Potty Training - Goose Creek, SC

I had a tough time potty training my daughter. Right after her 2nd birthday we started introducing the potty. For a week she did well, she went to the potty often and it was going great. Then, we went out of town for a week and it seemed to mess everything up. It wasn't until 8 months later that she became potty trained. She also had a pacy and at about 2 1/2 I started only giving it to her at night time and nap time. Then, a couple months later, it was only at night time. Then, I explained to her that if she wanted to be a big girl, it was time to give up the pacy. Plus, her pacy was all icky looking by then, because it was the last one we had and I refused to buy a new one. Anyway, she went and threw it away in the trash and I told her if she did that she couldn't get it back. She was upset at bedtime for about 3-4 days, but then she was fine. She is 4 now.

Hi M.
Potty training can be a bit stressful. My 2 yr old is now 2 and half. It took several months and consistency to taking her to the potty to get it accomplished. When I finally said to myself DOn't worry, she do it when she'd ready, and stopped be so insistent with it, she finally did it and wanted NOT to be in diapers of pull ups any more. Just hang in there and it will happen...good luck. susie

I had problems with my daughter. I found that a reward system worked best. Every time she went to the potty she received a piece of bubble gum. Two weeks later she was trained. A trick for little boys is to put cheerios in the toilet and tell them to aim for the cereal. It sounds silly but I have seen it work. Just so you know most boys are not trained completely until about three. sometimes even later. Girls are much easier to train. As far as the passie I am still having problems with that one. Good luck.

There is a WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL book out there that addresses potty training in a completely different way than most. I HIGHLY recommend it. It is called "Toilet Training in Less Than a Day" and while the title may be a little misleading, my daughter was indeed training in one day and for my son it took closer to three. And I mean...they NEVER wear a diaper again. They recommend starting at 20 months and the first chapter (of the very small book) tells you ways to determine if they are ready. It was out of print for a very long time (when I used it with my first two) but I have since found it at Wal-Mart, Target and some book stores. Hope this helps, and happy training!

***paci ??***
These are just ideas I have heard of:
Tie the paci to a balloon and tell him that now he is a big boy there are babies in heaven that need his paci.
Have him throw them away himself
Confine the binky to one room where he has to go sit in order to have it
Find a fountain, make a wish and throw it in.
Offer something in exchange--something 'big boy' that he has been wanting

We are about to break our 21 month old of her, so we shall see! =-)

Dad needs to take him to the potty and show him how fun it can be aimming at the water. He may need a step stool to reach the big potty, but he may like it better than the small one.

About the pacifier, get him to give it to a puppy, kitten, or bird to help them. My youngest son gave his pacifier to a puppy because "the puppy needed it". We threw it out the door. He thought he was helping the puppy, because the puppy didn't have one. Michael was about 2 1/2 or 3 at the time and he always had a pacifier with him at all times. We talked about the puppy that needed a pacifier and how it would be nice for him to give the puppy his. One day he agreed and I opened the door and he threw it outside. After that every now and then he would talk about the puppy that had his pacifier. I think it comforted him to help an animal. Of course the puppy never really got the pacifier, the puppy just looked at it and smelled it and walked away. I had to go outside later and throw it away. Michael is 9 now and loves that story.

Just keep reminding them they are growing up and don't need the pacifier, and need to use the potty. This gets them use to the idea. Hope this works for you.

As far as the pacis, I can't help you. But as far as potty training,you've made the resources available...Be content. When he's ready, it will happen. Try a reward system. Hot wheels did wonders on training my son. I had bought pullups before he was 2. He wanted no part of it! One day he saw a commercial. I'd already bought underwear in every character imaginable by then (about 2 and a half).I even bought the magical potty that sang when you did your business. And the little seat that goes on the regular toiliet. What a mess! He saw the pullups commercial, said he needed those. Within 2 weeks he was in underwear. Pooping took a little more time (about a month). I saw so many of my friends fighting with their kids on it to no avail. They'd do good, then regress tenfold.Adding to mom's frustration big time! Good Luck!

