Need Good Advice on Potty Training

I have a 3 year old that refused to use a potty chair or the the toliet, so I showed him all of the different character underwear and let him pick out two that he wanted as I told him that if he wanted to wear them he had to use the potty chair when he needed to go. This worked pretty well with my son.

Start taking him about every 30 minutes and let him get used to wearing underware and DON"T get mad at him if he has an accident because then he won't tell you if he does he will be to scared to. and use a good pull up at night, they don't [pull the wettness away from the skin like diapers do so he will know when he has pee'd

Hi R.,
I am 35 y/o mother of 3 girls, ages 3,4,7. Potty trained all my girls by age two. I put a small potty in the bathroom right next to my own toilet and would take them with me each time I would go and multiple times in between. Had a basket of favorite books next to their potty. Also rewarded each of them with something "sweet" they loved. For my first daughter, we kept a large bag of M&M's in the cabinet in the bathroom and she got 2 or 3 pieces each time she was successful in the potty. For my second daughter is was dum dum suckers and my third loved princess fruit snacks. Then we would have "tee tee" or "poo poo" in the potty parade and LOTS OF PRAISE! I have read in many parenting magazines that you shouldn't reward children with candy or food and we don't usually. However, potty training is serious business and it really worked for us! (by the way my children are 50% for size, so the "treats" didn't spoil them).

Briefly tried sticker charts - were not nearly effective as treats!

One last idea also worked for my third daughter (she was the hardest) I just finally put panties on her so that she would feel wet. We changed panties often during the day but she finally got it after 2-3 days.

Good Luck- One thing I have learned is all children are different! You just have to find works for your child! It can be a 2-8 month process! Just be patient, consistent and stick with it!

As a parenting coach, I could write you a book on potty training, but one main bit of advice I have is modeling. Let him watch and mimic his father (or other male role model) as often as possible. And when you do get fully into potty training, never ask him if he needs/wants to use the potty. He'll nearly always say no. Instead, tell him it's time to take a turn on the potty. You don't want to force it, but you also don't want to put the ball in his court entirely.
Good luck,
L.

2.5 is a great age (in most cases) to potty train. With help from my babysitter (who was GREAT), my daughter was fully trained in 2 weeks - but not having accidents at school after the first MORNING of starting. She used a sticker chart and each time she went pp she got a sticker (and one M&M for pp and 2 for poop). First thing I would put her on the potty and she might go (sometimes she had just gone b/4 she woke up) - and then right after breakfast and then you can normally catch a pattern. My daughter would go every 2 hours. Poop was harder - she cried and fought it but w/in 2 weeks it was fine. I saw when she was trying to go and I would put her on the potty and hold her until she relaxed and went. Then we made a big deal when she did. It was about 3 weeks before she would tell me she had to go - before that I would just put her on the potty every 2 hours and right after meals.

Good Luck!

My pediatrician advised me to skip the Pull-Ups and go straight to training underwear (that hold about a cup of liquid before they leak - available at Target). This method worked after only two accidents. My son hated the feeling of the wet underwear so much that it was a breeze! I was also told to teach him to go standing up, instead of sitting. I used to drop a few Froot Loops in the toilet bowl to give my son something to aim at. Sort of like "target practice", if you will. He LOVED the game and actually looked forward to going potty. Whatever you decide to do, make it fun and always reward your son. Good luck to you!

OK, this is going to sound WAY weird, but a family friend of ours told us that this was how she got all three of her boys trained before age 2!!! She said that her and her husband would drop a piece of toilet paper in the toilet and tell them to aim!! She said they had so much fun with it they never wanted to pee in their diapers again. Also I have recently trained my daughter who just turned two and I spent and entire weekend working with her. We would get her up in the morning and dress her from the waist up and put shoes on her. She ran around the house naked from the belly down. For some reason this help b/c they do not want to pee on themselves. Just a couple ideas.

C.

This is how I potty trained my daughter. First is say bye bye to diapers. Tke him to pick out his own Big Biy underwear. (Favorite character) Then tell him that he is a big boy and gets to wear big boy pants. Give him a drink and walk him through the process and show him how to use the potty. Reward him when he goes.( I did stickers) Remind him every 15 min or so say do you need to go potty. I trained at 2. kept a pull up at night for awhile then bought the pads for the bed and now my child is 3 and wears panties to bed! I have a lot more advice but my biggest thing is put him in underwear! Do not train in a pull up or diaper. They will get lazy and go in it because they are use to it! I let her say good bye and throw away her bottoms and pick out her panties! Then we did stickers on the chart and worked up to a big prize (trip to the zoo....ect) You can call me at ###-###-#### if you want to talk. Thanks
S.

I tried the Dr. Phil method and didn't have much luck as my little girl ws wondering what in the world ws going on and why is mommy being so strange! I hear that it works great with lots of kids, so give it a try if you wish (go to Dr. Phil.com). I ended up just taking off the diaper and putting on pretty panties and asking her if she needed to go every 15 minutes, having her sit on the potty for 5 minutes and then giving her a reward (sticker chart, candy, whatever makes your little one tick) when she went. This took about two weeks and I had to clean up lots of pee pee and poo poo, but she is trained! I am not sure if it is possible to train without the risk of a little mess! Good luck!

It's ridiculous that preschools decide when to potty train and not the parent who knows the child better than anyone. But, such is the way of the childcare politics. You want to make sure you are really prepared when you start or you can traumatize him and make potty training take longer. I ran across a book at 1/2 price books (independence & Parker) yesterday called Early Start to Potty Training. I skimmed it and it seemed very helpful with lots of the do's and don'ts, with advice and tips. I am struggling with whether or not I should start potty training my 13month old daughter or if I should just do it the old fashioned way and wait for the signs. There's a lot of conflicting and controversial info out there! Best of luck!

R.