Potty Training - What Worked Well for You?

What worked for me was putting my boys in underwear. Being wet in a diaper and we in undies is very different. With each of them the first day we had a lot of accidence, my oldest wanted his pull up back badly, but I said no, once a big boy you do not go back to being a baby. The second day we had 2 accidents, and than one every couple of days, and so one and so forth. But you have to be willing to stick to it once you start, because if you keep going back and forth they will learn that if they do not want to try all they have to do is pee in their pants a few times and you will give in.

Spend a few days with them just wearing underwear. Have NO other distractions. Watch their bodies. If they're dancing, holding self, etc... then put them on the potty. Ask them to tell you when they need to go, over and over and over. If they ask to go, or have an accident, or are dancing, those are the ONLY reasons to put them on the potty. That way they associate it with actually GOING, or feeling the need to go. DON'T use a schedule, we dont' pee on schedule, they won't need to either.

Feed them lots of salty snacks and liquids, so they have to go a lot! And prepare for them to have TONS of accidents, but be cool about it and understand that each accident they're learning. 20-30 pair of underwear for each kid the first day is NORMAL, it gets to be much less the next day, and next. And soon they're done.

I'm very strongly recommending this because it deals with training them to notice what signs their body is telling them about needing to go. It works.

Best wishes!

My advice is to rid of the diapers! :) Sounds like they are ready for the next step. My dd was the same way, and I put her in underwear. She definitely had several accidents, but the feeling of wet underwear is definitely a motivator to use the potty (as opposed to the diaper, which pulls moisture away from their skin). I also did rewards (a jellybean) for the first several days after successful peeing on the potty. Good luck!

Hi A.
My advise would be to don't use the pull ups.
What I did was to take nappies away completely during the day and got some nice underwear.He had a few accidents for the first few days but quickly got used to it.Remind them to go to the toilet.
I put a nappy on my son only at night for approx ten days and then took them away completely.Make sure they use the toilet before bed and/or if they wake at any stage during the night.
Try to get rid of the nappies as soon as possible as I think it confuses them.
Best of luck.
It is so fantastic when the nappies are gone completely
B. k.

Potty Training in a Day is a great resource that worked for my daughter.

Use training pants at home instead of pull-ups and if possible provide a prize of some sort for using the potty. Currently with my daughter, I purchased a sticker book and some hard untearable motion stickers to use as potty prizes. Every time she urinates in the potty, I add a sticker to her sticker book. I also went to the Dollar Tree and purchased a doll, toy bottles, and doll clothes to use as prizes for bowel movements. She is doing great. I also have used in the past with her a 101 piece plastic food set. I gave her one piece every time she urinated and offered her 2 every time she had a bowel movement. Due to constipation pain from in the past, she has just started this last week to have bowel movements in the potty. She still cries while having them so I suspect that they are still painful.

With my boys, I offered matchbox type cars as a prize for urinating in the potty and a quarter for a bowel movement. We saved our quarters in a piggy bank and when we had $2.25, we went to the Walmart and bought a larger car (We were collecting a certain kind and that was the exact cost with tax) The matchbox cars that we used were Kids Connection (Walmarts own brand) but they don't sell them anymore, instead they have Maisto brand. With my oldest son, they averaged 40 cents apiece in the large package and with my youngest son, they averaged about 46 cents apiece. With my boys, it got a little expensive so I decided after they were doing quite well, that if they had an accident they would give me a car and if they used the potty I would give them a car. I also collected cars when I had asked them to pick them up and they refused. This way I was able to replenish my collection without spend more money. I would not use the Dollar Store cars because they are cheaply made and break easy. They could become a chocking hazard very easily.

Definitely move off the diapers because today's diapers keep them from feeling the wetness.

I've also heard of picking a time when you can stay home with them and let them run naked for a couple of days.

I didn't plan that, but my son was going through a naked stage at 2 and because of it he pretty much potty trained himself in a couple of days - granted it was a messy couple of days, but worth it. I think being able to have a visual to the uncomfortable feeling helps their brains connect it much better. We have hard wood floors so this was an easy clean up, may not be the best choice if you have nice carpet.

Absolutely do not discipline! They are just learning to read & respond to their own body's cues. Why on earth should they be punished for something they don't even understand yet?

It actually sounds like you're doing everything right. You cannot make them potty. It takes lots of time & patience on your part. Reward-even if it's just lots of praise-every time they make it to the potty. Clean up the mess & move on if they don't. Don't make it a big deal. My daughter was pooping on the potty long before she was peeing. It just took her longer to get it. Don't try to rush it. It will happen when it happens.

