Moms with potty trained kids

[browneyedhunni85]

Now that we have another on the way, it's important to get C potty trained. Please offer any tips or recommendations! I'm desperate here!

[charmediamsure]

With Jack, it didn't help for us to try to push it. We attempted letting him go diaperless with the potty in the room and he would run to his playroom and poop on the floor :/ So we just left it alone. I was too lazy to keep cleaning up poop and pee off my floor.

When the daycare told us he would be moving to the preschool room that coming fall (last May, I think, she told us) I was talking to him that night about what a big boy he was and he said "no diapers; I go on the potty". He started out doing all pee on the potty and for a while he was holding poop until his nighttime diaper. We rewarded with m&ms and he got 3 for poops so the holding didn't last long.

[kdrake8]

I did the 3 day method. Took us 5 days. I did it last June.

[The Foozzler]

3 day potty training! I am a huge fan of it.

[muppetinma]

Another vote for following his lead. I had never really planned on potty training Andrew. I read up on it and was prepared, but knew that kids on the spectrum tend to potty train later, and many don't at all. I just decided that it wasn't anything I wanted to stress about. Well, he had different ideas. He started asking to go to the potty, so we just ran with it. He was doing pretty good with it, but wasn't completely consistent. We did M&Ms, but that almost backfired. He would only pee or poop a little bit at a time in order to maximize his candy intake.

This past week, something clicked. I think in his head, three year olds don't wear diapers. Works for me! I'm glad I followed his lead, though. It made the whole process much less stressful on all of us. I know it doesn't work for everybody, but I wouldn't have done it any other way.

[browneyedhunni85]

C has improved the past week. It's hard for me because he's not on daycare and my parents watch him. My moms way more on board with being consistent than my dad. I think since telling them that we are expecting they are trying to help more.

[lauranicole91]

We had several failed attempts at the 3 day method, so we just gave up for a while. Then we just talked it up big time about being a big girl. Said things like daddy would bring home a special surprise if he came home to her in dry undies.
Another part to it was a little drawn out and maybe side eye worthy but I'll include it. For a few weeks we would limit her on things she could do. Like she wanted to pick out what sippie cup she wanted but we would just say, "sorry only big girls who pee pee on the potty get to do that" we would use that line on several little things around the house and such. Or if she'd see something in the store she wanted we'd say the same thing.
Then one day she woke up, asked to put on undies, and that was that.

[rainbowchip]

Bribes! We used m&m's. Two m&m's for a pee a handful for a poop.

I also asked if he had to go every 30 minutes or so and made him sit on the potty every 2 hours minimum.

And don't get discouraged if it doesn't seem to be going well to start. I think we went through 13 pair of underwear the first day, 8 or 9 the second, 5 one the third, only 2 on the forth, on the fifth he was at daycare and stayed dry all day!

[onehitwonder]

I read the 3 day potty training method, but simply couldn't commit. I did incorporate a lot of her suggestions so I do recommend reading it and doing it if it fits for you. We just started talking to him about big boys, cool underwear and m&m rewards, but didn't push. About 2 months ago, we just started asking him if he wanted to pee in the potty in the morning and before bedtime. He tried it and the m&ms were a hit.

Then we started reminding him to tell us whenever he had to go. He was still wearing diapers, but got so good at telling us that they were mostly dry. So one weekend, I just put his cool new underwear on him while at home. He did great and only had one accident. I did have to watch him like a hawk about pooping because he wouldn't tell us. Luckily he's very predictable, but sometimes it would take multiple trips to the potty before he would actually go.

After that, no more diapers at home except pull ups at night that we call his nighttime underwear not diapers. Those will go when I finish the pack. The first week, he wore diapers to school, but the teachers were in on it and he stayed dry there too.

The next weekend, we told him he had done so well, he could go pick out his own underwear and if he started telling us when he had to go poopy, he could also have the Octonaut toy he wanted. Done deal. We have not looked back and even took a 5 hour trip the next weekend.

The funny part is that my other potty trained me with bribes of frilly underwear and a coveted doll in pretty much the same time frame. I wasn't sure it would work for a boy, but it did. Good luck!

[raynes]

We did the 3 day method and dove in whole hog. It clicked on day 2.

It took a little while to get him to go when we were out of the house, and he still prefers to poop when we're at home, but he's done so well.

