Potty Training Twins!!!!

When i potty trained my daughter she was so in to Disney Princess, so i got her the toilet seat that goes right on the toilet, it was Disney Princess. I tried the little potties that sit on the floor, non of my kids liked that, they liked the big people toilet more. Just be patient, every child is different, dont freak out if she changes her mind. I have a 2 year old boy right now who shows interest sometimes in the potty but then suddenly changes his mind. Another thing, dont get them Pull Ups, those are just an over priced alternatvie to diapers, they will use them, trust me!
Good Luck, be patient!
A. K.

I have worked with and helped to potty train hundreds of two-year-olds in preschool over the years. I suggest you get some children's books (Once Upon a Potty, Everybody Poops, etc.) and a book to help you stay encouraged (Excuse the title but, I really like Potty-Training for Dummies). Stay away from pull-ups. Most kids just use them as diapers because they are very absorbent, so they are really just a waste of money. Get a potty chart where your kids can put stickers to help celebrate their successes. You can get one for free from http://www.charmin.com/chm_gateway.htm or http://www.kidskandoo.com/en_US/home.do
or just make one yourself. Once they have the idea of what the potty is for (you can help this process by letting them see you go potty & explaining what you're doing & why), start encouraging them to try & use the potty at least every two hours. Once they have had some success, put them in underwear or let them run around the house naked so they will have an awareness of when their bodies are ready to go potty. They will probably have some "accidents" but, they will feel or see that they are wet & it will help them want to try to make it to the potty on time next time. When they are in this stage, try to avoid putting them back into diapers at all during the day because that will delay the process. When you leave the house, you can get plastic underwear liners (I got mine at Wal Mart) to put over their undies to help contain leaks. Just remember to have them visit potties at least every two hours while you are out. Some kids don't like public bathrooms, so I always had a potty seat in the back of my minivan (along with baby wipes & hand sanitizer) with waste basket sized trash bags to line it with so I wouldn't have to visit public bathrooms too often & I wouldn't have a mess to clean up. Just tie the bag when they're done & throw it in the nearest trash. Also, I have not tried this, but one mom recommended putting a potty seat in the room where your children play most often, so they will see it & be reminded to use it when they feel the urge. Just remember to keep the whole process fun & exciting & don't get frustrated or angry. My two-year-old son was fully potty-trained (meaning no more "accidents") in two weeks, but some kids take longer, and some kids pick it up more quickly. If you can help them feel proud of their success, but not ashamed of their "accidents", it will go more smoothly. Also, a word of caution: I had a friend that said that potty-training was too much work for her & she was going to let her son "train himself" when he was ready. Then I watched her get very angry & frustrated when her 4 1/2 year old was still happily using diapers & couldn't get into the preschool she wanted him in. What resulted was the worst potty-training battle of wills I have ever seen because a 4 year old can be much more stubborn and is not as interested in trying to please his parents as a two year old. I think two is the perfect age because they can grasp the concept cognitively & most of them are physically ready to "hold it" until they can get to a bathroom (as long as you're not stuck in traffic on the freeway or something crazy like that). Good luck, and remember- once they're trained, most kids still need mom to remind them to visit the toilet now & then because they are having too much fun playing & don't want to stop & listen to their bodies, so watch out for the "pee-pee dance"!

C. : )

HI C....

I'll just tell you what worked for me and my boys (3 and 5 yrs old) and maybe it might work for you too! I just put the potty chair in the living room with a towel under it. My son didn't like going in the bathroom by himself. I let him run around naked for a week.....each time I would put a Pull-up on him or training pants, he would just pee in them. Of course, there were a few accidents around the house (no poop though) but nothing major. My first son was potty trained within a week, my second son took a bit longer (each child is different!) but he finally caught on. I did the same thing with him, just let him run around without underwear on for a week until he knew that when potty came out, it had to be in the potty chair. You can also try M&Ms as rewards. My aunt who had a daycare for over 25 years used those religiously with each child she potty trained. They had a special M&M jar and she would give each child 2 every time they went potty.

Just a few suggestions, hopefully something will work for you!!

take care and good luck!
S.

What worked for my daughter was to have blocks, books and thinking toys right in front of her while sitting on the potty. This made her "concentrate" and go and it also kept her from leaving the potty. I trained her right after she started walking and she was able to go poop in the potty from then on, but it took another 2 years for the pee because she had allergic reactions to certain foods that made her hold her pee until night time (bladder infections). Some mornings, she was pee free and some times she wasn't. I did use pull ups and by 3, she was able to do both in the potty. I also demonstrated what a potty is for. Rewards might complicate it and you will have to continue to reward them. Maybe kisses and hugs would be better if they did a good job.

Good luck with your twins! Hope some of the advice here and from others will help you!

just keep in mind that all children are different, and what works with one may not work with another. however, i have never met a child that didn't like stickers. I went out, bought a bunch of stickers (with my kids of course so they could choose), put them all away in a box and told them they could only have one for their "potty chart" when they went potty in the bathroom and washed their hands. That was the only time the box of stickers came out and they got to choose which ever one their litle hearts desired. By putting the stickers on a potty chart which was proudly displayed on the fridge, they got to admire their stickers and it spurred them on to further success!

