But how do you actually potty train?

My favorite potty training book is called Toilet Training in Less Than a Day. There is a new book out with a similar title...stay away from that one.

The one I'm talking about is an old book. The method was developed to teach retarded adults to toilet themselves. These were people who'd been wearing diapers for 30+ years and they were completely trainable.

I've never used the exact method, but I learned a lot from the book and applied it in a less intense manner. With just one kid, I'd suggest doing the method whole hog.

The most important idea I took from the book is that the goal is DRY PANTS. Not going on the potty. Anybody can go on the potty if they sit there long enough. Dry pants. That is what is rewarded and that is the goal.

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I definitely think he's ready. We have a girl, so I don't know if this would work for you too (I don't see why not), but here's what we did (and we had an incredibly easy time with potty training):

- buy the book "Time to Pee" by Mo Willems
- make it your new favorite book with Nolan, read it several times a day
- as soon as you get your new potty (by the way, we got the one that doubles as a stepstool and has a removable padded ring you can use later on the big toilet, can't find a link to it now), when Nolan has had a dry diaper for a couple of hours, set him on the potty and let him sit there for a little while (spend the time reading books or singing songs with him), and he'll probably end up peeing or pooping within about 5 minutes, maybe longer at first, and definitely faster after you've been doing this for a while
- repeat every few hours
- we didn't use rewards - we just treated like a normal part of our day (which it is, of course), and we talked a bit about what was happening (helped when she would eat corn and see the corn in her poop - what goes in, comes out)
- when you find that he's going on the potty most of the time, and you're barely changing diapers anymore, and if he's telling you at least part of the time that he needs to go potty, get him some big boy underwear, and don't look back. Just put them on him, prepare yourself for a few accidents, but don't go back to diapers. We only had about two or three accidents in the first day or so of panties, and that was it. Maybe get a waterproof pad to put on the couch or something, just in case.
- night-time training can wait a little longer, but I think you'll find that he will be anxious to give up the diapers altogether pretty soon. For us, just watching her evening liquid intake, and making sure that she goes potty right before bed, has worked great.

I think that's about it.
Good luck!

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HA ha ha ha ha ha ha ha oops.

God I wish! Well, I think Greta is onto something - for most kids. Some are more willing to potty train then others, depends not only if they are capable (can he hold his urine?) but also if they buy into the idea of using the potty. Sounds like Nolan is convinced. Good luck! I think I personally will be changing a 3 year olds diaper due to lack of interest on his part.

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Ethel's right - I should have mentioned that they say you shouldn't try potty-training until you notice that he's staying dry for a few hours at a time. And every kid's different, but this really did work perfectly for us - Nola was in panties during the day at 2 1/4 and during the night at 2 1/2. I think she could have been done even earlier if we had tried.

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I will keep you in my thoughts. Good luck. Start a consistent potty routine. Make it fun. And most importantly, DON'T stress. They sense fear. And they love it.

My guy was three in February. He will only pee in the potty if left bare bottomed, and even then he will often run right past the bathroom to rush outside and pee in the grass. Just to spite me. If he is wearing underpants, a pull up, just a pair of shorts -- he pees in them.

Poo is a non-issue. He has done the hiding behind the chair and asking to be changed thing for years, yet the minute that I try to rush him to the potty at the "appropriate time", no luck. I have tried bribes of all sorts, still no go. I even put the freaking potty BEHIND the chair for him when I knew that he was ready. Nope.

Very few people are dealing with this level of stubborn willpower (I hope), and so your journey will be one of more smiles, ease, and happy praises. Do it for those of us who can't. For those of us who will one day be shopping for a manly diaper bag that he can take to college!

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I have no experience, as my son just turned 2 and I'm not sure he's ready yet. However, I'm keeping this article handy:

http://inthetrenchesofmotherhood.com/?p=34

It's not at all wishy-washy, and it's written by a mom of 6. Good luck, I can't wait to hear your progress!

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I would love to hear some new tips too! My three year old son has NO interest in potty training. He was doing well for a little while, but as soon as the novelty wore off he was done with it. He refuses to even try now. We have tried rewards, bribery, making it totally fun & exciting, using it as part of our routine, and so on. Now we are just waiting for him to actually ask for it. I was relieved that Pampers is now coming out with a size 7 diaper. Now I don't have to panic that he won't fit into diapers when he is still refusing at age 6. (Ha, ha!)

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We thought our son was ready when he started seeking out a private space for poopinng and then insisting we change his diaper, but he was still peeing pretty often. We went out of town for a few days and he was using the potty a lot there... but seems less interested now that we're home again.

So I have no advice to offer. But you might want to wait a bit if Nolan can't control his bladder yet, since potty training is about peeing, too.

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My best tip is to keep Nolan N-E-K-I-D as often as possible. We had "travel diapers" and "sleep pants" (regular diapers and pull-ups) but we "ran out" of daytime diapers. Every time he walked in the door I stripped off his lower garments (summer is best!) and he stayed that way until time to sleep or go out somewhere. Yes, they'll occasionally pee on the floor, but there was something about letting that happen that upset both my boys. I never got angry about it, but I did make them help me clean it up. Each pooped on the floor exactly once. Their temperaments are very different, and other tricks and treats were different for them, adapted as we went, but the staying naked part was vital.

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My son trained late due to neurological problems, and the thing that finally worked with him was having him go bare-bottomed so that his attention was really focused on that part of his body. Whatever he did all day, he was sitting on a porta-potty or a crib liner to minimize mess. He went kind of a scary long time without doing anything at all, then started using the toilet without much fuss. This, after many months (and years) of trying other techniques that made me crazy and him disinterested.

