Potty Training - Greeley,CO

I know this is a little late - I didn't read my "Daily Digest" from yesterday until just now. Anyway, I would recommend a potty chair that has a guard in the center to catch any stray "shooting". Something that I did with my son that really helped was - I put the potty chair in the living room and let him sit on it, pants off, and watch Elmo (or whatever he was into that day). They when he did pee in the potty, I made a big deal about it praising him and hugging and kissing him saying "yay!!!" He loved it and it made him feel like such a big boy! Then when he started getting the hang of it, I put him in training pants (I didn't use Pull Ups - in my opinion they are just another diaper). His daddy wears boxers and my son wanted to wear them too, so I bought the smallest ones I could find and told him as long as he could keep his underwear dry, he could wear boxers too!

Hi! I've heard that you can potty train a kid in one day if they're ready. If you catch them when they're ready, they potty train very easily. My mom had all of her kids potty trained by the time they were two. This is going to sound crazy but she says that if they ever go in their pants, just walk them back and forth from the bathroom to the kitchen etc. several times and explain that they need to go to the bathroom and not in their pants. Be very gentle with them. She claims it works. Good Luck!

the singing potty worked great for my daughter and we found alot of books that we read to her at bedtime at the Walmart. Also MMS work great for a reward. I never found a book for the parents to read that did any good or gave great advice

My advice is, you continue to introduce the potty and when they are ready they get it. Praise them when they go and be patient when they make a mistake. My daughter is almost 2 1/2 and has been practicing going to the potty and telling me about 50% of the time and I ask her each day, but when she says No we just wait until later and try again,. With my 5 year old, when she was ready, she basically told me, we would practice and introduce it probably each day and then when she turned 2 1/2 exactly she just told me every time and she never had an accident. I really beleive they know when they are ready and we need to be ready to see the signs. Good luck!

He is showing interest in the toilet, not necessarily in potty training. Does he stay dry for 3-4 hours or more? Is he often dry after naps? Does he have verbal skills to tell you what he needs help with or when he needs to go? Can he understand and follow simple directions like "put your pillow on your bed"? Can he dress and undress himself, or at least pull pants up and down? Unless you answered yes to most of these questions I would say he is not ready for toilet training. Most kids get inteested in the potty near this age, but it is very rare that they have the development of their nervous system or urinary tract to be able to really be trained (you can be trained to put him on the potty, but it won't help him learn to go on his own).
While yo wait for him to be ready, there are a few things you can do. Talk about his diaper being wet or poopy when you change him (don't make it sound negative - icky or yucky - just that it is). Let him follow you into the bathroom, and your husband too, and tell him you are going potty. Enjoy your time with a little one, they grow up way to fast.

Hi L.,

I would highly recommend that every time you or your husband go to the restroom, take him in there with you. He will learn the concept as you go. You can put cheerios in the toilet for him to "pee" on. And always applaud and praise him when he does go.

We like Toilet Training in a Day by Azrin. It works well. I have several friends who also swear by it, one who's done it with all 5 kids.

My best advice is to simply wait, 14 months is way too young to even think about potty training. I tried to start potty training my first child when she was 18 months and taht was too early, she was not fully potty trained until she was 2 1/2, so with my second daughter I just waited until she was 2 1/2 to start potty training her and she learned so fast, she was fully trained in only 1 month. My point is that children will learn a new skill best when they are developmentally ready for it. When your child is older I would suggest borrowing books from your local library rather than buying them, then you can see which ones you like and don't like for yourself. My library had a wonderful kit of books and videos and activities all in a plastic box that you coulod check out called the Potty Trainign Story Kit, they had one for girls and another one for boys.

My only advice is stay away from the "Potty training in less than a day" book by Arzin-Foxx. It is so forceful and stressful and I don't know how in the world it works for anyone. I have never felt inadequate in any aspect of being a mother until I tried to potty train using these methods-- it drove me to crying and despairing and needless confrontation with my child.

As far as potty seats, I really like the Graco soft seat trainer. It is easy for the child to get the bowl in and out to flush contents, and when your child feels to old to use the potty seat it converts to a stool and insert for the big toilet. It is easy to clean and designed well.

