***For starters, I'm totally against talking about kids bodily movements with anyone other than my husband. Seriously, some things don't need to be discussed. Some things I don't care to hear about. But I really need some help here, so I'm keeping it clean, but ya, something has to be done.
I want to try and potty train Tru. I have no clue what I'm doing. He likes sitting on the potty but has yet to actually do anything in the potty...
I think that if I can get him to do his thing in the potty even just once then we will be getting somewhere, or making some sort of progress here.
Here is my plan.
- Setting him on the potty when he wakes up in the morning in hopes that he will really need to go and will do it.
- Rolling up my rug and letting him run around the house in his big boy underpants and running him to the potty when he pees on himself (thank goodness for leather couches and hardwood floors huh).
- Bribing him with treats when he does actually go in the potty (we've yet to get this far...)
- Once he gets the hang of it, start rewarding him for staying dry...
So... if you have any tips, books you've read, words of wisdom I would really appreciate it. It's only Tuesday and I'm about ready to try this later. (I'm also fully aware that he may not be ready for potty training and I'm okay with that too).
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Naturally Meg
13 comments:
Well, as much as you don't want to talk about it, I'm one mom who would love a play by play! I am no more knowledgeable because I haven't done it before but I would definitely make sure that HE is ready and not just you. From what I've heard from lots of moms if they are ready it should only take about a week (or even less) and if they aren't ready you are only setting yourself up for months of accidents and clean up. Most of the boys I know haven't been ready until they are almost 3. Zach sure isn't although I've been making a subtle effort for a while now. Good luck and keep us updated!
I dont know that I can be of much help but I can tell you what we did with Olivia and what we are trying with Zachary. When Olivia was just shy of turning 3, I did the put her in big girl undies route, she had one or two accidents and then we were good for both day and night. With Zachary I decided to wait until after he turned 3, and then that turned into after we went on vacation in April, so we too are in the process. With him I tried the big boy undies, ummm yeah he didnt get it, we tried treats when he went, ummm yeah he liked the sugar but it didnt seem to make much of a difference. So currently we have him in pullups during the day, I try to remember to have him try every hour, somedays he stays dry all day other days (like today) we get a lot of new pullups on. He does seem to have #2 figured out so that is nice. I think when it warms up outside we might try going barebottomed in the yard until he "gets" it. Good luck!!
I dont know that I can be of much help but I can tell you what we did with Olivia and what we are trying with Zachary. When Olivia was just shy of turning 3, I did the put her in big girl undies route, she had one or two accidents and then we were good for both day and night. With Zachary I decided to wait until after he turned 3, and then that turned into after we went on vacation in April, so we too are in the process. With him I tried the big boy undies, ummm yeah he didnt get it, we tried treats when he went, ummm yeah he liked the sugar but it didnt seem to make much of a difference. So currently we have him in pullups during the day, I try to remember to have him try every hour, somedays he stays dry all day other days (like today) we get a lot of new pullups on. He does seem to have #2 figured out so that is nice. I think when it warms up outside we might try going barebottomed in the yard until he "gets" it. Good luck!!
The first time we tried it with Joshua we have him a treat each time and after a while it ended up that he would only go when he wanted a treat! So I wouldn't recommend that.
The second time (and the time that worked) we put underwear on him and let him walk around just reminding him every few minutes. There will be accidents but they should decrease over time.
What type of potty do you have for him? Joshua wouldn't use the seat type on the toilet much but liked having the small potty you can get from Ikea.
This sounds SO odd but the the first few times Joshua needed us in the bathroom with him in order to go. Sometimes seeing us do the same encouraged him.
Ok enough personal info! Good luck!
We noticed that Jane was dry at night and would fill her diaper in the morning, that is when we started. She went at the same time every day, all day. Even then, we didn't do 'all day' stuff until we had her go every morning on the toilet for months. Once she had the first pee of the day down, then we started full force with during the day. So basically Jane was going on the toilet for three months before she was training during the day. After that, I didn't put Jane in a pull up during the day if I could get away with it. Other than her 'need for attention because new baby is coming' we've had no problem with her. Don't push. In my experience with kids, those who have problems for years were because there parents/grandparents felt that they need to be trained before they were ready. We'll talk more. Call me, I have stories.
