Any advice on potty training my 2yr old son?

Answer 1

Both of my boys (ages 2 and 4) are potty trained and I trained each of them in one week. This is what I did (maybe it will work for you!)

First, wait until your son is ready (interested in the potty, can pull pants up and down by himself). Then, go to the store and get big boy underpants (let him pick the print). You'll want at least 12 pair. We also used a potty seat (the kind that sits on top of the seat of a regular potty) and a stepstool (for getting up to the potty seat). I don't like the potties that have to be emptied by parents into the "real" potty. Yuck.

Day One: Talk up the potty. Put your son in his big boy underpants. Take him to the potty (have him sit down and tuck in his bits) every hour. Little kids can't always tell if they are going to pee or poop. Having boys sit down at first lets them potty successfully even if they don't know what's going to happen.

Give him lots of water or juice. When he goes in the potty, celebrate. (We did the party dance - not to be confused with the potty dance - and called all our extended family on the phone to tell them, letting him do the talking.) When he has an accident, tell him that it's okay- accidents happen- and clean him up. Remind him to use the potty next time. When you take him to the potty, be prepared to sit there with him for up to 30 minutes; bring books, toys, etc.

You might want to use pullups at night, during long naps, and during long trips in the car for the first few months.

Days Two - Five: Keep it up. You'll go through underpants like Kleenex, so plan on doing lots of wash. Do NOT give up. Be consistent.

Day Six - This is the day when I almost gave up (both times). Son #2 went through 15 pair of undies in about 2 hours. Be prepared. You will almost certainly have a BAD day right before you have your breakthrough day.

Day Seven - Breakthrough day. Accident free all day. We claim potty-training success.

After about a week of being accident free (by virtue of being taken to the potty often and being able to hold it in between) each of my boys advanced to a stage at which he could tell me ahead of time that he needed to go. Now, I mostly take them when they ask to go, but we still do "preventative potty breaks" before car trips, before bedtime, etc.

This really did work for me; hopefully it will work for others as well.

Answer 2

He has to have all the ingredients, be aware before he has to go, be able to pull down his pants himself, be able to tell you he has to go and go longer periods of time without peeing or pooping his diaper. The biggest hurdle is a boy being able to know ahead of time and understanding the urge, most little boys that age are awfully busy and may not even think about it. Don't push it or it will be a battle of the wills and it will take longer...right now use the potty seat as encouragement, put him on the potty a few times a day and make a HUGE deal out of it if he goes!

Answer 3

I'm going through this phase with my 2yr old daughter right now, so I'm looking for advice too! :)

I just signed up for a really helpful e-course on potty-training your toddler, which you might find useful too: http://www.mypottytraining.com

Answer 4

I made it fun for my son. I put a floating toy boat in the toilet & told him to hit it when he peed. He enjoyed that & loved going to the potty. He was trained by 2-1/2 years.

Answer 5

Well, has he shown signs that he is ready? I think 2 is a bit young based on my two sons. One was three and the other 3.5. I found putting them in underwear with plastic pants to be far better than any pull-ups stuff. We would set the timer on the stove for one hour and then they had to go and sit for 3 minutes and 'try' to go. Both were trained pretty quickly. I tried my first son at 2.5 years and we both ended up crying......

Answer 6

1: don't pressure him.
2: make the potty chair available to him and ask occaisionally if he wants to give it a try. Let him go when daddy goes.
3: let him pick out big boy underpants and wear them if he'll use the potty.
4: watch for signs that he needs to go
5: if he goes on the potty make a big deal about how proud you are of him!

Answer 7

DON'T use pull-ups, they will only confuse him, and you won't know when he potties. See my answer about potty training under my profile if you would like some more advice. Good luck!

Answer 8

i came home 1 night with a pack of candy cigarettes and gave them to my son, who was 3 at the time. he told me he LOVED them and would i buy him more. my response? "sure i will, if u go potty". i was on the verge of givin up potty training when this angel of light came to me and whispered in my ear to buy that damn candy. for a month i was at my corner store buyin em out like crazy. but it worked.

Answer 9

Cherrios cereal in the toilet. They float. Tell him to sink 'em.