[photo via parents.com]
As we venture into the world of potty-training for the first time (our little boy is 2 and has shown some interest and ability), I’m slowly realizing I have no idea what I’m doing. The experts say this, some say that, but I’m thinking the real experts are the mommies in the trenches: YOU. So it is with humility that I solicit the world of Petit Elefant and her hip, well-informed readers: Advice? Tips? Warnings? Please? I want to know it all and enter the trenches completely informed.
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Kimberly
...by day, making a home where the buffalo roam. By night, pretty much the same thing, punctuated by the occasional fantasies of sunny beaches, italian movies and sparkling lemonade.
both of my girls have practically potty-trained themselves.
(yes…i’m knocking on wood.)
i think the use of cloth diapers made it much easier and faster (my 17 month old is using the potty at least 50% of the time).
with my oldest we had a huge jar of coins in it…and she would get to pick out a coin for each thing she did right…(graphic…sorry)
– pee, poop, wipe (with help), flush, wash hands…etc.
it was less about the $$ and more about the opportunity to put the coins in her piggy bank. it worked for her.
obviously we phased it out at an appropriate time. :)
Pull ups never worked for my kids. They're like diapers, even with the "cool alert". I would try the potty training in a day, and if it didn't work, I would wait a few weeks and try again.
I set the timer for every 20 minutes or so and take them each time. We'd read books, watch movies on a little t.v. in the bathroom, etc.
I also had a sticker chart for each time they went, and had a jar of M&M;'s that were motivation for going. My older daughter prizes for pooping worked, that sat on the top of the shelf in the bathroom. My 2nd daughter, chocolate worked better than prizes. Figure out what makes them tick.
Tinkle targets (cheerios or tissue paper) work great for little boys.
Good luck!
Don’t do it until he’s really, really ready. We tried in a vain effort for a YEAR. I’ll never make that mistake again.
If potty training in a day doesn’t work, shelve it, and for a couple months. No amount of toys, candy, love, or anything else worked until he was ready.
They DO eventually all get trained, but for the sake of my sanity (as well as our husband, oh and the carpets) we’re not going to go through heroic efforts.
I waited ’til he was 3. Simple as that. We talked about it for a year, every time I changed his diaper: “No more diapers when you’re 3!” and on the night of his 3rd birthday, he wouldn’t let us put a diaper on him. Sure there were a few accidents, but we stayed home for a day or two, I made him sit on the potty every hour (with a timer for a reminder), and it was done. He’s only wet the bed one time. The hardest part was #2. We went to Target, bought a toy he REALLY wanted, put it up on a high shelf and told him he could play with it the first time he did poops in the potty. He was thrilled when he finally got it. When he had a few accidents, I took the toy back and put it up on the shelf…and no more accidents after that. So, wait ’til the kid is ready, and talk about it a lot beforehand. That’s my advice.
We didn’t have much of a problem with getting my little one to pee in the toilet but she would wait until she had a pull up on (during naps and bedtime) to do her “stinkies.”
SO, I made a chart. A picture of a prize and five little circles leading up to each. For every stinkie she did in the toilet she got to put a sticker on the chart. For every five stinkies she did she got a prize. Things like books, coloring books, a puzzle…
Oh and we talked about stinkies and her chart and her prizes CONSTANTLY. She completely understood the whole thing. Well she was 2 1/2 already so maybe that’s why. :)
It worked for her and I wished I had thought of it sooner.
My twins are about to turn two and I’ll definitely do the same thing. Hopefully it works again!
i agree with the general consensus; do NOT push it–wait 'til he's ready! my just-turned-3 year old girl has showed some interest and gone pee & poop in the toilet off & on for the past SEVERAL months. however, i can't say that she is really ready to give up diapers. and i don't have the patience/tolerance for the "potty training in a day" thing. i'm not worried about the fact that she's already 3 and still wearing diapers (maybe 'cause she's my 3rd and i have already potty trained with two boys). i know she'll get the hang of it before kingergarten. :) it's probably my fault that she's not totally trained; it is one of my VERY LEAST favorite things about being a parent. :) i didn't use pull-ups for my boys. my 2nd boy was OBSESSED with Hotwheels and putting a package up on a high shelf helped, but in his own time…i thought he'd go poop right away, but it still took him a few weeks. with my first, my two good friends were training their kids who were good friends with him, so i started working with him at 2 years and 8 months old. he had more accidents than i'd like to deal with now with my girl, but i only had him at that point, so it was easier. …oh, for what it's worth, i have a friend who had worked with her 3 year old boy for a good, frustrating while before trying pull-ups, and POOF! he was potty trained. it's such an individualized process… :) good luck…!
We used a jellybean jar. I feel like it is easier with girls. We had #1 down very quickly, but struggled with #2. My son loved to pee in the potty cup standing up. Not sure if that made it hard for #2? good luck!
i love your blog too! feel free to share my mini-pumkin wreath!
I agree with everyone else. Don’t push until they are really interested. I found that pull ups didn’t work we had to just go to undies. For a little while we used the plastic undies over the normal ones just in case of accidents. I made the mistake of changing him into a pull up for outings which I won’t do with my second it was too confusing. He also didn’t like the potty seats but did much better with the small toliet seat that we put on the lid of our toliet. It’s a hard job… For messes if you have them I LOVE urine-be-gone. I usually get it at Walgreens but it’s pricey!
Take care,
Kim