Potty training

[dannyboy75]

Chaps,

I'm just curious to hear any experiences and/or tips as to how you potty trained your toddlers?

My son is 2 1/2, we tried potty training him about 6 months ago and it was a waste of time, so we gave up after a few days (it was nigh on impossible to even get him to sit on the potty without getting himself in a tizzy).

As of Sunday we've been trying again, and he will now sit on the potty and has done quite a few number 1's and even a couple of 2's, providing we get him to sit on it every hour.

The biggest stumbling block now though is that he still doesn't seem to grasp the part about sitting himself on the potty when he needs to go (or least telling us). Left to his own devices he'll just wet his pants every time. We're doing all the things the books suggest, i.e. loads of praise, reward stickers, not making an issue of it when he wees himself, but he just doesn't seem to be getting the bit about realising when he needs to go.

Any suggestions? Is it just hard work for a few days before they suddenly 'click' , or is it possible he's not quite ready yet?

cheers

[Galant]

Can't be a ton of help as I'm in the same place more or less. Our little guy is almost two and, following the advice of lots of people who had all manage to potty train their children at that age or earlier, we've been trying to teach him.

He'll sit down on the potty for a bit but it looks like he sees it as more of a game than anything else. He hasn't actually used the potty yet.

My wife has managed to get him to identify a toilet need and express it, although often it seems to be after the fact.

I've read that a lot of people recommend just spending time and going overboard on taking them to the potty throughout the day for a few days. One article suggested every fifteen minutes! I think my mother also did something similar with us - that throughout a week she focused on getting us there regularly rather than trying to just time it.

Maybe that's the key. Building a familiarity of going there?

Wish I was on the other side being able to offer pearls of wisdom. Will just have to settle for hitching a ride on your thread!

[dannyboy75]

Thanks, it helps just knowing we're not alone! I had no idea it would be so stressful, but it's hard work. I was actually glad to come back to work today, for the first time ever!

Looking back to the first time we tried (when he was just 2) I don't think he was ready, as it was just hopeless. But that's not to say yours isn't, as they all develop at different times. I was a bit late to do most things as a nipper, e.g. learning to walk, use potty, etc. , so I think we just need to be patient with my son too.

We've been keeping a diary and he seems to need to wee about every 1-2 hours, which is why we stick him on the potty at those intervals (and after meals).

I did find this link on the NHS site, which amongst other things says if they need to wee more than once an hour then it may be a bit early to teach them (or you will need a lot of patience and spare pairs of pants!)

http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnan...ips.aspx#close

[Rob_B]

Just keep at it, 2 days is no time at all

I can't recall how long our little one took but it was the repetitive putting him on it that they eventually 'get'

[GoNz0]

weathers nice, get him outside with pants on, can piss and crap all over the place then

won't be so much fun running down his leg

ours learnt a lot at nursery, she took to it around 3 and now sleeps through without wetting the bed, a nappy is a safe place to do the business so the more time out of it the better, Lucy would go days without a number 2 as she wanted a nappy to do it in, in the end bribery won the day, we told her she really needed to be pooping in the toilet when we went to Cornwall for a week, that was the motivation needed.

If he hasn't taken to it by 3 years use the free 15 hours at Nursery your entitled to so he can be with a group of kids who are all trying to do it, they go to the loo in numbers like wimen at a night club!

[dannyboy75]

Thanks for all the tips. He does seem to be getting the hang of it gradually - still some accidents but he did ask for the potty twice today, which is definite progress

[deejayburnout]

Potty training has been the hardest thing for to get our daughter to do. Some days she can be awesome and others she can be bad. I suppose the secret to it is trying to get her understand the benefits of using the potty.

We keep telling her that big girls like her cousins and Dora the explorer ( her show of the moment ) don't wear nappys.

I think your son will go when he is ready. Bribing him with ice cream and chocolate may work too.

Good luck

[dannyboy75]

Well a week on, and we've definitely got the number 1's cracked. In the end there was no magic to it, it's simply to be a case of waiting until they're ready, and then just persevering

He's still having a few accidents when it comes to number 2's, but we're getting there on that too (thankfully, as it's not a pleasant business cleaning those up).

[Domestic_Ginger]

GJ!

I think they need to be interested in order to get it sorted. My oldest only started after going on holiday with his older cousins who were potty trained.

My youngest has absolutely no interest in using the potty. He's 2.5 as well.

[dannyboy75]

Yeah they definitely need some incentive. I forgot to mention that we bribed him with smarties for the first few days, but we've replaced those with stickers to put on a chart now.

Between 2.5 and 3 seems to be the best time. I read somewhere that only a minority of just-2 year olds can be potty trained, but by the age of 3, 90% of them can do it.

I also read in the papers yesterday that some 5 year olds are now being sent to school in nappies, because the parents can't be arsed to potty train them (or do most of the other things parents are supposed to do for their kids). Words fail me.

[deejayburnout]

I also read in the papers yesterday that some 5 year olds are now being sent to school in nappies, because the parents can't be arsed to potty train them (or do most of the other things parents are supposed to do for their kids). Words fail me.

People like that shouldn't breed. I would be ashamed if my daughter was 5 and still in nappies.

Our daughter is getting on well. She sat on the potty for 90mins A few days ago watching Dora the explorer on nextflix. Seems quite happy to use it now. Even brings the expulsions to us to show what she's done. Not the best thing to see when eating food.

[jaff90110]

I got son who is 3 and a half year. Still in nappy but he will sit on a seat of toilet and done it, But he doesn't like doing without nappy even he got training from the nursery,

[beet]

Our little guy took a while to get used to the potty. Its different for all kids as with most things, sitting, crawling, walking, talking etc. Eventually they will get it.

We used to have the potty downstairs in the living room so it was easily accessible and had him go around without a nappy or pants. I think its more comfortable for them to just go in pants or nappy if they have them on as that's what they are used to.

Galant: The fact your little guy is sitting on the potty is a good start! Better he sees it as a game rather than something horrible which he does not want to do. We found offering rewards (stickers etc) each time he sat on it worked well with our boy. Have you tried this?

[Galant]

Well, I'm happy to announce my little guy had his first successful visit to the potty!
Took a bit of wisdom from my mother who is currently visiting.
As mentioned before, he knew what the potty was and would even sit on it but never did anything.
The plan today was, 30-45 mins after a meal, to put him on the potty and have him stay there. We gave him a book and some favourite toys to hand. And used encouragement to keep him staying put. Eventually, after about 15-20 mins, he went!

Loads of praise afterwards and he was all smiles and dances.

So that's one down! He definitely knows what's needed now, so we just need to encourage and reinforce it!

Keep at it!

[boobalicious]

Best bit of advice, get your wife to do it lol

[dannyboy75]

Well, I'm happy to announce my little guy had his first successful visit to the potty!
Took a bit of wisdom from my mother who is currently visiting.
As mentioned before, he knew what the potty was and would even sit on it but never did anything.
The plan today was, 30-45 mins after a meal, to put him on the potty and have him stay there. We gave him a book and some favourite toys to hand. And used encouragement to keep him staying put. Eventually, after about 15-20 mins, he went!

Loads of praise afterwards and he was all smiles and dances.

So that's one down! He definitely knows what's needed now, so we just need to encourage and reinforce it!

Keep at it!

Nice one. That's pretty good going if he's not even two yet.

My lad has regressed a little bit on his number 2's, several accidents last week which are not very nice for the wife to clean up (especially as she has morning sickness )

Apparently some backwards steps are not uncommon though, especially with poos. We're trying to be firm with him without getting angry though, as the latter is meant to be highly counter-productive!