Potty Training - Saint Louis,MO

When I was doing daycare I was potty training 10 kids 18 mo to 2 1/2yrs. I had to little ones who were not even 2 and they were potty trained. The little girl was in big girl underwear and I took her to the potty every hour. The little boy on the other hand was different. He was in pull ups for awhile and I would take him every hour, he went potty everytime, so I talked with mom and we started big boy underwear, it was different for him and he was having accidents in between the time I took him potty, so I just changed they way I did things. I took him every 30 min and he did great never had an accident. I know that may sound like alot of work and it was but it was worth it. Little kids get so excited about using the "big" potty, and if we can potty train early then YAY !!! My daughter will be 18 months next month and I plan on starting the potty training journey then. She is already interested in the potty, so I say go for it ! Good Luck !!!

He is not too young, and you are thinking ahead that is great. First of all you need to relax with it. Remember he has had a diaper a very long time, he wont give it up or learn this new thing over night.

Boys have a thing gong for them that girls dont. when the air hits the private area, sometimes they will pee any way. Begin by allowing him to watch his daddy in the bathroom. Some little guys want to pee the way daddy does and they dont do well sitting down. Other little guys can do it either way and it is no big deal. If standing is more his thing and he is too short, you can have him stand on the seat while you hold him. He will be facing the back of the toilet. If you decide a stool will give him the right highth be careful. If he falls off or loses his balance it can make him not want to try again. One thing you need to be very careful about is watching the seat when it is up. Little guys are at the right highth to have the seat come back down on them and hurt the private area if it lands on it.

A lot of it will just come with practice. You will get to used to the way his little body works and know approximately when he should be in the bathroom. Rewards are great, there is no need to get upset or make him feel bad if he has an accident, he will get it in time.

We're just starting to introduce our daughter to her little potty seat (and she's even peed on the big toilet several times in the past few days!)and she's 18 months. We're not "seriously training" yet, but just getting her the idea that you can pee (and poo?) on a potty. We'll probably start after the holidays to see if she takes to more "planned" training. We just put out her little potty seat and she likes to sit on it when I go to the bathroom. She hasn't done anything in there yet.
When she wakes from a nap (especially if she's dry), I ask her if she wants to pee on the potty and hold her up on the toilet and sometimes she tinkles. I celebrate, we wave to the peepee as it is flushed away, and put her diaper back on. If she resists or says No, I don't push the topic at all and if she wants down, even if she didn't go, I get her right down. I want to make it fun and no pressure since she's still young, but I don't want to miss the opportunity of her interest to "mimic" us.
I really don't believe you have to wait until 2 1/2 or 3 or later to potty train. Each kid is different and as long as they're not resisting it or upset, why not get them started? I'm sure the diaper companies would like us to wait until they are 16! LOL There's no rush, but there's also no reason to hold off if they seem interested when you LET them try (rather than MAKE them try). There's even some who think there's a window between 18 months and 2 1/2 years for most kids when they're most receptive to potty training...they say something like "if you think of a dog/puppy...they might be more mature and understand you when they are 2 years old, but they're more easily housetrained around 6 months". Maybe the same is true for the kiddos? Just a thought.
Good luck!
PM me...we can chat our way thru this adventure! LOL

S.,
Of course it's good to start thinking ahead, but don't get upset if it takes a long time. A lot of boys aren't potty trained until they are 3-4 years old. We started when my son (now 3 1/2) was just under 2 and it took until a few months ago. He still resists at times. He sometimes hides to go poop in his underwear. We are still doing pull-ups at bedtime. My 2 year old daughter is already pooping in the "big" potty. Boys just seem to take longer. Don't get discouraged. You'll find what works for him and you. We had to finally go the underwear only route, cause the pull-ups just didn't work. We spent a solid week cleaning pee off furniture until he got the hang of it. Good luck.

S., I understand wanting to get away from diapers, but to be considering potty training when your son is only 1 1/2 is too early! Is he showing signs of interest? Is he showing signs of being ready, goes for long periods being dry, wakes up dry? The potty training process can be very frustrating, and starting too early would make it even more so.

M.

my son was about your son's age when we first introduced him to potty. he's 26 months now and we're still at the very beginnings of training. when he was younger i bought it for him and showed it to him, and he acted interested so i thought, why not? and put him on it. he went a few times but became less and less "okay" with it, almost to the point of acting scared of it. after awhile i gave up, then started trying again recently, just after his 2nd birthday. i quit asking him if he wanted to go, just started putting him on it first thing every morning. he doesn't really "get" it yet, he knows when he goes and that it's a good thing, but doesn't really seem to care whether he does or not. but i figure it's a good habit to get into. i'm kind of been waiting for him to tell me he has to go, and he hasn't. so i'm not pushing. but i talked to one mother who said she was very laid back about it, and never pushed her daughter either, and that it took almost a year to get fully trained, from the point my son is at now. just my experience so far. good luck!