I'll be honest. I was a lazy mom when it came to potty training my kids. I didn't want to deal with it until they were ready. I just waited until they took the initiative themselves and it was a piece of cake. Not many accidents and it wasn't a big struggle. Scott gets all the credit for being a stickler about it though....maybe you could ask him for tips :)
a mom of 4 boys told me to always make a lil boy sit! so good job! i did a 3 day hard core routine, sit every 20-30 minutes (i set a timer, so i wasn't the one always nagging her, she'd hear it and make her way to the potty), m&m for a reward for sitting or going (getting them to try is the biggest battle, even post potty training, so i always rewarded her for sitting), and we moved story time to the potty. i wouldn't read to her unless she was on the potty, she loves books so it was great motivation. the first time she went was during a story and she was as shocked as i was, it was all down hill after that.
good luck. oh, and the best advice i read was to never get upset, find a reward for yourself as well. it's really hard work and no matter what it's a lot of cleaning. so, if you are upset, walk away til you are calm so your kid never associates intense feelings with going potty. oh and saying things like "you need to stay dry", kids know what it means to be wet, make being wet the enemy and it helps.
i'm not an expert, but this worked for me and i read it in a book online by a lady who claims to be an expert. it really did work in 3 days and i did it when kaci (a girl, which is easier i hear) was almost 2. oh, and if you're little one doesn't like the potty, you may need to start by merely making the potty a safe fun place to be (ex: the story time thing).
I agree with the other comments. They gotta be ready or it isn't gonna happen and you'll both end up frustrated. I've heard that girls are easier to train than boys so it might not help but I just went cold turkey and put Emily in undies all day. She had a few accidents the first day, one the second day, and has been accident free since then. We used the treat thing too and small rewards for milestones. (Going #2 - this was a challenge for her for the first few days, staying dry through naps, no accidents for two days, etc). I think you just have to find the method that works for your kid. I had a lot of people tell me sticker charts work well so we tried that and Emily could have cared less. So it might just take some trial and error. Good luck!
You have good ideas. Try them, but be prepared that he may not be ready. If so, make it no big deal, put the things away, and then try again in 6 months. He will probably be ready by then.
Barrett had been three for almost 4 months before he was ready. I was feeling super stressed and like a failure at potty training (my niece, who is 6 months younger, was trained when she was 2). We tried treats, a sticker/reward calendar chart thing, aiming at fruit loops. It didn't do much but make Barrett feel bad for not getting it - and me mad for it not working. After a few tries at official training, I just gave up and figured he'd get it when he was ready. It happened after I put him in preschool. After one month, he literally potty trained himself overnight. One day he was completely in diapers. The next day he said he needed to go potty....and he hasn't had an accident since (even at night). This is probably not helpful AT ALL, but I do think boys are harder and generally take longer to train.
Reward with chocolate milk. Then they have to pee more and they get more practice in.
Also, unless they're ready it's not worth trying to potty train. If he's not picking it up within a couple of days, just stop and try again in a month or so.
Christian was really difficult to potty train and mostly because he would have rather played than worry about anything else. Another difficult thing was that he would give no visual "signs" like some kids. Vivian is much easier to read in that department. One of the best things was for him to have play-dates with kids who were potty-trained (who's mother's didn't mind a little observer).
Another thing we did was rather than give candy treats, we got a box of 50 die-cast cars from Oriental Trading Company for around $20 that we gave to Christian when he went--that was much better motivation than candy...(healthier plus more of a thing that one collects) he did however get a candy for a dry day. I also made a chart for amount of days clean that led up to a goal...every three days totally dry he got to another goal (a new movie, a trip to the zoo...etc) After two full weeks he was totally clean (13 days makes a habit). I also didn't worry about him staying dry at night since he's a sound sleeper so I kept him in pull-ups until his 4th b-day.
Honestly the most important thing that helped him even start trying was one day when I sat down with him at breakfast and told him that he was in charge of himself. He was a big boy and if he wanted to be potty-trained it was really up to him. It took that talk a day to marinate but the next day he actually started making an effort.
Good Luck.
I read the book Potty Training in One Day. I think it was helpful. It's program is kind of what you are talking about. First the child gets rewarded for sitting on the the potty, and a few treats for actualy doing their thing. Then they start getting treats for keeping their pants dry.
I love that someone suggested a treat for you for accomplishing the task...that is awesome! Cause it really is A LOT of work. Especially if your child isn't ready for it. I think I pushed Eden a little too much. I saw too many $$ signs every time I had to buy new diapers. I think this is a BAD reason to potty train.
So, if you are patient, just wait till they are ready.
Chocolate milk as a reward. Awesome treat! That's what the book suggests. Using special drinks and salty snacks as treats. The salty stuff will make them drink more. The more they drink, the more practice they get.
I have a friend who's sister did the potty train method in one day, but she combined it with a Princess theme. The kid wore a princess hat when she sat on the potty. Her Mom dressed up like a princess too. She had fun with it. It was a lot of work for one day, but that's all it took! She has trained 4 of her kids this way, and it works for them. I think for the boys she has them dress up like super heroes or something.
Anyway, hope this helps. It's a super long message. sorry about that! ;-p
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