I have a almost 4 year old son and a 4 month old son. We are still working on potty training. He pooped in the potty this morning for the 1st time. Yea. With the pacy thing my older son was the same way we couldn't get it away from him but one day he just gave it up I hope he does the same way with diapers. Good luck with both things. Sorry I couldn't be a better help. B.

One thing that I tried and it worked like a charm....I put cheerios, not many, in the potty and my son enjoyed "aiming" at them....he was using the potty in no time.....with regard to the pacifier....I wouldn't worry too much about it.....my oldest son kept his pacifier to sleep with until he was almost 3 years old and then when he was ready, he gave it up with no problem.....Good Luck!

Hello! My son is 2 1/2 yrs and he's pretty much potty training himself (with my help and encouragement of course). When I introduced the potty to him, I would have him sit on it after his bath. He thought it was neat and it was more of a game than anything. He also would watch mommy & daddy go potty and we would explain what we were doing. Night after night he would sit on his potty with no results, until one day, he went. Now he has the concept, but lack the control. Boy are harder than girls, as I'm sure you've been told before, but EVERYONE gets it eventually. So, don't worry or stress, or he will too. Make it fun, and he will be more excited about it. Also, my son it too big for those wee little potties too, I looking into the potty seats.

i can't realy tell you much about the potty training since my son is 2 1/2 and he does not want to go on the potty. i don't think he can feel it yet. he is always very suprised when he gets wet if i let him run around with underwear. what i wanted to tell you is, my son is using a pacifier too and i just heard from a doctor that is not good if you take the pacifier away when he is not ready. that just makes him use his fingers and that would be much worse. he was saying as long as he is younger than four we shouldn't worry about it. i hope that helps a little!!!

ok well when i was potty training my four year old while his father was out to sea. i would sit him facing backwards on the toliet and i would sometimes put cheerios in the toliet and told him to aim and make them sink. he loved it and after he went i would give him a small treat. then once his dad came home he and his dad would race then he caught on and goes all the time. we actually just broke him of wetting the bed it took about a week and we rewarded him for not wetting the bed. however some boys are strange like my son will only go in the boys bathroom he will not go in the girls.

Hello, I have some advice for the potty training. I don't think you are trying too early. I wish that I started seriously potty-training my daughter about that age. As she got older, it got harder to potty-train her. My daughter didn't begin using the potty until she was 3 & a half. Before that, she would sit on it, but not do anything. I tried everything! This was very frustrating. So when she was about 3 and a half, she still had not used the potty one time and seemed to have no interest in using it at all, and I asked her doctor for advice. (She has the most wonderful doctor!) She told me to not let her wear her diapers or pull-ups around the house. When she is home, put underwear on her. If she doesn't want to wear them, let her bottom go bare. Also, when she begins to use the potty, give her small presents when she goes. Then after a week or so of continuous potty-use, the presents can be discontinued. This worked! At first, she cried about not being able to wear her panties, especially after she realized her pee would go straight to the floor. She started hating the mess she would make. I just kept calmly explaining to her how easy and clean the potty was to use, and that she is becoming a "big girl" and doesn't need her diapers anymore (although I will note that I still used them for bedtime). I explained to her that when she is home, she is not allowed to wear diapers anymore. I also went to Dollar Tree and made up a bag of small prizes. I showed her the bag and kept reminding her she would get a prize when she uses the potty. After a while, the fussing would slow down and eventually stop when she realized that it would make no difference and I would not give in to letting her wear a diaper. After a few days, one night I was sitting at the computer and she came up to me and told me she wanted to show me something. (The first thought I had was that she did something bad and I was thinking "uh oh, what did she do now") But to my surprise, she led me to the bathroom and pointed to her potty. She said "I went pee-pee". I looked in the potty, and lo and behold.. there was pee in it! So, we showed Daddy, then we all did a little celebration dance, and I also let her call her grandparents and tell them. Then I let her pick out a prize from the prize-bag. That night, she went about 2 more times, and it continued on from there. By the time the prizes ran out, she was so used to using the potty that she used it regardless of whether or not she got a prize or not. So, try the things that my doctor told me: stop wearing diapers/pull-ups when he is home and make up a "potty prize bag". Also, remember to be patient and calm (even when he's not).

