to go. If he starts going in his pants, you sweep him up and take him to the potty. This is so they learn to feel the urge as opposed to just being taken regularly. If he has an accident, he puts his dirty underwear in the washer. Success is rewarded with praise, food, little toys, stickers, whatever you decide. I think it is worth looking into. You do have to commit to being home for three straight days with full attention to PT-ing, but it worked for us. Good luck!

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C.S.

answers from Milwaukee on

Hi there-

We are in the same boat--My son is 2/12 and I have a 5 mo old daughter as well. A friend just successfully trained her second son, (number one was a breeze), who is like mine...could sit in a poopy diaper all day!

She gave me some great tips and ideas...hope this helps!

I had to decide to get disciplined about it and kind of schedule it as a two-week 'event' in my head. Clearly he wasn't going to initiate it any time soon, despite going #1 on the potty 'some' times for a long time now and even 'some' times when we were out and about. I started maybe 4 weeks ago?

- He was going #1 usually when I put him on it, but he wouldn't say he had to go. So I threw underwear on him, put a pin on his shirt (a red Canadian maple leaf one from my childhood) to remind ME he had underwear on. I'd try to get him on the toilet every 30-60 minutes, whether or not he wanted to.

- I made a big deal about going to Target and letting him pick out two types of treat 1) for going #1 - Raisinets - somewhat healthy right? hehe. He got one for just sitting on the potty (no success) and four each time for going #1. Of course, Jackson, Dan and I also did the potty dance every time he was successful to make him feel especially proud and celebrated. 2) He picked out Andies candy bars for every time he went #2.

- Within two days or so he was telling me he had to go #1 and sometimes #2. Eureka! There were only a few wet accidents. The problem/frustration was he'd go 10x on the potty and then a random accident, three times, then accident. Read below what I did when I realized how to curb accidents after it was clear he 'knew' when/how to go on the potty.

- Within five days he was going #2, although not every time. I had to wash and clean out gag worthy underwear and clothes and floors and our neighbor's driveway and sheets, etc. ~10x. Blech. Not used to this. Didn't have to do it with Jackson. There were only two potty training weeks where I was up to my elbows in do-do and pee, but it felt like it was way too often. No picnic, obviously.

- There were a few times where he knowingly had a #2 accident. At first, I didn't want to make a big deal out of it, but wanted to celebrate the successes and keep encouraging him. However, after a few times I realized that i had to make things 'uncomfortable' for him. So, I calmly explained that it was totally fine that he had an accident, but when you knowingly or unknowingly make messes in life, unfortunately, part of what happens is you have to clean them up. So, I would very nicely make him disrobe, take his clothes to the washing machine, wash himself up (somewhat), give him a paper towel to pick up the poop, or whatever the case may be. It was the 'picking up the poop' scenario (2x) where he thought it was gross and 'disgusting' and cried a bit (even though I wasn't being mean) that turned the ship around.

From then on, he went religiously on the toilet.

Within days he woke up dry in the morning. What a surprise! Who knew? This happened several days in a row. Then a wet diaper. Hmm...maybe we should get him on the potty when he wakes up instead of just going downstairs and hanging out in pjs/diaper? Then several dry. Then a wet. Then we said if he stayed dry 7 nights in a row, he could wear underwear to bed, which he's been doing for a week+ now and staying dry. WooHoo!

The best part of all is that his staying dry at night incented Big Bro Jackson to do the same. I was certain Jackson just couldn't do it based on dairy intolerance, etc. He's had random dry nights for a long time, but usually VERY wet and many accidents where we had to change the sheets. Well, Ty was not going to outshine him, so Jackson's now dry too. ALLELUIA! AND THE HEAVENS OPENED AND CUT OUR DIAPER BUDGET AND BOOTY WORKLOAD BY 2/3!

The last thing is that potty training is a big deal in our extended family. We call gma/pas when someone does it for the first/second time. When a kid is in process, the aunts tell the kid they are going to buy them a special present/treat when they're potty trained. The grandparents buy a treat for the first success and sometimes when they're 100% trained. For Jackson, I made a chart and after five times going on the potty, he got to have an ice cream party with his cousins. For the next 10x he got to go to Monkey Joe's, etc. Each of the last squares in the row had a picture of the incentive and we'd put a star in the preceding boxes when he had a success. Next incentive was going poop for first time - that got him a pizza party at home or a toy?? Can't remember. I made it up as I went and based on what he was doing.

Soo....main thing is just committing yourself to a few weeks of focus, yuckiness, etc. Ugh. That's the hardest part. The rest is a little art and a little luck I think. Once they figure out the sensation and the mechanics and 'get it' then you kind of have to hold them responsible in a really nice, encouraging way to keep going consistently, vs. going in their pants because they're too busy playing. Cleaning up the poop and dealing with the not so pleasant sides of those choices seems to help.

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M.H.

answers from Chicago on

Well, My 2 yro is interested in going potty he has done it about 4 times now. Wet underwear is different then wet diaper/pull up. Get the plastic underpants to put over so he is not getting the couch or other things, but it might make him more aware and he will likely not enjoy being wet in underwear.

Good luck!

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L.W.

answers from Chicago on

Boys usually take longer...I know some people may say otherwise...my son was instroduced tot he potty at 2 1/2. He seemed to show some interest but that passed. At 3 we started training by using the 3 day potty training e-book you can find online. We struggled with it for quite some time but now (at 3 1/2) he's finally starting to understand his body...every child is different. All you can do is try and see what happens. The more you push it and the more it doesn't work, the more frustrating it can be for you and for your son.

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J.F.

answers from Chicago on

My son was 3yrs and a couple months before we started and he picked it up quickly. A timer set every hour would have been a disaster for us...our timer was set for every 15 minutes for a full day then every 30 minutes for the rest of the week...then he was done! I did make the mistake of putting him in a pull-up to go to the store during that time and he knew it was a diaper so he put it to good use :) If you can clear your schedule for a week that would be best...pull-ups are not for potty training! Also, my guy has always gone pee-pee standing up like daddy...so if you can get dad to show him how it's done it will help get him interested...Good Luck

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