Potty Training ? & Funny Story

K

kristi

Cathlete
When is it too early to start potty training? My son will be 2 years old on June 20.

Funny story - last night I took him to the softball field to watch DH play. We had a wonderful time and he had fun playing with the other kids. He wore long overalls and a t-shirt. When we got there I noticed he was figdeting with his diaper. I had just changed it before we left the house so I knew it was not dirty so I thought nothing of it until the softball game was almost over and I look over at my son. He is glaring at me with that "Uh oh" look on his face and then I noticed his pants were wet on the insides on both sides all the way down. He had pulled the diaper tabs totally off. The diaper was still inside his pants. So I was carrying him to the car when I feel something hitting my leg, keep in mind that I had just passed 4 guys heading to the ball field. His diaper slipped out of his pants and the tab was attached to the bottom of his pants leg. I was so embarrassed. When I took him to daycare this morning his teacher told me he has been doing this for a while now. So this incident was not a fluke or an accident.

Is 22 months too young to start potty training? How do I go about doing this? When I go to the restroom he goes in with me and I tell him I have to go potty so he knows what that means. He even tells me when he needs his diaper changed. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
Hi Kristy. I have 2 children, a boy and a girl, both potty trained now. It's not an easy process at all. What I find that worked best for me was to buy a potty, and a potty video and book, show him the video and read the books each day. When you're home, let him stay naked and hopefully he'll be like my son where he sat on his potty endlessly. My daughter didn't like to just sit like that, but she was fine to use the toilet to go when she felt the need. I had a hard time trying to train my son when he was 2 yo. I finally gave up and waited until he was closer to 3 when he really "got it". I started a new thing at that time...it was a potty prize. I had my husband's daughter (12 at the time) sit on the potty, pretend to go, and then she got a candy or prize out of the bucket. He was fascinated and very interested from that point on. Another thing that Dr Phil says to do is to buy a betsy wetsy doll, have the doll go on the potty and pee, praise her, tell your son that his favorite super hero will call when he goes potty on the toilet. Give him lots of praise. If he has an accident, bring him to the potty like 8 times in a row, sitting him on it each time. (This really frustrated my daughter--the part about going back and forth to the potty so many times). But what I found that worked best was keeping them naked as much as possible so the could really feel it coming. And if you are out at stores or whatever, be sure to take him to the potty every 45 minutes or so. Hope it helps. If it doesn't work, or he seems frustrated, put it away for a few months and then get it back out.

Good luck!
 
Thank you Stacy for that advise. I too am trying to potty train my 2.5 year old. We have been at it for several weeks now, but I'm afraid it's going to be quite a process. Do you remeber how long it took for your kids?

Kristy, I say go for it. It sounds like he is ready if he tells you his diaper needs changed. I'm afraid I waited too long with my son. That there was a window of opportunity where he was aware, but then just got used to going in his diaper and now doesn't want to stop going in his diaper. He goes in the potty when I tell him to go, but will not go unless I tell him to. He will go in his diaper and say "I went potty in my diaper."

Amy
 
Thanks StaceyDeLapp & Amy for responding! The daycare where my son goes officially starts them with potty training when the toddlers are 2. If I can help in any way to try to get him started then I will even if he does not take to it very well at first. The idea of keeping him naked is a great idea for getting him started with his potty training. I've also been told that when I go potty, take his diaper off and put him on his own potty and tell him to go. Don't know if that will work, but I'm game for anything. Good luck Amy in your potty training adventure.
 
I just want to add that don't be frustrated if they are not ready, or if you try and it doesn't work. I waited til 3 with my oldest, and we stayed home and worked at it, it took 3 days. We are in the process of doing it with my 2nd boy. He is 3.

I prefer this to my friends who start at 2 and it takes months and months. I don't have the patience for that.

I don't think 2.5 is waiting too long. They just go thru obstinate stages. Good luck!

Jen
 
I have 4 kids and they were all differant when it came to potty training,but I have to say my easiest was my second daughter she wanted to everything her big sister was doing so she potty trained herself. but my now 4 year old is nearly 5 and he still wears pull ups because he won't go potty about 80% of the time.
As for funny stories of potty training, my second daughter loved the toilet so much she would climb in and swish herself around and just giggle. had to get pictures of that before I taught her not to do that.
 