I'm sure you have gotten lots of suggestions by now. Sorry this is a little late, but I don't have internet at home and getting to the library is a task.

My little girl turned 3 this past Feb and she was not fully potty trained. We were taking the "When she is ready" approach. This is not a bad idea, but the daycare sent a note home stating that she could not move up with her class until she was potty trained. She is still in the 2 year old room at three.

We decided it was time to nip this in the bud so to speak. We took away the pull-ups and put panties on her at all times (except night, but we didn't put the pull-up on until after she fell asleep). If she made a mess, we would put her in the shower(she hates showers) to clean her up and then put another pair of panties on her. She didn't like it at first, but she eventually got the hang of it. We also took her to the potty every 30 min. the first week. After that we backed off to every hour. If she didn't want to go to the potty, we put her in time out until she said she would potty. This normally didn't take long because she hates time out worse than having a spanking, but that's another subject.

Three weeks later, she's almost completely potty trained. I'm not going to say that she is fully trained because it is too soon to tell. But she pee-pees and poo-poos in the potty and even gets up at night to go. Yes you will have a lot of messes the first few days, but this has worked much more than anything I've tried before.

Good luck!

My little girl took a paci for two months, then spit it out and never took it again. Just a suggestion, if you take the paci away, you need to replace it with something. This can be a stuffed animal or a blanket. Eventually he will grow out of it. Again, Good luck!

Hi M.:)
Kids are so funny. Especially when it comes to potty training. I had to try to potty train my daughter twice. I had one week to get her potty trained to get into school and I was willing to try anything. Finally, I found this manual, and when I changed my train of thought it really made sense.
As parents its hard for us to see that since they were babies it has been ok for them to potty in their diaper, now you want me to go potty on this thing that I have to sit on. So, my suggestion to you would be....when he wakes up, take him straight to the potty....and get him familiar with the pee and poo poo terms. But, try to stick to those two terms because asking him once if he has to go poo poo and the next if he has to go number 2 may confuse him. Soon, you just say, it's time to go pee pee or poo poo (sorry for the baby talk!) try it about every 30 minutes. I even used a bell timer at first just to get the notion that she HAD to sit down and go. It works. You could try either way.

Hope it helps!

doctrs say that most babies are not mature enough to be potty trained until they are 3 sorry no help just facts no help with the pacifier my son gave itup on his own at 3 months although he does enjoy chewing on the back side of it

It may be a tad early. My sons were closer to three when they decided to use the big boy potty. I bought the potty seat that goes on the commode. It worked better for us than the potty seats that sit in the floor. I also rewarded them with stickers each time they went. As far as getting rid of the pacifier.....I rounded them all up one night (while they were sleeping) and cut the tips of them off. The next day they put them in their mouth as usual but wanted nothing to do with them because they were "broke." It worked for me! Good luck.

I know how u feel. My son didnt get potty train till he was three years good and one day he just did it him self. I think if you rush them then it takes longer. When hes ready he will do it.

I recommend getting him a Peter Potty urinal, a larger sit down potty (our son likes his Bjorn) and number of videos such as Potty Power and Elmo's Potty Time. Our son recently turned 2 and is well on his way to being potty trained. Potty training is fun for him and he has a healthy sense of accomplishment from doing it. Since many pre-schools require 2 1/2 year olds to be potty trained, I would encourage you to not wait.

Can't give a lot of advise on the potty training. I'm dealing w/ the same w/ my lil' girl. A friend mentioned hse had the most succes w/ the "Aim for the Cheerio" in a potty/toilet. Her son preferred using the "big" toilet 'just like Daddy.' I also saw some great ideas in a Parenting magazine (Parents or is it Parenting. I think it is about 2 issues back)
A paci idea I was given by my pediatrician was to find one of those stuffed animals that can 'clip' onto an object (lapels/ dowels...) Attach that to to the paci for a week --and let it get in the way of sucking on the paci--in this case annoying is a good idea. After 1 week & no more, toss the paci & leave the stuffed animal. It's suppossed to help if the paci is an emotional attachment. (I found some neat ones at an educational supply store that have tiney magnets in the feet.) Might work for you! We tried it as a way to encourage mine to give up the bottle. Didn't work, but she LOVED the 'milk horse.'

