Potty Training My 2 Yr. Old Son - Rockford,IL

Huggies is giving away free DVD's of potty training. I got one in the mail, however, I've not yet watched it. Here's the link for you to order one. Hope that helps you!
http://www.fsisolutions.com/KCPullUpsDVD/
K.

First and most important step in potty training the four I have trained.

A day naked.

I get a potty chair, coloring books, games, sippy cups full of juice, and we spend the day in an area with linoleum. No pants on and we play. When they pee pee on themselves I hurry and sit them on the potty. It takes one or two times of dribble down the legs and then they get it.

It's a bit harder to catch them going poopies, but watch them carefully that first week and get them on the potty.

I use little chocolate chips as a reward when they get pee pee in the potty.

Also don't use pull-ups. They are glorified diapers and I've never known a single child to train quickly wearing them. Get teri cloth pants or big person underwear. Use the pull-ups for trips to the store.

Also get a big can of carpet cleaner for that first week. There will be an accident or two.

I've trained four kids thus far this way and they all had it pretty much down pat in a week. One of those children was only 19 months old at the time and she did great. She's 2 1/2 now and never has any accidents.

You can reply to me for more advice or questions. I have a remedy for just about every situation you might encounter... from the scared of the toilet to holding poopies until bedtime when they have a diaper on.

Hi A.,
I have a set of boy/girl twins that just turned 4. They both showed interest in the potty right at two. I saw "Elmo's Potty Time" at Target and bought it. We watched it quite a bit. And within a very, very short time, we were fully trained. Of course, nights were still with a diaper. (That part of the training came just a bit later.) We watched together and talked about it. It was just so easy. Good Luck! Remember accidents happen....just go with the "flow".

Hi, A.! I had great luck with a book "Potty Train Your Child in Just One Day," by Teri Crane. My daughter was also 2 shoiwing great signs and I too was pregnant. I wanted her out of diapers before my son was born so I was not buying 2 sets of diapers. If you implement the plan the wayy the book states I would almost guarantee results. There is also a check list you go through to make sure your child is ready. Here is a link you could read.
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Books/story?id=2029062&page=1

Good Luck,
A.

As a daycare provider who has potty trained over a hundred kids I suggest that since he is showing interest, and wanting to do it, that you do the two weeks and $75 method. This will entail you buying undies and plastic diaper covers by gerber. They are VERY thin, not padded, plastic pants. Do not buy the padded ones.

Then you pick a date to start and have a no more diaper party. Get a cake, make up a song and have some fun. The next day no more diapers unless he is sleeping. The first few days will be lots of accidents. Don't get mad, just remind him of how he felt when it happened and that next time he has to go on the potty. Sit him on the potty every 45 minutes or so. By the 4th day he should be telling you he has gone, but still may not be getting to the potty in time. By the 5th day he will be getting to the potty and usually by the 6th day you are done.

The $75 is to clean any furniture or carpet he peed on. You probably won't need it with the plastic pants.

I have a great article about why 2 is the perfect age to do this, and even LATE in the game. Do NOT listen to those that say 2 is too young.
Here is the article...
From the ArcaMax Publishing, Parents Newsletter:
http://www.arcamax.com/news/parents/s-120739-150882
1.Potty training after 24 months can be a gamble
John Rosemond
Knowing that I recommend toilet training between 18 and 24 months, and apparently feeling a tad contrary, a reader recently shared with me the positive experience she had toilet training her son when he was 3 years, 3 months. She writes that she didn't want the hassles, and especially the accidents, involved in training a younger child, so she decided to wait until he was 100 percent ready. At 3 years, 3 months, he said, "Mommy, I want to wear underwear," and that was that. He was toilet trained in one day. The added advantages of waiting, she says, is that from the get-go he was able to undress and dress himself, wipe himself, and wash his own hands.

Letting her share her experience proves that I am a "fair and balanced" columnist. But having let her share, it's now my turn. I'll begin by pointing out that as recently as 40 years ago a 3-year-old who was still wearing diapers would have been generally regarded as the victim of lazy parenting. Ironically, however, the parent of said child has been anything but lazy. She has, after all, spent three years changing diapers when she could have spent only two, or less.

The currently popular notion that children below the age of two are not "ready" to be toilet trained is belied by the fact that in 1956 Harvard University found that more than 80 percent of American 24-month-olds were accident-free. This notion of "readiness" is a rather odd one, at that. If "ready" means that a child can sense the need to eliminate and has the dexterity to put him- or herself on a potty, then children achieve readiness around 12 months of age. Granted, the younger the child, the more assistance a child will need with such things as taking off their clothes, which is why I recommend that children be naked from the waist down (at home) during the training period. This is how children have traditionally been trained in Europe and parts of Asia, by the way. But if "ready" means "willing," which many parents seem to think it means, then this is just another indication that we are raising a generation of home-grown terrorists.

This mother rolled the dice and won. The research is clear that the longer parents delay toilet training past 24 months, the greater is the probability of serious problems, including the forced withholding of bowel movements and downright refusal to use the toilet. As I've said many times, it is easier to house-train an 8-week-old puppy than a one-year-old dog. The same is generally true of the difference between an 18-month-old toddler and a 3-year-old child. In the case of both the child and the dog, the habit of eliminating at will, whenever one feels the urge, has been allowed to strengthen past the point where it can be easily replaced by the more appropriate behavior. But every rule has its exceptions, and this mother can celebrate that her son was one of them.

