toilet training...?

Question

my son is two and a half and i am about to have his little sister. he is my first child and i want to get him toilet trained as soon as possible, but i really dont know how to go about it. does anybody have any suggestions for me? i know some people say that you have to wait until the child is ready but i dont want him going off to school in nappies! i have him in jocks all day, but he wanders off and does his business, every time i ask him if he wants to go to the toilet he says no. i take him to the toilet constantly, but he doesnt always go, in fact sometimes just after i take him, he'll go and do his wandering act. i dont want to get frustrated with him, i want to be patient with him because i know he is learning, so i need some advice before i get to the frustrated stage!!

Answer 1

It depends if he is ready. Is he showing the signs of being ready for the potty?

- Staying dry for a few hours

- Grabbing himself when he is going or has to go

- Telling you that he has to go or he needs a new nappy

- Waking up dry from naps

If he is ready then take him with you when you use the toilet and let him watch. Also if his dad or if you have a male friend that you trust ask him if he will take your son to the bathroom with him and let him watch the other male use the toilet. He might get a hang of it then and start to show interest in potty training.

It depends on weather or not you want him to start out sitting on the potty and first and then later on teaching him how to stand but you could put cereal in the toilet and tell him to aim for them. This way it makes it fun for him and it will also help him with his aim. If you make a game out of it for him he might actually want to do it more. I would say to use the "reward system" but once you start doing that the child will always expect a reward for each time he goes even after he is completely trained. Then he might not want to use the potty if he doesn't get the reward. The best way of "reward" is to praise the child each time he goes on the potty and/or tries to at least go. (Also if you do the reward system it will be just like buy nappies because you will probably be spending the same amount of money on rewards as you probably would on nappies.)

If he is afraid of the "big" potty then try to by him his own potty. If you don't want to do that then you can buy him a little seat that fits over the big toilet. I'm pretty sure that it comes with an attachment that you can put on the little seat so his penis is facing down so the urine won’t go everywhere. If it doesn't come with an attachment it is a good idea to have him hold his penis down into the toilet so the urine won't go everywhere. If you start to hold it down for him, later when you teach him to stand he may want you to hold his penis while he goes and then you will have trouble getting him out of that habit. If you put him in pull-ups he might think that it is just like a nappy and might just go in those. So I suggest not using pull-ups. Make a special trip to the store just for him and let him pick out underwear with his favourite characters on them. (It would be best to buy him boxers. it makes it easier for him to pull them down when he has to go. Also make sure that he is in clothes that he can easily pull down himself to go.)

Ask him every 15 - 20 minutes if he has to go to the potty. If he says "no" then take him anyway and just let him sit on the potty for a little while. That way he will get the idea of it. Make sure that he drinks plenty of water that way he will have to urinate more often and that increases the chance of him going when you put him on the potty. After a while once he gets the hang of it you won't have to keep asking him so often if he has to go. He will just be going himself. Try to stay home for a few days. It will be easier instead of going out and trying to potty train him at the same time and it will be easier on the both of you.

He will have a lot of accidents and you will probably be doing a lot of laundry but it is better to put him in just regular underwear because when he does wet himself he won't like the feeling of being wet and will soon use the toilet.

I wish you guys luck with this. I wish you the best. Good Luck!

Answer 2

I and currently going through this right now as well. My baby was born when my son was 2 1/2 years old. he is now almost 3 1/2 and he still isn't potty trained. I got so frustrated that I finally just backed off. He says "no" to every question that I ask lately and I really don't want to wait for him to be ready either.

I would say focus on trying to make your son feel special when your baby gets there and then when things settle back down in your house then you can focus on the potty training. Try not to think about it as I do and the doctors and other parents all say that as long at they are potty trained by 4 then there is nothing to worry about. I am going to start again with my son after my babies first birthday here in a few months and that will mean that my son will be 3 1/2. I will give it a few weeks and see if he takes to it. If he doesn't then back off for a few months.

Good luck.

Answer 3

boys potty train later than girls. Since you have a boy though as do I this is a trick boys love. drop a few cheerios in the toilet and let him shoot them with his "pistol" another if you live out of town or have neighbors who understand put him in a long t shirt and no bottoms and let him water the trees and flowers outside. If he pees his shirt gets wet and pee runs down his leg something not fun but he can then relate the feeling of needing to pee , peeing and getting wet better than a diaper that absorbs so quickly he never feels the wetness . As for bowel control its the same thing he gets a feeling and since the diaper is gone he can then see that it is better to sit on the potty than to stand around because it no longer feels right. Some kids get the idea of pooping down before peeing because a set of dirty underpants feel yucky. It takes time and patience and the more you push the longer it takes so give him some space to be in control and you will see a difference. I know everyone says bribery is bad but tell him if he stays dry and clean for a whole week you will buy him a new what ever. also make a really big deal out of the first few times he makes it to the potty and through a whole day. Let him call someone on the phone and tell the news to( grandma's love to hear about big boys who potty in the potty chair but any one who will listen to him works)

Answer 4

I asked my daughters pediatrician about this at her last visit. She said that getting them to just sit on the potty (even if they still have their diaper on) is the first step. Having a child watch you do it (if you're comfortable with that) may help. She also said to praise her for just sitting on the potty even if she doesnt go. Also, make sure your son has his own potty to sit on. It will be easier for him to get to and it will make him feel special that he has something all his own that nobody else gets to use. Most children learn in their own time. The only thing that i know of that you can really do at this stage is to just encourage him and praise him for even just the little steps. Maybe giving him a "potty toy" will help. It's a special toy he only gets to play with when he's on the potty. Good luck. I'm going through the same thing with my 19 month old right now and it's tough going!

Answer 5

He is clearly not ready for the toilet...besides when the new baby arrives he's probably going to revert anyway. He wanders off because he is tired of you nagging him about it. I've never known any child to go to school in diapers...but never had the need to force a child to potty train either.

Answer 6

maybe your husband can take him a few times to the toilet and show him how its done.or you might just have to wait till his ready, try using the toddler pull up nappie type pants that way when accidents occur you're not left with the mess. or you could have a potty ready, and show him what it's used for. he will be toilet trained eventually,he might even suprise you one day and tell you he needs to go.

Answer 7

ok my daughter is also 2 and a half and we are potty training and doing quite well now
our doc said to wait till she told me but she doesnt talk well so that was out of the question

it didnt start that way

just be persistant and eventually he will figure it out

she's started telling me now so it's also helping with her speech

try getting a sticker kit or something so he gets a reward every time he goes or tells you or whatever
we are using pullups
they are great because if an accident happens she is wearing a diaper but can still easily get to the potty