Alright readers, we need your help!
Jude is 2 now which means I really think we need to begin the Potty Training thang!
So we started by buying him a Potty for his birthday. Well that is as far as we have gone! LOL
What do we do now?!?!
I need to buy a book but I would love to hear all of your tips and what worked and DIDN’T work for you!
And go………..
Yes, I realize he will hate me later for posting this but I HAD too!
Out of all three of mine, three things stand out above all…
1. The naked approach worked best. You don't have to buy anything – just Google it and you'll find the plan for free.
2. Again, you don't need anything special. All the things I bought did little to help my babies any more than the standard toilet.
3. Don't give up, but don't push. One of mine did fairly well by 2 1/2, but the other two weren't ready until close to 3. When they're ready, it's E-Z 🙂
We have not really done much with Jamie yet other than having the potty out. He will occasionally ask to use it, but has yet to actually go on it. From everything I've heard, until they're ready and really show interest it's a waste of time and pushing them before they're ready can often actually hinder training.
When we're ready to get serious I'm going to try the 3 day plan. It sounds like a real committment, but seems to really work!
I tried the 3-day plan…it worked ok but definitely took more than 3 days. The potty prizes were great incentive. Eyan would get 1 M&M for trying, a few M&Ms if he peed and a toy prize for something major. Major was 1st pee/poop in the potty, 1st day dry, 1st time he told me he needed to go…and went, etc.
Keeping it positive and big celebrations were great with Eyan. He didn't care for the Elmo movie or book ( if you want to borrow, just let me know)
Also Costco has big boy undies for cheaper than Walmart or target.
Biggest thing is once you commit to potty training get rid of the diapers and NEVER put them in them again ( I have pull ups for naps & night though). Use only undies and although there will be tons of accidents, it was key in having Eyan learn when he was wet and had an accident and was upsetting to him when he was out of Mickey undies and had to wear a character that he didn't really like.
Good luck!
Persistence will prevail.
I've been researching a LOT and one thing I can say (as previously mentioned) most importantly make sure he's ready! Lexie's only a month younger and she is no where near ready, I know for us we have a while yet.
Once he's ready, all you have to do is explain it in terms he can understand and for the most part, he'll be potty trained save for a learning experience now and then. I was skeptical myself, but pleasant surprised at how easy it is when we wait for the child to be ready rather than trying to tackle it when we think they are old enough or when we are ready.
How do you know if he's ready? There are signs. If he exhibits all the signs (not a few or most, but all), then he is ready. The signs are, if memory serves (as it's been over a decade since my last potty-training experience):
1) Longer periods of diaper being dry.
2) Waking up in the morning and from naps with a dry diaper.
3) Able to dress himself (pull pants up and down, pull shirt on and off, pull on socks).
4) Vocabulary includes words that describe bathroom functions.
5) Can follow one or two clear directions.
6) Shows interest in learning/asks to use potty.
7) Tells you when his diaper needs to be changed.
8) Bowel movements occur regularly at about the same time each day.
Once my boys were doing all of the above, we talked about it, they picked out big boy underpants and we went for it. There were very view "accidents" or learning experiences, because they didn't like wetting their underpants. When they did, we talked about it, they got hugs and tried again and all was well.
My boys all reached this milestone at around three years old, give or take a couple of weeks. But each child is different, so some will get there much earlier and some a bit later. All is normal. Good luck!!
OMG! I freaken hate potty training!! I just put my 5-year old back into pull-ups!! AWFUL!! Best of luck to you!!!
Honestly for me, is not forcing the issue. I tried with Hayley at 2.5 and she just wasn't ready. It ended up causing big problems for her and she was afraid to go in her diaper. I let go of the issue and let her decide when she was ready. Low and behold at 3 years, 1 month she told me she had to go to the bathroom and that was the end of the story. Potty trained at night and during the day at the point out! Good luck!