All of this advice is good so far, I just want to condense a few things for you. First, make sure you see all three signs of readiness from both twins (and who says you have to potty train both? If one is ready, start with her and I can almost guarantee the other will either become ready right away, or when she is ready it will be a breeze) Here are the signs
- She is physically ready (can "hold it," can pull down a pair of sweat pants and underwear)
- She is cognitively ready (can understand the concept, can tell you when she needs to go)
- She is emotionally ready (basically means she wants to)

If one of these areas is lacking you will have much more of a struggle on your hands. Ignore age (kind of)- some girls are ready early, some are not.

I agree to avoid pull ups, except maybe at night if you don't want to use diapers still at night.

Rewards are up to you. There are reasons they help, and there are reasons to avoid them. If you do use them, you could run into problems when you stop giving them a reward. My suggestion would be to start without, then use rewards possibly if you need them (although if you need them, it may be a sign they're not ready). Or the reward could be something like if they have two days with no accidents (just during the day) they get to pick out some really cool underwear. This would be appropriate because it is related to the desired behavior.

Lastly, when you are ready to potty train at night, too, you're probably going to have to wake them up at least once every night to get them in the habit of getting up to go potty.

Most of all, do what works, and like the first mom did, if it's not working, scrap it and try again in a month or two.

Good Luck!

Yes, I have a great suggestion for you that worked wonders for me! My daughter was the hardest out of my three kids to potty train. And she was comming up on her third B-day and I was determined not to have her in diapers any more. So I went to the dollar store and bought about twenty small items and wrapped them and put them in a basket on the back of the toilet and told her that every time she went pee pee she got to pick a prize, but she had to actually go not just sit there. It only took me two days with the prize system and three days total. Then I was really worried about the pooping thing, because she refused to go and it had been three days since she had gone poop. So I told her if she went then she would get a bigger prize. After she finally went poop, on her own I have to add, I bought her Dora sheets for her bed and she was thrilled! I am so happy that I got her potty trained before her third birthday. I hope my story helps you. It was amazing how quickly it worked for me.
Best wishes,
A.

Forty-five years ago, I learned about toilet training from a neighbor who had five sons and one daughter. She said, "Boys are closer to three and girls are closer to two when they're ready to use the toilet. Do NOT do anything other than allowing them to watch you when you use the toilet. That's how they learn. You can tell them what you're doing, so they'll understand, but if you 'try' to toilet train them, you're in for trouble!" Then I learned that children can often speak before they can control their sphincter muscles. So, when they say, "Mommy, I just wet my diaper," we musn't get mad at them. Instead, we can recognize that they are one step closer to having control. Bladder and bowel control will follow.

Just as babies have learned to sit, walk, and talk, they will gain bladder and bowel control. Offer the equipment and the example and then leave them alone to accomplish the task in their own time. They'll figure it out and it won't be problematic or traumatic for either of you!

First let me congratulate you for the twins and your new baby. I suggest for you to try the following: in the morning, when you girls wake up make them sit on the potty, do the same after every meal, sit them down in the potty even if they do not have to go, this will start a routine with both your twins day and their body. It is going to take a lot of time and patience. Meke sure you keep them intertained while they are doing this too. If worked with my twin boys, By age 2 they were potty trained and by 3 they were sleeping with no diapers. Good Luck!!

Hi, C.. 2 years old is kind of on the young end for potty training; depends on the child. Pooping in the corner could be a protest to something (possibly even the new baby?) on her part, or it could be that she's ready to start potty training. I couldn't tell you with any more certainty without knowing more about the situation.

The only thing that really works with potty training is having the child's desire and cooperation. If it turns difficult, there is another dynamic that needs to be addressed. Children act out in their eating and potty because those are virutally the ONLY things they can completely control. I don't believe in pushing potty training. But I have to admit, I've had an exception where I said, "You don't wear diapers anymore. You know how to potty." But that was with a VERY advanced 3-y.o., who just needed us to show more confidence in him. Then he'd happily potty with me and not at home. He had an issue with transitioning from Mommy's world to Daddy's world, and didn't want to give up those extra one-on-one moments with Mommy changing his diaper. So there are issues that potty training will bring out, but they're very rarely ABOUT pottying. And you have to really KNOW each child and treat them individually; don't follow cookie-cutter (step 1,2,3...) methods. I don't believe in rewards or punishments for potty. I believe in mirroring the child's enthusiasm and congratulating them when they feel proud of what they've done. It's enough, trust me. It's THEIR bodily function; and teaching them respect and ownership of their body is an IMPERATIVE value to instill. Substituting a "thing" for a feeling of independence and accomplishment is harmful, IMO. It's like saying, "Do what *I* want you to do with your body and you'll get this reward." Not good.

If anyone answers with reward or punishment suggestions, which I know are popular, I apologize in advance; but I have to be honest in delivering what I've learned. I don't mean to personally offend anyone, only to give the best advice I can on the topic.

Take care,
J. Smithson
Loving Hands Learn 'n' Play
http://www.lhlearnandplay.com

Good luck! I don't have twins, but with each of my girls, I just did not put diapers on them when they were awake, we got some fun panties together at the store and started wearing them. It was messy at first, but they got it pretty quickly. A motivational chart with stickers is also fun and keeps things exciting. If you are really desperate, you can bribe them with an M&M whenever they produce. You will have to clear your calendar for a few days (a week) because you don't want to go backwards to diapers once you start. When you start leaving the house, bring the potty chair and a bottle of water with you. That way you won't be stuck at a playground with a 1/2 mile walk to the potty! Just pour it on the ground like a dog and rinse out the potty bowl with the water. I leave a potty chair in my car at all times. It has saved me every day.