PT questions

[ArizonaGirl]

Well we finally took the plunge and started potty training and DS has been pretty good so far and is very excited. I have three major questions thus far...

1. Anyone have any suggestions as far as pooping in the potty, because he just doesn't seem to be getting it. He tells me after he has pooped in his underwear and then proceeds to freak out because he is poopy. I think that if he could do it once in the potty it would "click" and he would get it. (We have implemented the jelly bean bribe for pee, which works, and told him he could have a Mini Snickers's bar for pooping in the potty)

2. We have been doing a modified version of the timer method where we have been having him sit pretty much every hour and he has only had 3 accidents in the last 3 days (accept for poop). My question is at what point do you lengthen this out and do they start to go by themselves without prompting by us. (Constant reminding)

3. So far he has been using a little stand-alone froggie potty, what is the best way to transition him to the regular potty and when should we start this transition.

Thank you all for your help
:bowdown:

[Snow mom]

My DD is the same age so I think maybe I can speak to some of this, although she is still in diapers at daycare because of their policies and therefore PT has been a bit of a rocky road for us.

We've recently switched over to talking to DD about listening to her body. Instead of just saying "do you need to use the potty?" or "you need to use the potty now because I say so" we ask "does your body say you need to go pee-pee or poo-poo?" She seems old enough now to recognize the sensation of whether she needs to use the potty. We are weaning off making her sit (with the exception of right before we go out, she's still required to sit then.) One thought in PT is not making them use the potty but instead allowing them to figure out when they need to go. I think this is the basis of 3-day PT and I kind of wish we'd gone this route instead of starting off with sitting at regular intervals. It's taken us so long to get to DD saying she needs to potty without prompting and I think it's because we've taken too much of a lead. I have no idea on the poop question because that was never an issue for us. Maybe talking to him about how his body feels when he needs to poop will help?

[american_mama]

[QUOTE=ArizonaGirl;3252241]Well we finally took the plunge and started potty training and DS has been pretty good so far and is very excited. I have three major questions thus far...

For pooing on the potty, no BTDT. Sorry.

>> My question is at what point do you lengthen this out and do they start to go by themselves without prompting by us. (Constant reminding)
I'd say if he can go stay dry for an hour reliably, when he's first learning, I'd stay at that interval for awhile, like maybe a month. Then I'd just add 15 minute increments, but you may find that the lengthening happens naturally without you needing to think a lot about it. You may also find that he learns to hold it longer (it was 2 hours for my DS), but stays at that extended point for many months, which I think is fine.

As for the constant reminding, are you talking to him constantly about the potty? Because that might start to backfire, if he feels like the potty becomes a drag. I'd just remind him at the interval you have decided (an hour, right now). I had to remind my son to use the potty - actually, I had to physically take him - for probably 9 months or more after he potty trained, and occasionally even now, over a year since potty training. I think my girls were the same way, although maybe not quite as long.

>>> So far he has been using a little stand-alone froggie potty, what is the best way to transition him to the regular potty and when should we start this transition.

The little potty might be used for a long time. My DS won't use the big toilet at home(potty trained for over a year), although he has no problem with it when we are out. All my kids had preferences about what they used - some liked the insert, some hated it, some like the little potty, some didn't, and some started with one thing and at some point abruptly changed to another. When you get tired of the potty, see if your child can get on the toilet themselves, or give them a stool, and encourage them. See if they'll take to it. Consider if your child will want you to lift them on to the big toilet, whcih means you will have to accompany them every time they go. It may be that the little potty gives you a little more freedom fromt hat, even if you do have to clean it out.