Good advice so far, and thank you everyone for answering this question because I also just started training my daughter. She is 22 months old and doing really well since i took away the diapers. We went last night and let her pick out a toilet seat for herself, and she picked out the pink one and she is in love with it. Today was our first full day of training and we have had a few accidents, but that was in the morning when I forgot to remind her to go pee. If I take her to the bathroom every 1/2 hour to an hour she goes on the potty. No poops yet though, she wanted her diaper on to do that.

what i did was i quit the diapers cold turkey! It worked. My daughter has been trained for about 2 months now and she"ll be 3 in jan. I put her own little potty in the livingroom, cuz thats where we spend most of our time...so when she had to go..it was right there til she got used to having controll over her bladder. The first day is really hard...cuz you put regular panties on them...let them pick them out...tell them that its time to be a big girl/boy. They get really excited about that. Tell them to try not to get them dirty. The first day..there will be several accidents. My daughter only had accidents with pee...not number 2. The second day was totally different. SHe didnt like the feeling of getting wet...so she learned more control...still had a few accidents but didnt drench her panties...just a little damp. By the 3 day...she'd just have a spot of damp here and there. I agree with not using the diapers and cutting it off cold turkey because the diapers today prevent the kids from feeling the sensation of being wet. Once they feel that...its uncomfortable for them...and they wont want to do that anymore. This is what worked with me...and thats what my mother did with us kids as well, and there's 4 of us and it worked. Id give it a try. Stay patient tho...the first few days are hard! Oh and i only use pull ups at night. Night potty training is a whole other topic. And at first i used the cold sensation pull ups for outings. Like if we went to the store...but she only used a few of those and turned out she didnt need those, but i wanted them as a precautionary measure. I also let her pick out some fruit snacks of her choice. SHe likes dora and tinker bell so she got some of those. And when she would go pee or poo in the potty without first wetting her panties..she got one gummie..not the whole bag..just one. That way she new she did good. But if she wet in her panties first before she got on the potty..then she wouldnt get one, but i would explain to her why. I didnt scold her or anything like that. Just told her that she only hets a treat when her panties are dry when she sits on the potty. It worked for me! Good luck!

Hi A., I used reward and discipline( I did start a lot earlier than you are starting,) don't use anger but do discipline. Be consistant. And have husband help, I know they are girls, but he can still help. My husband was hands on with me training our boys, by 2 years old he was teaching our boys how to stand up and go. NO DIAPERS, NO PULL UPS, training pants only, in training pants or panties, they won;t like being wet. Been a mom for 27 years, and a daycare provider for 13 years. Potty trained many many children over the years. J.

How old are you and what is your feeling for potty training? I have let my son lead how much he wants to do. If he wants to wear underwear, he has to go when we say, otherwise, it is diapers. We bought some underwear like daddy's and that has made a big difference. He doesn't yet always seem to know when he has to go, so we just go every so often and hope he is able to pee when he goes.

I'm ready to start potty training my 2 and half year old son too. What worked for our oldest was a "one day boot camp" - no diapers, just underwear or naked all day long, along with LOTS of water, pretzels, and other salty foods :) He was over 3 when he did it, so it was fairly easy...I'm thinking my 2.5 year old will be a bit more time-consuming.

It took a while for us to get #2 on the potty down - he would always ask for a pull up or diaper, and we just did our best to encourage him to sit on the potty seat adapter. We also offered him choices ~ want me to sit in here with you, or would you like privacy? Do you want a book or a toy while you're on the potty? And then tons of praise!!!

Good luck Mama, they'll get it in no time! :)

You are doing great. Just keep putting them on the potty and they will get there. Seriously, they just need time and encouragement.

Also, avoid pull-ups and put them in training pants (gerbers, you can pick them up at Target).

Take it slow. Praise them when they do it. Don't make too big a deal out of it. Never be negative or punitive. They'll provide a little peer pressure for each other so that may speed it up. A lot of kids aren't ready till 3 or later.

I am convinced after potty training my own daughter and seeing my nephews through theirs as well....as long as diapers and pull ups are an option, they will use them.

Go to undies and that's it. They will be forced to start to recognize the feeling when the pee is running down their legs! When they go in a diaper, they don't have to pay attention.

Pull ups are a waste of money and they don't work. Good Luck!