How to start? Ages & Stages

Jenivere · 01-10-05, 12:53 PM

Allright, I will admit first off that potty training makes me nervous and just don't know how to go about doing it.

I'm pretty certain my soon to be 3 year old is ready and I want to do it because he is ready, not because I am. He normally stays dry all night and except for first thing in the morning, he stays dry for long periods of time during the day. He does not like diapers at all anymore. He will wear them but he does not want too. We have a small potty for him and he actually sat on it yesterady for a few minutes when I suggested it. We cloth diaper and I am trying to decide wether to get some cloth training pants or underwear to make it easier for him.

I think he may have a UTI and I want to get that taken care of first because I know they cause frequen urination and I don't want him to get discouraged. So after we figure that out I just need to know how to start and I feel so lost.

Blue Eyes · 01-10-05, 01:36 PM

Hi Jen

Nice to meet you. Well I'll be on the same journey as you soon. I'm not sure how to start either and definately don't want to push the issue but Dakota shows me so many signs that he is ready so we'll just have to wait and see. I know a good tip I heard once was to get some sort of doll/animal and have it go potty every time your child does

ethanandsydsmom · 01-10-05, 03:39 PM

Well, this is what I did.

With my ds, I had no clue, him being my first and all. lol

I asked some of my friends, and they suggested that I got straight to underwear, and not mess with pull-ups.

So, I modified it a little, and decided to start taking him like every 30min-1hr, but still left his diaper on. Once he figured out what he was supposed to do on the potty, it was easier to tell him to "try".

Once he started peeing regularly, I switched to training underwear, and gave him whatever he wanted to drink, so he could get used to telling me had to go. We had quite a few accidents in the beginning, but that is what the washing machine is for. lol

I left him in diaper for naptime/nighttime until he was completely day trained.

He will be 4 in Feb, and we started training when he was around 27 mths. It was a LONG process for us, but some kiddos train faster.

:domesticgoddess: · 01-12-05, 02:21 AM

As the mommy to 7 boys, I would only add that NEVER force a boy to potty train. Talk it up - make a big deal about how nice it is to stay dry and wear big boy undies, but don't push. As soon as they realize this is really a big deal to you, they will stop and dig their heels in.

savannah33 · 01-12-05, 08:57 AM

Great advice Tracy I think it's very true of boys!

Praise and bribery did wonders for Brent. We started off with the pullups but that didn't get us anywhere so we went with undies. I planned a whole week ahead to start on a Saturday morning. I talked it up big time and showed him all the "treats" I had for him if he used the potty and stayed dry. I had different drinks he likes like lemonade, punch etc. Candy, Crackers, Stickers and he got to choose the treat he wanted each time he pottied. We did this for several weeks and then he wasn't that into it so I just stopped the treats. Praise goes a long way and letting other people like grandparents , teachers etc praise them really seemed to make Brent feel proud.

Most of all once you make the commitment don't go backwards. If you have committed to using underware then you have to deal with it even when going out to dinner, shopping etc it sends mixed messages if you go back to diapers or pullups.