I believe it is an insult to the intelligence of a human being to deny him the right to be diaper-free by age 2. After all, we expect six-month-old dogs to have learned to scratch at the door when they want to go outside. Mon Dieu!
Finally, if this mom had started toilet training her son when he was 18 months old, both mother and child would have been emancipated from diapers in three months, max. In the final analysis, she did neither herself nor her son any favors.

*About the Author: John Rosemond has written nine best-selling parenting books and is one of America's busiest and most popular speakers, known for his sound advice, humor and easy, relaxed, engaging style. In the past few years, John has appeared on numerous national television programs including 20/20, Good Morning America, The View, Bill Maher's Politically Incorrect, Public Eye, The Today Show, CNN, and CBS Later Today.

Click here to visit Rosemond's Web site, www.rosemond.com.

This news arrived on: 10/06/2006

Copyright © 2006 ArcaMax Publishing, Inc., and its licensors. All rights reserved.

Hi A.!
I hope my son takes after yours! He's only 20 months right now, and I'm not seeing any signs of him wanting to go potty. But for my daughter, I used a GREAT MUST-HAVE book called "Toilet Training in Less Than a Day" by Dr. Azrin. It worked for my daughter and yes - it only took a day - about 6 hours actually to get her trained on the potty to go pee-pee. It was the very next day that she actually did #2 on the potty - but I guess it's normal for them to be a little scared of doing that the first time.... Get the book - it's a great guide to not only train your child but also to make sure he's ready. My daughter is a stubborn little thing so if it worked for her, I'm sure it'll work for anyone :)
Best Wishes!
E.

A.,

I am a child development specialist and mother of two grown sons. Two would be early for a boy to be toilet trained and it sounds like he isn't actually ready but getting ready. Telling you after he goes is the step before being ready. He is making the connection which partly happens neurologically with the feeling of going and then concretely seeing it in his diaper.

Be patient and after he tells you he went in his diaper sit him on the potty and praise him. I would even try to flush down what is in the diaper in front of him. Basically it is important to be very matter-of-fact and praise him for all efforts that lead to going on the potty.

Good luck. A.

you are very lucky if your son is interested in the potty at 2. my son wasn't fully trained until almost 4.

1. set regular times to go potty every 30 minutes or so
2. if you are using a potty chair, make it accessible in a common room in the house
3. put him in big boy pants...yes its a mess but my experience with 4 nephews, 2 nieces, 1 sister and 2 of my own is that they realize quicker and hate being wet.

I ended up training my son outside. he wasn't interested in going potty and we had to make it really fun.

Don't get discouraged!!! some kids train easier than others and boys usually take a little longer.

Daddy needs to step up here and take the little guy to the pottie with him. Get a step stool to put right against the potty and daddy has to show him how daddy goes. This is very important since you're not "equipped" to show him. Kids always need to pee after drinking so get him to the potty before, during may be too late if he already needs to go. When they run around they get excited also. Get him to the potty, daddy to. Start training over a weekend so daddy is home. Daddy can show him how to sit ot poo also by watching daddy. When daddy stands to clean up the little guy can see the "torpedo" daddy left in the potty. Get it? you have to make it fun for them to want to do it. Make sure he gets BIG praise after each successful event. Maybe a half a graham cracker treat. Have fun. Stay consistant with the training. Don't quit once you start.

Dear A.:
Congratulations on your expectant child. My sons are now 25 and 22 years and were very slow to potty train. They were well past 3 when they were done. My ex used to say you couldn't make them go when you wanted to; they had to be ready. I think that is true. Besides, when your new baby arrives, he may back slide anyway so just relax and eventually it will happen. It's more of a nuisance to us as parents than it is to the kids. Best to you and yours!
S.

just a thought. my 2yr old son did the same at 2. he even went in the potty occasionally. he went back and forth with his interest. we actually did this for a YEAR because at one point he didn't want to i didn't want to push it. so now he's 3... he'll go to the potty when he has to go poop w/out us saying anything. but PEE i don't think he knows. So we pay attention to what/when he drinks and wait an hr or so and tell him its time to try. so he's in underwear now but he's trained w/poop, and basically WE are trained w/pee. but hey, no more diapers! good luck!

I just potty trained my now 3 year old son. We put him in rubber underpants. When he was wet, he was very uncomfortable and we made him change himself by himself. This didn't last long and he started telling us that he had to use the bathroom because he didn't like to be wet. I was told by other moms not to use pullups because it just encourages the use of diapers. I stayed away from the pullups and potty training my son was pretty painless.

PS: We also gave him a little treat when he told us and when he used the potty.

2 years old is a little too young to potty train, but, you can start trying to raise his awareness of it...Let him help you purchase "big boy pants" with characters on them and tell him that those are what he can wear when he puts his potty IN the potty not in his pants. Let him try them on for a little while right after you've taken his diaper off, so he can feel how comfy they are. But, don't badger him or punish him..that will just cause lots of frustration for both of you. Don't expect him to be trained until almost 3 years of age or over 3. They just don't get the message yet.

That's great that he is showing interest already. My son did also and he has been trained a long time now, he is 3. dont keep the diaper on! I put him in underwear and after 2 accidents that was it and he would let us know when he had to go. I also kept his potty seat in the bathroom and ready depending on where we were in the house. I even tried the pull-ups and that is like having a diaper on also. Get some underwear and also have Daddy show him how he goes, that helps too. I have an older son so he helped a lot. Good luck