I have a how-to on the way we did it at http://specialchildren.about.com/od/earlyintervention/a/nopants.htm

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My son is 2years and 2m and is on the road (thanks to daycare' help and his "friends" doing it), but he didn't like the BIG whole either, so Walmart had this "Fit in the whole" seat for $7.66 and it's a toilet seat for younger ones and it fits directly in to the seat (and it's cusioned hehehe). That coupled with Sitting on it before bath time, waking up from any sleeping going directily to thepotty and daycare doing it every two hours. We're doing better then my mom or mother in law thought we'd be doing. We're staying dry during nap time, and will be moving to big boy pants in june (not looking forward to that weekend when we start using just big boy underoo's), and currently using the pull apart pull ups. But that's what works with us. He also gets a fruit snack (1 peice) when he goes #1 and for #2 he gets a sticker. Seems to work at home.
Good luck!!!!

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I have "sucessfully" helped train 3 very different children. I say helped because potty training is one of those "it takes a village" things in life. A schedule is a wonderful idea. Communication with all possible caretakers is also essential. My stepkids' maternal grandma is an old school "every child must be trained on their 2nd birthday" type. This made for a great deal of stress, backsliding and other potty problems when it came to training my stepson who was speech delayed at the time and didn't train until he was almost 4. My best advice is listen to your toddler because they are all different. My oldest daughter responded wonderfully to stickers for acheivement and took only a month or so. Her biggest hurdle was that the potty got dark when she sat on it and her "butt was afraid of the dark" therefore the poop wouldn't work. All it took was daddy to get involved. My middle son just decided one day about 3 months before his 4th birthday that he wanted to wear his big boy underwear and never looked back. Big kid underwear can be a wonderful incentive. My youngest is now three and still needs to be reiminded and kept on a schedule to prevent accidents just because she hates to stop what she is doing to go. I found the book "Potty Training for Dummies" a great place to start. Good luck and remember to be patient and loving as in all things.

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I potty trained my three 2boys and a girl and my 5 neices and nephews, they were all slightly different , but I found a few things to be the same for all of them, First...once you begin potty training, don't for any reason stop it confuses the child far too much. Second, don't use pull ups, they can't feel
wet" like they can in training pants or underwear, yes it can be gross if they poop in them, but hey many of our moms and most all of our grandmothers used cloth diapers, so a few changes of soiled underwear is nothing to complain about.
Third, use a rewars system of some kind, each child likes something different, so pick something you know your child will like.
Set an example,take your little girl with you into the bathroom and share going potty, do the same for a boy, only use helper with the same equipment as him..lol and boys seem to love the "sink the cherrios" game.
Clear as much from your schedule as possible for a few days so you can concentrate on training and it wont be as stressful for either of you at home versus the 'I gotta go now" when you are somewhere else. Hope these help. they worked for me. Good luck!

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I get confused with all the books...To me the old fashioned way works best.

1. wear big boy/girl panties. you know the little cloth ones like the ones we wear. At night I would use a pull up till you know for sure that they ain't doing thier business at night.

2. Set at schedule. We sat on potty first thing in the morning, about an hour after they ate, before and after naps and about 30 mins after they drank something. and before bed.

3. You might need to sit and wait awhile. I had one child that would wait and not do anything till they pulled up their pants and messed them. (she sat longer on the potty) It might take a good 15 mins.

4. REWARDS. Find what works. I have used M&M's, stickers, and I used them till they doing it alot and switched to "good job" and high fives.

Also on a side note, with my boys, I made them sit on the potty and point the thingy in the potty when they were first learning. It was a lot cleaner that way and easier since both #1 & #2 were done the same way. When they could handle the potty like a pro, we moved up to the standing position.

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I lied to my daughter and she potty trained within 2 days.

I told her that her best friends were potty trained. Which was a HUGE lie at the time. We got home and she started peeing and pooping on the potty.
We then went to diapers at night and on longer car trips. Then stopped diapers at night with only a handful of accidents. I still drive around with a toddler potty in the back of my truck. But we dont worry anymore if it is forgotten. She tells us she has to go and we find a rest stop or some place and we are set.

IMHO a lot of problems/"delays" in potty training are caused by parents that rush and push a child before they are physically and mentally ready.

I tried to get my daughter to potty train beginning at age 2.5. It was a no go. I kept trying and trying and she kept getting more and more against the potty as a whole. I listened to other parents that supposedly had completely potty trained their toddler at age 18 months. (Only to see said children pee and poop their pants at each play date. Or to hear from daycare providers that indeed the child was NOT PT'd)

So I backed off. I stopped listening to my mother in law and I listened to my daughter. Sure I told a little white lie to push her into it. But ya know what? She has never pooped her pants and now wakes up from sleeping to take herself to the potty. So she "got it" at 3.5 years. So what. I didnt worry or stress myself into a fit and she is happier for it as well.

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First of all I suggest that you and everyone in your household is ready to potty train, because without the support and dedication from both parents it wont work.
no diapers while training cause confusion
1. the first day of potty traning is to take him every twenty minutes write down when he pees, and poops so you have a general ideal for accidents that will happen I say reward him for his efforts a special snack.
2. cont taking him every half an hour
each day increase by half and hour
3. stay focused it gets a little fustrating due to accidents just stay very postive I also recommed taking him in public and potty training , Placing a child in and out of diapers becomes confusing and hard on them. With ebnough dedication and determination on your part you should have him trained within two weeks but keep enforcing potty breaks night time is easy as well my little one took two weeks to train after she turned two plus I was a two year old teacher with experience on potty training but the best tip i can tell and it's an important one switching between underwear and diapers confuse them when you're traning them so stick to only training them in undrwear and ake it consistent lots of washing but the award is a great one

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