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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Posts
    276

    Default Does this sound like a good plan for potty training?

    My son is about 2 yrs and 4 months old, and in another month I want to start potty training. For Christmas he got his own potty which he loved, and now when we use the bathroom he wants to come too and sit on his own potty. He even started asking me to take off his diaper and pants to sit on it. However, he will only sit on it for a few seconds before stating "all done!" I feel like he's really interested though and now is the time to do this since we're expecting another baby in July and I would really love him out of diapers soon, so we can also move him to another room and have all those major changes out of the way before the new baby arrives. That said, if he's not ready I won't push it, but here's what I was thinking and I have a lot of questions...

    I bought some underwear in characters he loves, so I was going to take 4 day weekend and just dive right in... have him wear just the underwear (I will still do diapers at night), and ask him to sit on the potty every 20-30 mins. Is it a good idea to ask him to do that so much, or should i wait longer during sittings on the potty? I was going to give stickers for each time he sits on the potty...but I'm wondering if he will just sit for one second just to get a sticker and then leap up. Thoughts? I don't want to resort to candy. I was also thinking of putting some books next to the potty to try to get him to sit there longer. How long should I ask him to sit there during each attempt? Also, I know some people will put the potty out in the living room and let their child watch TV to persuade them to sit there longer, but I really don't want to do that. (My husband is already squeamish about potty training and he would freak if I did that! LOL.) I'm going to give lots of juice and water throughout the day. Hopefully during this time we will be mostly at home, but if we go out, should I buy a portable potty? I fear he will not use one at a store, especially since he freaked when I tried to hold him up to our big potty once before. Finally, if he has an accident, I"m not sure exactly what to say except to calmly/but sternly state that pee/poop goes in the potty, then clean him up, and ask him to help clean the mess...is that a good idea?

    I was considering the 3 day potty method, but not sure I wanted to spend money on that, or if I needed a formal method per se. Thoughts? Would love you suggestions/answers to my questions above. Sorry it's all bunched together. Thank you!!!

  2. #2
    mikala is offline Diamond level (5000+ posts)
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
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    5,776

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    I recommend the "oh crap" potty training method. It's an ebook with forums.

    Per the rules books advice we skipped underwear entirely for the first month. Naked from the waist down for a day or two and then commando for the rest of the month. The thought was that underwear feels too much like a diaper. I tested this theory about two weeks in, immediate accident. One month in we switched to underwear no problem.

  3. #3
    mikala is offline Diamond level (5000+ posts)
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    Aug 2009
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    Re: public restrooms, I kept a baby born potty in the trunk for the first few weeks and carried a folding potty seat in the diaper bag. Public toilets were a little intimidating for awhile but it comes in time. I recommend keeping a post it note pad in your purse to cover the sensors in automatic toilets so they don't flush while your son is peeing.

    I learned that my anxiety over the process and pee on the floor increased ds's anxiety. He relaxed and had a lot of successes when I accepted the possibility of messes, put away the rug that couldn't be washed, pulled out the carpet cleaner and vinegar and got a glass of zen, um I mean wine.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
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    7,253

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    This is what worked for us. DD1 told me that she didn't want to wear diapers anymore when she was about 2 years 6 months. I took a 4 day weekend, put her into underwear and took her to the potty every 30 minutes. I praised her verbally whenever she went. I cleaned up 3 or 4 accidents total and when there was an accident, I didn't say a thing about it. Just cleaned it up quietly. We didn't do a sticker chart or candy or anything else because she didn't seem to need it. When she went a week in underwear I took her for a special day (I took her to my nail place to get her toes polished because she was obsessed with my toe nail polish). This was a big deal for her because with DD2 we don't get too much one on one time. When she went a month with almost no accidents she got a watch with Kermit on it (what she said she wanted when she was all done with diapers).

    I do not put her in diapers for nap or bed. With my DD1 it would confuse her. She didn't understand why sometimes she could pee in her pants and other times she couldn't. I get her up every night at 10 for a sleep pee and then again at 5 when I get up. We've had very few wet beds.
    Mommy to my little bear cubs DD1 and DD2- 4/2010 and 4/2012

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Location
    Chicagoland
    Posts
    102

    Default

    My son is 30 months. We are not done potty training, so I am clearly no expert. But I can share our experiences so far.

    At 27 months we did the 3-day method. I bought the eBook and was faithful to it. We had a few successes (just dribbles into the potty, never a full pee). Lots of accidents. So much laundry. He went through over 17 pairs a day. So at the end of the 3-days we decided the torture was unbearable, for him and for us. By the third day, he had worked himself into such a frenzy he couldn't pee at all, not even an accident on the floor.

    He never tells us when he has pooped, and I didn't like discovering him in it just walking around it, so I created a sticker chart to just TELL us when he pooped. Just the communication of it would get a reward (1st set of Crayola markers). Lo and behold, that turned into the first real pee on the potty - kind of out of nowhere.

    This weekend, at 30 months, he asked for his underwear again. We had 3 big pees on the potty on Sunday. Today, Monday, has been a huge regression. We're learning as we go, want to continue following his cues.

    My opinion: don't put the potty in the living room. Keep it in the bathroom to avoid confusion later. 3-day method also states that.

    Good luck (to both of us!)
    Sarah

    DS1 8/2010
    DS2 11/2012

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