Hi everyone,

I have a boy and a girl ages 8 1/2 and almost 4. What worked for me with both my kids was not using a potty. I bought those small toilet training seats that you put on the regular toilet seat. I felt that the transition would be easier especially if we needed to use a public restroom. I am a strong believer in waiting until the kids are 2.5 to 3 to start. I feel they are a little more mature physically and are less prone to accidents. This is just my opinion though. I started both my kids at 3 and took only about a week or two. They rarely had any accidents and if they did it was at night and I can literally count how many times. I used a reward system too. My son loved hot wheels so every 3 days he did well he got a new hot wheels car. Same with me daughter, she loved kid makeup. It worked really well. My friend started to train her daughter at age 2 and she still has accidents and she will be 4. I know that all children are different, but I do believe a child is a little more ready when they are a little older. Good luck!!

Aila:)
 
I always advise not using the Pull-ups. When they wet in the Pull-ups, they really can't feel it and aren't uncomfortable. Using normal panties or underwear or letting them run around naked will help them feel more aware of when they wet. It also motivates them to want to use the potty so they aren't miserable in wet pants. It may be messier for a few days but it really cuts down on the time it takes to train them. Good luck to you. Try not to get too stressed over it, they all learn eventually :)

Dawn
 
I would never use pull ups but in my son's case I am using them to save me from all the laundry. He doesn't care if it is underwear OR pull ups he does the same thing so I figured it is easier on me and my washing machine if I used them.
 
My son is now five and was not trained until he was three. I started seriously trying to train him when he was about two and a half. He was not the least bit interested. He is the type that it has to be his idea and no one elses. Oh brother!!!! Strong will in a big way. I did not push and did not scold when he "messed up". After he turned three I wanted to get a little more serious but it was not until we went on vacation (he was three and three months) that he trained himself. It seemed almost instantly. I did not want him running around my house naked and peeing on everything so I did not do that. When we went on vacation I said you are wearing big boy underwear and he did and he told us when he had to go. Yippee! It was great and thrilling. Before that time I did use the pullups which I think can be overused but they worked great for us while we were in the training process and I really do not think it slowed us down but just kept me from cleaning up constant messes. He probably only wore them for 2 to 3 months and then just at night for a while.

My basic strategy was just take him to the bathroom every 30 minutes to an hour and ask him in between that. This was just to make him aware of the situation. I did talk about it a lot with him so he would understand what I wanted him to do. We have had very few accidents, maybe 3 or 4 in all this time. I hope my next one is not as stubborn!!!;-)
 
Just wanted to add...
you could also try training pants, they are not pull ups, but thick-crotched cotton underwear. The department stores have them. It is very uncomfortable for the kid when he has an accident, but he doesn't leak all over your rug. I did use pull ups, too $, ....although lots of friends do.

Good Luck!
Jen
 
Thanks everyone for your help. The daycare will not officially try to start potty training until he is 2, but I figure in the meantime I will get him familiar with the potty and at least comfortable sitting on it. Maybe it will make the transition easier for him. At least he won't be scared of it. Thanks again!!

Kristi
 
I'm new to this forum and just want to say first how glad I am to have discovered this site and the all the inspiration I am finding both in the exercise videos and in the women here.

My twin boys will be 3 in August and I wonder if I may have made the mistake of getting potties for them too soon. I bought them one each (as we do everything in twos) when they were around 20 months at which point I told them what they were for, but figured it was going to be a while before they got serious about it. Part of the reason I got the potties when I did was because I just witnessed a friend succeed in having her boy trained at 24 months exactly. But it became apparant very fast that they were not close to being ready, so the potties have just kind of sat there like another permanent fixture in the bathroon. In retrospect, I should have removed the potties and tried again later (which is what I would recommend if he doesn't seem interested right away). I think that with my boys, they needed the potty to be something new and novel to get excited about, the element that was completely negated by my having the potties sit there for so long. Still, that said, they are starting to cooperate by peeing into the potty when, say, getting out of the bath. But, as others have said, I never wanted to push too much because I really believe that it is better to wait until they are interested. I was thinking of doing the toilet seat thing too, only I haven't got two toilets! Good luck and I'll keep you posted on my experience too.
 
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