Potty Training Manual

Those days were not too long ago for us and our now almost 5 year old (I let him let us know when he wanted to train).
Getting him to go poop was the hardest! We started a sticker chart, and the prize for him filling it up was a "Poopy Party"! Complete with balloons and his choice of guests, and (get this) mini eclairs and chocolate ice cream for dessert! It took him less than a month, but it worked for us! Gonna try the same thing on our 21 month old when she is ready.

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I was under the impression earlier on that my daughter could understand what a potty was for so around 6 months old, I started sitting her on the potty JUST TO SEE if she would go. She actually would go when I'd sit her on it if she had to so I would continue putting her on it when she'd wake up in the mornings, after naps, before bath time and before bed time. She's now 16 months old, she tells me MOST of the time when she has to go and can even hold it if we're in the car and tell her we're almost to the potty.

I think that by sitting her on it earlier, she never got a chance to get used to using her diaper ALL the time. This may not work for our next one, and they do say boys are harder than girls to train, but I will definately give it a go next time whether we have a boy or another girl.

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Everything works beautifully. My 2.5 year old uses the potty consistently all day long ... as long as she's allowed to run around without a diaper, panties or pants.

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It's not going well. Not one bit. My son eeks out a tiny bit of pee for his pee-pee reward, but then wets through his underwear. He doesn't get that he should go on the potty every time, not just when he wants a reward.

And poo-poo on the potty? Forget it. Obviously, better to poop on clean floor than in potty. Obviously.

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Completely tickled, that even once, I made tea come out of your nose!

Let me know the right answer when you figure out the poop thing. Based on results I haven't got a clue.

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I too tried sitting them on the potty shortly after they came home to me (age 9 and 12 months) and they would go! Within a month they were really pretty reliable about poo. Currently the 16-month-old sometimes goes al day with a dry diaper, and I have only had two poop misses with each child in the past month. Usually a poop miss is caused by an issue such as diarrhea - something even a much older child would have a problem with.

The girls can't say "potty" but the elder will really try to wait until she gets a chance to go on the potty, and the younger (13mo) has little signs to let me know she hopes we are going there soon! If I sense someone is getting close and we aren't in a position to go potty immediately, I tell them how many minutes it will be before we go, and they usually successfully hold it.

I'm getting ready to switch my 16mo to training pants (cloth) soon.

So, I'd say it's going great!

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Of course, training younger has its downside. The other day there was evidence that one girl pooped in the potty but I wanted to give her some more time to pee, so I left the room for a moment with the two girls nicely sitting on their potties. When I came back, the pooper was off her potty and the poop evidence was missing. Oh my. It seems her sister wanted a more intimate look at the properties of poop. I am looking forward to the day when they can go on their own and not think creatively about what to do with the results.

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Of course, training younger has its downside. The other day there was evidence that one girl pooped in the potty but I wanted to give her some more time to pee, so I left the room for a moment with the two girls nicely sitting on their potties. When I came back, the pooper was off her potty and the poop evidence was missing. Oh my. It seems her sister wanted a more intimate look at the properties of poop. I am looking forward to the day when they can go on their own and not think creatively about what to do with the results.

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All kids in our family (my side) completely pt'd by 12 mo..we start when they can sit up w/ special chairs made by my grandpa that fit tiny bottoms--and brace them for size differences. The one exception is my nephew who is autistic--he was two before it was a complete success and we used no reward system--it is just what you do--as a big boy(girl).

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It's interesting to read these few comments here and realize that the girls are all have better successes with potty training that the boys. I have a son who will be 3 in a couple of weeks and I have to schedule potty time with him: meaning I have to get him on the potty within the hour after eating or drinking anything or stick to the every-2-hour rule. The poopy thing is a little easier because he tends to corner himself and start the grunting and i can usually catch him before it comes out, unless my game is off. But I would not dare let him run around without a diaper on. We wouldn't be able to live in this place from the stench!

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Uggghhh... potty training. I have a boy and a girl and I think it is based on the child's personality rather than a boy/girl thing. The one thing that I have noticed with both of my children is that going potty is one of their only forms of control. They know that they have the power over us because we ask them 100 times a day if they have to go... and they see the desperation in our eyes when we are asking them and they see the frustration when we are cleaning up their accidents.

To this day, both of my children age 5 and 3 still hold their pee until their bladders are about to burst. Even after 12 hours of sleeping all night long, they still insist when they wake up that they do not have to go potty.