The earlier the better! As far as potties, I like to avoid noises and distracting accessories. The baby Bjorn Big Potty Chair is wonderful, with a big enough bowl for little boy parts; it looks a lot more comfortable. And I got the online book, Potty Training in 3 Days, and although we haven't made it in 3 days, her advice seems to be the most practical, and least expensive. Good luck!

we tried potty chairs but preferred the soft seat that goes on top of the toilet. it's less than $7 at walmart in the baby section. it takes up less room to store and is easier to clean. with a step stool, which you'll probably need for reaching the sink if you don't already have one, it works great. at this age, we just asked our boys whenever they were in the bathroom with us or when we could tell they were about to poop if they wanted to use the toilet.

L.,

So glad to see this posted, my son just turned 15 mo, and we have been doing some potty training for about a week now because he has been showing strong interest. We sign with our son and two weeks ago he said he had to go potty, with his hands, I dismissed it and then 5 - 10 minutes later he squated to give a #2...anyways, I have since started potty training, I always take him to the potty when he asks (generally 1 - 2 times a day) and if he is dry in the morning or after nap I also take him to the potty. I am not pressuring him to go in the potty all the time, but over the last week we have increased from 30% to 80% of the time I take him to the potty he goes. We have had several misses, but we celebrate with him each time he goes in the bathroom, I figure we can work on aiming later. As far as sitting vs. standing, I am still not sure what to do, so we do both, sometimes he stands over his potty chair and others he sits down...guess it is just what seem easiest.

As far as potty's go we got a Graco and it is an all in one, from potty chair, to seat, to step stool. We got this about a month ago and I have been letting him explore and play with it while when I use the bathroom, because he never wants to be out of my sight.

Jess

We bought a book for our daughter - The Potty Book for Girls. We got it from King Soopers. I read it to her at night for a few weeks and encouraged her to be like "Hannah"(from the book). One day, she just started going. Prior to that, she was often squatting and peeing on the floor.

We also got a potty chair called something like, The Royal Flush...". It was great at first as it sang a song when there was pressure on the toilet part. The problem was that after a short amount of time, the battery ran down and it would sing at all hours of the day or night. We ended up turning it off. My daughter actually prefers to use the big potty, so we use the potty chair as a step stool to get to the toilet. We probably could have saved the money and bought a step stool!

Be patient and good luck!

Try Toilet Training in Less than a Day. My sister has done it with her four kids, and I've done it with mine three. It really does work. Although, 14 months seems too young. Read this book first, and then decide if he's ready. Good luck.

R.

They say that most children are not developmentally ready to potty train until they are 18-26 months. My son was interested early, but with advice from both books and the pediatrician we held off. Sometimes if they cannot developmentally handle something they are delayed because of frustration in the future. I would recommend the book "Toilet Training in Less Than a Day" by Nathan Azrin and Richard Foxx. Another good read is "Toddler Wise" by Gary Ezzo. Good Luck!!

You have the right idea to start potty training early. It's good to get him used to a potty so it will be a natural developmental step. Since he is so young, I would definitely stick with a potty chair for the floor. We use something similar to the Baby Bjorn "Little Potty." You can find it at target.com for only $9.95. It's easy to keep clean since it's only one piece. I would also recommend getting the e-book from thepottytrainer.com for more tips. It costs $27 but it is well worth it. Or you could just sign up for the free tips by e-mail for an idea of what is in the book. Good luck!

Without making a huge deal of it, tape a white piece of paper on the wall by the toilet. Get some cheap stickers and tell him that you get to put one sticker on the page everytime you go, and if you poop in the potty you can pick two stickers on each time you go in the potty. This is only a toilet sticker, you only get it when you go potty in the toilet. It worked for my little one.

There's an awesome Fisher Price singing potty that we have. My daughter showed interest around that time too, but she's now almost 2 and still isn't potty trained. i just let her sit on it when she wants to...no pressure.

Hi,
Not traditional but, you can check out www.diaperfreebaby.org for lots of encouragement for a baby that is considered "too young" for potty training.

I've been doing EC with my son for over a year. He is 27 mon now. He does not tell us before he potties, but afterwards. We just put him on the potty after meals, and, if he's in a good mood, upon waking. Poop in a potty is better than poop in a diaper that gets all squished.

for boys, I learned it best to get a simple potty like first years which is basically a cup in a stand that can be used as a stool later. I mostly used the toilet when I could. Have him learn to lean over on his knees so he points down. Also, at this age, dont push the toilet per say...teach him to wah his own hands with soap, pull on his own pants and pull them down, etc. Start with the mechanics and routines first. then one day, he will just go around two and half. Don't rush a boy, take your time as nigh time can be far off from now. I have both and learned boys' bladders grow slowly.