Potty Training Boys- How Long Between Trips to the Potty?

First, put him in underwear. Make a big deal, let him pick his own, etc.

Start with 30 to 45 minutes - set a timer. When the timer goes off, ask, then put him on for no longer than 2 minutes. If he goes, great. If not, reset the timer and go again. As he gets better, start extending the time by 15 minute increments. Eventually, he'll understand that this is where he is expected to go and will start asking as he understands the sensation of having to go.

Also, if you are worried about accidents, like you are going somewhere or he is going to take a nap, put a pull up on OVER the underwear so that if he has an accident he feels it and is uncomfortable. Without the underwear, daipers and pulls ups are so absorbant that they don't really FEEL it.

I used a great book called The Potty Trainer that you download on the internet. Easy read and great tips! My daughter trained at 21 months and my son with Down syndrome at just before 4 years old.
Good luck,
K.

Jennifer,

I would try once an hour to start. After a couple of days, you will notice a pattern, as to if you can increase the time span, or if you need to shorten it. You will also notice changes in times of day--perhaps he will pee a lot upon waking or after meals.

jennifer, i raised three boys, i started them potty training that age as well, but every time, they did not really get that function down till around age 4, but any way, it can be done earlier, boys are easy usually keep an eye on them, they have little itchies in their private area but even more so when they have to go potty they will usually grab themselves, when that happens ask them do you have to go potty, they will usually say no, just take them then, any way, i also timed them from when they got a drink to time they had to pee, usually lasted about 20 minutes, so if you keep watch on time, you can simply say its time to go potty, when youve timed it, usually our bodies can only hold so much for a time, then we have to release it, any way , be patient, and have a watchful eye, just enjoy life and love your child, D. s

this is a good question; the answer lies in your personal situation and child.
you could test it. try at first checking him or taking him to the bathroom every 15 minutes. if hes consistently wet between that time, try 10 minutes. try figuring out how long it is between the times he has to go. then you can figure out if its worth the effort to try consistently now, or if you just want to start with the basics; after naps and getting up in the morning, before and after meals, and even 15 minutes or so after a meal - those sorts of things. just to make sure that he knows what the potty is for and stuff... but no one can conceivable train their child who has to go every 10 minutes. :P
the more relaxed you are the easier.

One thing to try is to buy him his own timer (oven timer) we started out with half hour intervals, and if that seems to often, set it at 45 mins. It will be fun for him to be "in charge" and start making it his responsibility to go when the timer rings.
Good luck
E.

Hi,
I'm in the middle of potty training my son, and am finding that about every 2 hours is best. It won't reak total havoc on your day and your sons may find success then, since it is longer between times.

I've asked my son several times to tell me when he needs to use the potty and he doesn't really get that yet. He's also 2.5. So I stick with the every 2 hour schedule and he has probably 75% success with it. Hope this helps you out.

J. M

Reading the responses, I never used a timer. I was a childcare provider when I trained my 2nd son. (I worked outside the home and daycare basically trained my oldest.) I gave the kids lots of juice/water/milk to drink so they would have to go potty. I think I trained 3 kids at the time, 2 girls and my son. We just hung out and watched movies (no other big learning activities) and colored. I had the parents dress them in 'easy' clothes so the kids could try and undress/dress themselves when going potty. We also worked on washing their own hands. I got the disposible wipes to wipe bottoms (I mostly did that part).

When starting I got the kids in the bathroom every 30-40 minutes. I took them one at a time for privacy. I gave them each a weekly chart to put a star on. At first they got a star for just trying. After a few days they got a star for actually going potty.

For me the key was giving them LOTS to drink so they actually had to go potty when I took them in. It's been 4 years so my memory is a bit foggy, I think we worked really hard the 1st week and by week 2, everyone was doing really good and I tried to let them tell me when they had to go vs. me telling them to go try.

Good Luck!
P., Shakopee
mother to 3 kids (9, 7, 3)
1st time Gestational Surrogate due Jan 09!

Some people use the timer idea, which I think helps YOU as well. Since my son was almost 3 when he started training, I realized quickly he had pretty decent bladder control, and as he got used to it he could hold it quite long. He did not do well when I would try to have him go SO often. Fought it more. I watched him alot at first and learned some of his signs for needing to go. If he goes a long time he will grab himself, but I hate for that to become a learned habit. The biggest help to me is to know how much and when he has been drinking. If he has drank a lot, he will need to go for sure 20-40 minutes later.

In case training becomes boring and your son gets lazy, we found a potty chair in our living room solved that problem until he was fully trained. Gross I know, but you do what you need to!

Now if I could only get him poopy trained. That has been a whole different story!