UNBELIEVEABLE is what I have to say.

Typically, we just leave them alone and let them suffer the consequences of being about to burst because we recognize it is a control issue. We force the issue only if we are leaving the house and it is a situation where there will be no public restroom.

http://www.MindBites.com

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We have not really started potty training in earnest. My son uses the potty before bed, and we ask him throughout the day if he needs to use it (almost always no). He's only just 2 now, so I think we will wait a bit to really get into it. Our problem is that he will say he needs to use the potty (without being asked), but as we head into the hallway, he takes a left instead of a right. He didn't need to use the potty at all; he just wanted to go into my bedroom to climb on the big bed. We have had talks (and timeouts) about lying and it has cut down over the past few weeks. But I am hesitant to start real training because I will never know if he really needs to go or not.

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If you make it a point to notice when your child poops or what triggers it, you may have better luck. Don't ask or wait for them to ask, just plop them on the pot when they are likely to need to go, and they will develop the habit eventually. Then they will ask on their own eventually.

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A product that I created is called Pot-Tee Prize Grab Bag that is a motivating potty training rewards program for children. You can check it out at: http://www.pot-teeprize.com One of the things that I often see happen is that rewards from parents often use treats or food as ways to motivate.

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My 3 year old and I tried 3 times to potty train and the third time was the charm. It was better for us that he not be in underwear because when he was in underwear he became confused and thought it was the same as being in a diaper. The first attempt was at age 2 (he was showing some interest, but did not have the control). Second attempt was two months before his second birthday (all was well until he started dropping his pants and tinkling on the floor). The third attempt was a complete success. A couple of weeks after he turned 3 he was ready. It took one or two days and now we are only having to wear a pull up at night and he is 3.5 years old. Good Luck to all of you who are still trying. Hang in there. Your child won't be in diapers forever.

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My daughter just turned 2 and she is great about telling us when she needs to poop. She is terrible at knowing when she needs to be pee though. She also is very resistant to wearing diapers or pull ups. This means lots of underwear changes throughout the day and constant prompts on whether she needs to go. I also feel like I am a slave to the potty right now! I kinda wish she would just relent and keep the damn diapers on a little longer!

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MY GRANDSON IS 18MTHS OLD, I KNOW WHEN HE HAS TO POOP, HE HIDES, BEHIND PAPAS CHAIR. PEE, IS A LITTLE HARDER TO TELL, UNLESS WE ARE PUTTING HIM IN THE TUB. HE DOES NOT LIKE DIAPERS AND PREFERS PULL-UP. AFTER GOING ON VACATION AND BUYING SUPERMAN SWIMMIES. SINCE I STAY AT HOME, I CAN WATCH HIM MORE CLOSELY, BUT ONCE YOU PUT HIM ON THE POTTY HE FREAKS. HE HAS TO COME INTO THE BATHROOM WHEN AUNTIE (15YRS OLD) OR NANA AND PAPA HAVE TO GO POTTY. KNOWS THE NOISE, HAS LOOKED WHAT IS IN THERE. KNOWS HOW TO FLUSH. BUT AS SOON AS YOU TAKE THE DIAPER OFF, TO PUT HIM ON FORGET IT. MY 3 BOYS WERE ALL POTTY TRAINED BY THE TIME THEY WERE 2. DEVIN IS A DIFFERENT STORY, THE STRESS OF THE VISITS, (HE HAS LIVED WITH US FOR ALMOST A YR.) WHO IS ACTUALLY MOM AND DAD. DOESN'T HELP ANY.. I KEEP TRYING AND TRY NOT TO GET TOTALLY FRUSTRATED.

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OH MY GOSH! I hate this potty training business! My oldest daughter was completely potty trained by 2 1/2 years old! completely!!!!!!! then, all of a sudden she started having set backs, mostly on the weekends. she would NEVER have an accident while at day care, and now, she just turned three on monday, now, she flat out refuses to use the toilet for me at all!!!!!! WTF?!?!?!?!?!!!! I just quit my job and the 29th is my last day then I'll be home full time with my kids. I'm thinking about just dressing her in long t-shirts and no panties until she gets the point! Would that be terrible? because she doesn't care if her panties are wet, it doesn't bother her one bit!
I'm sick to death of cleaning up urine!!!!!!!!!

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