Good Morning S., I would start (if you think he is ready) by taking him to the potty and just letting him see what it is for. Maybe have daddy take him a few times. Ask him if he wants to try pp. Patience also is required. You might need to get him his own potty chair, as sometimes the big one frightens little folks.

All kids train differently. Our eldest I had trained in 2 days at 19 months. His brother was 2 1/2 before we got him interested.

If he doesn't seem interested just wait and don't try to force him. Let Daddy do the demonstrating...lol
Come on Buddy Lets go Potty!!

God Bless,
K. Nana of 5

Not sure what others have responded, so sorry if I repeat. You can start by showing him how to pull his pants up and down before and after diaper changes. He can learn how to wash his hands after diaper changes. Talk to him about having a wet diaper-"Is your diaper wet or dry? Oh, your diaper is wet, lets change it." This will help him learn to tell you when he has a wet diaper.

Please don't push it too early. Physically, a child won't be able to learn to go voluntarily until a long motor neuron that reaches from the brain to the sphincter and urinary muscles is completely covered in a fatty sheath, called myelin. This is usually complete around two years of age, but of course there is a large window. If this is not complete, it doesn't matter what you do, it won't happen because they do not physically have control over those muscles yet. If they are ready physically, you will see some readiness signs, like interest, being able to tell you when they are wet or need to go, disliking a wet or dirty diaper, being able to stay dry for longer periods, etc.

Accidents are normal long after a child is considered "potty trained."

Best wishes!
C. G

The method that has worked for many families (including ours) is cold turkey. When your child shows interest in the potty (or in our youngest's case - no diaper could hold one of his pees) & can hold it for long periods of time (such as overnight) then put him in underware. Do not use pull-ups except in the car, because kids know that they are just fancy diapers. My oldest is 7 & he told me (a few weeks before he turned 3) that he wanted to ware underware & that was it. HE did ask for a diaper/pull-up when he needed to poop, but we told him that he needed to use the potty not his pants. He only had a few pee & poop accicents & to this day he has never had an accident at night.
Our youngest will be 3 next week. We started him when he was 34 months because he had been introduced to the potty (& had little interest), but every brand of diaper (including Goodnights) he could out pee. He would hold it all night & for hours during the day. When he would finally pee the diaper couldn't soak it up fast enought & when they did it still ran out & soaked his clothes. So we went cold turkey on him. We bought the thick underware without the plastic cover so he could feel the pee run down his leg when he had an accident, (It helps kids realize the cause & effect of peeing -'i pee & my clothes get wet & cold'). He has had quite a few pee accidents (especially in the begining of training) & a few poop accidents. He has been fully trained for about a month. He goes to the potty without me having to tell him, but I still tell him that he needs to go potty before we leave the house.
Every child is different. I hope the suggestions you get from all the mama's gives you a good variety of ideas!

God Bless & Merry Christmas!

I think your son is probably too young to potty train. I don't believe that kids really have the control over those muscles that young. Wait until this time next year. Save yourself and him a lot of frustration and heart ache. My little guy turned 2 in October, sits on the potty and loves his sister's night time pull ups (almost 4 and still doesn't have the control even though she so desperately wants to wear her panties at night time like her friends). He takes his diapers off and puts on a pull up every opportunity he gets. But, he doesn't have the muscle control. So, we let him sit on the potty and we let him wear a pull up, but we arent' pushing him. I think that is the way to go. Let him sit (or stand depending on how you are going to train him) on/next to a potty and flush it if he potties in it. But, don't stress yourself out. Let him get used to the idea and like it. That's my advice.

A few words of advice...

Once you start, tons of people will tell you that he won't train until he's ready-they're right!! You can guide him along and encourage him, but the little boogers can be stubborn!

Try not to overuse pull-ups. My daughter used them for a long time because she knew she could go in them. Then we had a really hard time night-training her. I would hold off on the pullups until he's close to ready. When I've introduced my kids to potty training, I ask them to go when I'm doing diaper changes.

Avoid public restrooms at all costs. When my second child (first son) was learning to poop on the potty, an automatic flusher scared the living daylights out of him! To this day, at 5 1/2, he still pees with his hands over his ears when we're in public!

If you have trouble getting him to use the potty for the first time, try putting his feet into the warm bath water, then transfer him to the toilet. Then if he goes, THROW A PARTY! Sometimes getting them to understand what they're supposed to do is the hard part.

Good luck, and have fun!

Two is kind of young for boys but if you think he is ready. Just take the diaper off and put him in underwear. Buy some of his favorite character underwear so he will want to wear them.

Ask him if he needs to go every hour for the first day and then every two hours and so on until he is telling you when he needs to go. If he is ready, you won't have that many accidents. Also, reward him everytime he goes for the first couple of days until he starts telling you that he has to go, then the rewards can stop. Also, you can tell him that he will get a new toy or some other big reward after a whole day without accidents.

Those ideas worked for me. I would not do the pull ups.... they seem to prolong the whole thing. You may have a few loads of laundry to do but it is less hassle and less expensive than pull ups. And remember, our mothers and grandmothers didn't have pull ups to fall back on when we were potty trained.

That's my advice.... good luck!