Starting the "Potty Time"

Thanks for asking this question. I am working on potty training my 31 month old son and my 18 month old daughter. The 3 month old isn't ready yeat haha. We have 1 potty and it isn't working out the greatest, so I would recomend 2 if you can swing it.

We have big boy/girl underwear and they get to put them on when they get up in the morning. Then they can keep them on as long as they keep them dry, after that they have to wear diapers for the rest of the day. They usually make it to lunch. And I usually end up cleaning up a puddle. If you have couches that they sit on, I would recomend getting some absorbent padding for the cushions if you are gonna try this method, my daughter peed on one of her pillows and I am trying to get the smell out.

I wish you much luck with training. And I love reading the suggestions from the other mom's and hope to impliment some of those here.

Honestly, my now three year old didn't "really" potty train until he was almost three. We looked for the "signs"and encouraged him. We even had the charts ready and everything. We started when he was about 2.5, but he just wasn't ready. Your boys will be ready when they can articulate that they need to go potty. Otherwise it is just you being ready for them to go. You can try the going without pants thing. We didn't get any results from potty training until we stopped making it an issue and just let him decide that he wanted to stop having dirty diapers. I'm sorry if it isn't helpful, but it's the truth.

Hope you are getting some good answers. I have a 6 yr girl who potty trained completly by 2. And I have a 3 yr old little boy who we have been working with for almost a year now. He is now I would like to say fully potty trained. He has his days and still wears a pull up to go to bed in. We tried it all a potty chart where he could put stickers on if he sat on his own, then if he went pee, and the sticker if he would poop, and then one for if he washed his hands afterwards. He liked that for aobut a week. He had his own potty chair and did not like it. I was teaching him how to go potty sitting down and he didn't like that at all. My husband was teaching him how to go standing up and he caught on a little better. We tried doing the reward system and that worked the best. He would get the reward if he would go pee when we asked him to try. Then we started to give him a reward if he would just stay dry all day. We did the pull ups for a while and he regressed with those on. So we just put him in "big boys" he didn't like messing those up. We still have days when he has accidents. And it has been a long year working on the potty training. But it is worth it when they are fully there. Be patient with them I had a hard time with one I can't imagine 2.

My son (just turned 2 last week) began indicating a mild interest in going potty a few months ago so I introduced him to the potty chair during our bath time. I would get him to sit on it while we ran his bath water, and (more times that not) the sound of the water helped him go. We did just this for about a month, and then I started him going on a regular basis (every hour). We've been doing this for about a month now, and he only occasionally tells when he needs to go but he's using the potty when I take him. We're getting there. We give alot of verbal praise, and lucky for us the only reward he wants is his own square of toilet paper to flush!

At 20 months, they are a bit small to stand up to pee (per the other's suggestion.) In fact, if they are uncircumcised they will pee all over the place even more then other boys. heh (Ok, as the mom cleaning the mess, this is not funny.)

I do think that potty training at the same time is better. I have three training at the same time- the oldest is almost completely trained and it's helped with the youngest (also 20 months.)

I have tried pretty much all the potty chairs on the market and have detested all of them EXCEPT the Baby Bjorns. I have the little one in the van (no removable pot) and the big one at home. You should get two (you could even let them pick out their own colors if you get them online.) After I ordered mine at Target (larger color selection) I found that Babies R US had finally started carrying them in the store. Link to Target http://www.target.com/gp/search/186-###-###-####-###-###-...

Right now, my 20 month old (potty training for 5 months) hasn't done anything in the pot. But she understands the concept and is at least used to sitting frequently on the pot. That's the biggest problem I had with her older sister (she'll be 5 next month and is FINALLY not afraid of the potty.)

When they get bigger you can get a potty seat for the big potty or even replace the seat with one from One Step Ahead that has the small seat AND big seat in one unit (older kids just put up the little seat into the lid for the little ones to use...has been FANTASTIC.)

S., mom to 5 (6 YO girl, 5 YO girl 3 1/2 YO girl, 20 month old girl and expecting a BOY next month!!)

I didn't have to do twins but I did do a stuborn boy. I was given a few tricks that helped. Some we stuck with others we didn't. I had a potty seat for my son but he was determined to go in the regular potty. I was told to get them interested have them pee in a coffee can to imitate the sound of you pouring water in the can. I laughed at this one but my son was actually interested in doing it and even did once. I was also told to put cheerios in the toilet and have him try to hit them with his peepee. This definitely helped with aim. And then of course there was always a treat (M&M or other candy) when he did go. Although I was told to give him one if he went and sat on the potty to start off then he wouldn't get the treat unless he actually went to restroom. Don't get discouraged. My son took a while before he would go on his own. And he took almost a year maybe a little more. He would be interested then he wouldn't. Pullups were great. Then I moved him to underwear when he seemed to have it down although I still had to make him go every so often. If he teeteed in his underwear then he had to go back to pullups which he didn't like because he thought it meant he was a baby. Good luck!

Since you have a 3yr girl, I suggest she model, cheer on the boys as a cheerleader and show the boys how cool she is in underwear.

I potty trained my twins at the same time to get it over and done with. I would say 20 months might be a little early, but we did a lot of pre potty skills before the real thing. I did get two potties as there was no fighting and easy practicing. I eased into it to make it positive and I think twins in general can sometimes at least one can be a little delayed, did a lot of sit on the potties and lets read a book, sit on the potty before bath, Practice them pulling their pants down by themselves a lot we called it practice undressing for potty, watched potty videos for a couple of weeks from Netflix, My friend potty trained her son at 25 months which was a success within a month or two fully trained for outings and naptime. My training took 2 1/2 months and did a lot of pre potty education that I wasn't counting. I went straight to underwear and let them have the accidents to learn to feel it on their own. Did rewards of jelly beans for 1 month as motivation, and then praise for the rest and we are home free now.

Good luck my suggestion is do pre potty training and take the pressure off until after 2yrs at least with boys. Depending on their personalities they may not be mature enough yet. Take the readiness from their cues, are they dry at naptime, they might not be able to hold it yet. Let them pick out some underwear, I also say a pee potty song I made up as a cheer leading thing which they loved. Keeping it positive and no big deal is key.

Wow, you do have your hands full!! I have a 3 year old son and a 23 month old son. My 3 year old was not interested in sitting on the potty until about 2 1/2 and didnt actually go on the potty til closer to 3. My 23 month old watches everything he does and talks about going potty, but wants nothing to do with sitting on it. Boys are just slower than girls usually...the average age for a boy to be potty trained is a month after his 3rd birthday. I believe that potty training is a developmental milestone like walking or talking and will happen easier if you wait until they are ready. I think your doing the right thing...have the potty's available and if they think its fun, let them sit on them, but wait until they show you they are ready and things will go much smoother.

Good Luck!