We tried at 2 1/2 with my son, he wouldn't have anything to do with it until a week before his 3rd birthday and then looking back it was like over night he decided he didn't want to be in a diaper anymore. When he's ready he'll do it overnight. As for the pacifier, not sure. My kids never took a pacifier. You could show him the pacifier and then cut the nobby off and tell him all gone? One of my friends did this and worked really well? Good luck.

I agree with Tonya. My Owen just turned 3 on April 1st and it took forever for him to be interested in the potty. From what i've heard and read, if you start too soon, it'll take that much longer to potty train him. My Owen thought it was pretty funny to pee in the tub too! He is just now getting more interested and actually, I am so relieved and still frustrated at times, but he's had a good week as far as the potty is concerned. He's gone pretty regularly this week in the potty and he is SOOOO extremely proud of himself.. and so am I! Even though before I tried to make it fun.. i've created a chart so we can document how many times he goes in the potty, got the foamy fun soap to wash his hands afterwards and gotten M&M's for bribery! But I think what it all comes down to is when they want to do it, they will.

As far as the pacifier goes, Owen never used one, but my Emma, just turned 2, does. I limited her early on that she only gets her paci during naps and night time. She fussed at first, but now, it's fun. I make it a game because we put them in her top drawer when they're not being used, so between her and my son, we make it fun for them to get them out and put them away. So maybe that could be a start.. ?? I think it's still too early to take them away from her, but at least she doesn't walk around with one in her mouth all the time.

Hope this helps!
k

potty training -- might be too early... try once a month and see how it goes, or for a couple days each month.

pacifier, throw them away so the temptation isn't there. it might be rough for a while, but he'll get over it within a couple of days.

I'm an older full time working mom as well. One thing about me is I was able to choose the laid back approach and wait until my son was ready. He was about 3 1/2 when he just decided he was ready to use the potty and we've barely had an accident since! Same with the binkie it just was interfering with him talking so he was done with it. Just keep bringing it up but be patient. Hope this helps

Hi M.,

My boys fought going on the potty, too. Boys are generally later to train than girls and they've made the diapers so *comfortable* the kids don't care if they wet them. My boys became more interested once they found out they could stand up and pee. At first, they had to stand on a small stool, then a phone book. Then, they could finally reach. My older son was about 3 1/2 and he said, "I know how to go on the potty, I just don't want to." We fixed that by telling him he couldn't go to Chuck E Cheese one day because I wasn't going to take him there with a pull up on because he was too big. I told him that we were going to go on a certain day and if he wasn't in big boy pants, we weren't going. He told me to give away the pull ups because he was done with them. No problems since.

As for the paci, first, we limited it to when were at home. Then, only at bed and nap times -- so only when he was in his bed. Then, we would take it out of his mouth after he fell asleep and put it in the bed where he could find it. Then, in the bed where it was harder to find. Then, he had to give it to us before he fell asleep. Then, it was gone. A few days later, he hit his head really hard, he asked for the paci. We let him have it for 5 minutes. At the end of the 5 mins, he gave it back and went to sleep. It takes a while, but it was easier on him.

Good luck!!

Hey M.,

I could not get my son potty trained until he was 3 years old. I have several friends too that with thier son's they had to wait until they were 3 for success. I wouldn't worry too much about it. My son was big for his age too and he was able to start using the big toilet standing up when we started to train him. He loved being able to stand up like daddy. Once we started within a week he was accident free.

With the binkie (pacifier) I started throwing them in the trash when he would get in trouble. In about two months I had thrown them all out and he was done. We had a few rough nights but I was really surpried at how quickly he got use to not having one because he LOVED it so much. He was about 3 years old when I threw the last one out.

Good luck!! D.

Boys seem to take longer than girls to train. Give him some time my sons didn't train till around three. My daughter was trained by 1 1/2. One of my sons was also big for his age and everyone expected more from him just because of his size.
sorry have no advice on the pacifier.
Good luck