Potty Training - Willoughby,OH

EVERYBODY POOPS. I used to work at a childrens' bookstore and we sold TONS of these! Moms said they were a great help.

I know that its frustrating b/c you obviously know that he's aware of his bodily functions. The best thing you can do is be patient. As stressful as it may be at times boys typically take longer to potty train than girls do. They are more into fine tuning their physical/ motor development than potty training. Over the years as a preschool teacher & a nanny I have seen a few things that helps motivate boys a little more, but they still aren't going to unless they are ready. Don't force it too much or it will just discourage him even more.
As far as books go does he have a favorite cartoon character? I know that Calliou, Sesame Street, Bear in the Big Blue House, etc all have their own potty training books or videos out. If its something he's already interested in its more likely to help. Its kinda plays on the "role model" aspect.
My other suggestion is... Do you have friends or family that have an older child that your son looks up to... again a "role model" type person for him to play with or watch? Once the boy I nannied realized that my daughter, who is 3 months older than him, was going potty like a big kid he decided he needed to as well. This has held true for many boys that I have been around. My friends son is 7 months older than my daughter. When we started having regular play dates they were 3 and a little over 3 1/2 yrs of age. Once he saw that she didn't wear pull ups or diapers he started refusing to wear them and was completely potty trained within two weeks. My now 20 month old son wants to be like his big sister and is pushing us to potty train him! So anytime I go to the restroom or his soon to be 4 yr old sister goes to the restroom he goes too!
Good luck with potty training your son! It will happen even if it seems like its never going to. :)

We tried a number of different activities to have our twin daughters potty trained. Some or one of the activities worked.... We started with using a kitchen timer that we called the potty clock - set it for 30 minutes and when the clock rang, we sang it's potty time and the girls were excited to go to the bathroom and then were excited to reset the potty clock. We then bought the Huggies or Kandoo hand soap which intrigued them, and also the Huggies or Kandoo wipes that we call Poopy Wipes and they can only use if they poop on the potty. I think the kitchen time worked wonders because although they didn't go pee every time the timer went off, they still went into the bathroom. They also use a Dora potty seat you can buy at Walmart that fits on the big toilet and they have stools to use. About a month or month and a half of doing this, and my girls were completely trained (except at night... they are three next month and we're still working on nighttime). GOOD LUCK :-)

A good book (that is a favorite in my house of boys) is "Everyone Poops". Another one is "Sam's Potty". Also, there is an Elmo DVD on the subject that was popular here, too. :)

A.,
My advice would be that he is not ready. My son was nearly 3 1/2 before he was fully potty trained (which is average age for boys according to my pediatrician). We tried stickers, movies, books, m&m's but he was not interested in pooping on the potty. He was doing well with pee but he would do the same thing when I asked if he wanted to poop on the potty-say no. He got to the point where I would put underwear on him and he would ask for a pull up to poop. I let him do this until he was ready. My pediatrician said forcing the issue won't work and I totally agree. I wasn't about to take him kicking and screaming to the toilet.
Then one day out of the blue, he said "daddy I want to poop on the potty", and he never looked back!
Keep encouraging and rewarding when he does go, but I would wait until he is ready and he initiates it!
Good luck.

My friend could not get her boy to potty train either. On his 3 year well visit to the doctor, she had the doctor tell him "you are a big boy now and need to use the potty". Something about the doctor telling him to do it worked. For some reason hearing it from the dr. and not mommy made him want to potty train.

I am trying to start training my 20 month year old and I bought a dvd called Once Upon A Potty for "him" and it is a great video. He is quite intrigued watching the other kids use the potty and sing songs that he is started to understand and take interest in the potty. hope that helps. good luck

Potty Training book saved my Sanity!!
________________________________________
Men’s Health Magazine (Sept. issue) recommends Potty Train Your Child in Just One Day: Proven Secrets of the Potty Pro by Teri Crane. My husband picked us up a copy after reading the article. IT REALLY WORKS!!

Everyone is talking about throwing a "potty party" to potty train a child. I was so desperate; I was willing to do anything. Her book outlines 10 themed parties. What kid doesn't love to play and pretend? All my mommy friends have successfully potty trained their kids with her book too.

Honestly, when I first learned of this book, I thought NO WAY! Maybe this would work on a little girl, but NOT a BOSSY, 2-1/2 year old BOY. NO WAY! Guess what? It REALLY WORKED!!! Teri Crane SAVED MY SANITY!!! Her book was easy to read, funny and extremely helpful. I can't thank Teri enough. I would HIGHLY recommend this book to EVERY parent. It will save you much grief and frustration. Potty training shouldn't be difficult, we as parents make it difficult because we don't know what to do. Teri teaches you. Buy the book, it's the best money you will ever spend

Most amazingly, I had some questions, so I called the author, and she CALLED ME BACK!!

Hello,

My son, now 28 months is in midst of potty training and it is going ok. He loves to watch the DVD "Bear in the Big Blue House Time to Go Potty". We also go to public library and pick up a few books such as "time to go pee". These are fun books, however, it helps him since he wants to be a big boy and I always tell him big boys go pee/poop in the potty. My son also enjoys the many stickers he collects after using the potty too. THis seems to help him.

We are using the training pants now, no underpants yet. One thing I learned thru this process is to be patient! Good luck!

Hello A., I am visiting our granddaughters in California. One who is five does quite well but the 2 1/2 year old knows also when she ;ees and poops but wants nothing to do with the potty. She also is put to bed at night asleep and maybe two minutes later she is screaming and singing and making up words in her bed but it takes maybe two hours for her to go to sleep. If you find out any good ideas let me know so I can help her mommy and daddy get some much needed sleep.

There is a Bear in the Big Blue House video with a potty time show on it. Check with your library. Elmo also has a video. The thing is, you can encourage him to use the potty, and books and videos may help in the process, but the bottom line is that he will go when he is ready, and not before. My daughter was 3 1/2 before she was potty-trained. She went through a stage of being afraid of poop, so she asked for a diaper when she had to poop. Otherwise she wore underwear and stayed dry at night. You just need to be patient and avoid pressuring and shaming him. Rewards may help, but please avoid punishment. As mothers we often have opportunities for growing spiritually by learning to surrender to what is at this moment. Stop the struggle and everyone will be happier, and the potty training will come effortlessly when the time is right. Blessings to you.

What to Expect When You Use the Potty

I would say just set aside a five day stretch where you aren't going out much and in a nice, but matter-of-fact, manner tell him that people use the toilet and you are going to show him how. And put him in cotton training pants (pull-ups only confuse them) and be prepared for LOTS of accidents the first several days until his bladder muscles are under control. And don't be tempted to reward him with candy and toys because it's likely he'll have a major setback when you take away the reward. He'll want to please you so that will be motivation enough. And let's be honest, the world is not going to give him a present every time he pees. So, just be cheerful and don't react too much when he has an accident. Just put him on the potty every 30-40 minutes and see how he does. If he really resists sitting on the toilet I wouldn't force him since you don't want him to have a negative association with the experience. Just see how he does for a few days and if it doesn't seem like he's making progress and he really doesn't want to go on the potty then it's ok to give him a break and return to diapers for a few weeks if he's more comfortable that way. Good luck!

Set a timer for every 20 minutes or every 30 minutes and have him go sit on the potty. All day long. It'll get to the point where he'll say, "I know...go potty".

Another idea: Every time he goes to do something different...to change the activity or wants a different toy...time to go potty. Want a drink? Go potty first. Oh, you want to go play in the other room? Go potty first.

Good luck!