We really talked up underpants in the few days before we started and used a sticker reward system. We had a treasure chest full of toys that he go to pick from after every poop or every 5 successful pees.

[devonpow]

Both my kids had the 3 day system work like a charm - both only about 24 hours. I talked it up for a few weeks before (on X day we are throwing away your diapers and you are going to be a big boy and wear underwear!!!), on that day we woke up and I had them help me throw away all their diapers (so they could see I was serious) and then we did the whole "tell me when you need to go potty!" thing endlessly (so, no telling them to try or going in at intervals - basically giving them control). When they had an accident just a very chipper "next time tell me you have to go potty!" And that was that.

[mumegs]

The 3 day method didn't really work for us bc she was always done by the time I got her to the bathroom so she never got it. What did work was to give her a bunch of water, and like 20 min later bring toys in the bathroom and just sit and play next to the potty. Then I was able to get her on there once she started going. It only took 2 or 3 times doing this before she got it. We started out naked and had some probs once we started underwear bc she thought they were like diapers I think but she's fine now. We started w the padded Gerber training underwear and those really worked for us for some reason.
Also I make her "try" to go every time we leave the house so she is used to it by now, it makes trips out easier bc we know either she just went or she tried and didn't have to go.

[jsillyfun]

We did the 3 day method. Also we went to the open house for the preschool she's going to and she got really excited and we explained she would have to use the potty to go there. M&ms were key for us too. And keeping a kids potty in the living room at all times so she can just go herself when she feels the need. We also bring it in the car and I just have her go in the backseat on the potty if we are somewhere with no bathroom (the park) or in a road trip rather than a gas station.

[DesertMoon]

It took Julian 6 months to get it so idk. Just offer treats sit him on the potty tell him only babies wear diapers. Idk I had no method I just did what he responded to.

[browneyedhunni85]

Great suggestions! I put him in undies early this morning and he just had his first accident while DH was watching him. DH made a remark about him having to go back to diapers and I dismissed it and just told C, "it's okay, let's get some clean undies on and remember to tell me when you have to go potty". He pooped and peed twice this morning. We have Starburst jelly beans for rewards. I've done stickers in the past but little treats usually work best for him.

[dojo]

I know this isn't for everyone, but we did the cold-turkey three day method.

Day 1 you feed them tons of salty crackers / foods to encourage drinking water and encourage more opportunities to practice going on the potty. You put them in underpants and you stick to them LIKE GLUE all day. It's f'ing exhausting. The second they seem like they have to go or start to go, you race them to the potty and remind them to tell you they have to go and act middy disappointed but tell them things like "ohhhh you peed in your underpants. That doesn't feel good. It's ok, you just ask mommy to go next time."

Night time / naps no pull ups just underpants (the idea is that you don't confuse them by going back and forth between when they can/can't pee themselves).

Day two you still stick to them but you take a short trip a little further away from the potty (Literally, we went to our backyard for a couple hours - making sure he peed before we went out).

Day three you can leave your house and go a little further from the potty - the mall or something.


There are going to be accidents. That's ok. Overall at the end of the third day they should have a really good sense of their body and what it feels like to have the urge to go / hold it in a little until you can reach a potty / let someone know they have to go.

I followed the program to the letter and it worked really well for us but I'm not going to lie - it was intense and exhausting.

[ruby412]

We also did the 3 day method and it was great. We used m&m's for immediate reward plus stickers for longer term rewards and then had a treasure chest. Lots of positive reinforcement.

One big recommendation - get a car potty. We have a potty in the back of each of our trunks for when we're out and about and she has to go. It was crucial when she was first trained and we still use it! Ours is the Potette Plus, but I'm sure any kind with a plastic grocery bag would do the job.

Good luck!

[stayhealthy]

If your child has a favorite doll or stuffed animal, try using it for potty demonstrations. Most children enjoy watching their favorite toy go through the motions, and may learn more this way than from you telling them what to do.

Dress your child in loose-fitting clothes that they can easily take off him/herself, or buy panties a size too big.

I notice so many people mention this bit.ly/1DOLhgg
you may just be surprised to find out potty training doesn't have to be hard or stressful.

[jg183]

We waited until January and it clicked for him. We made no plans all weekend had a potty in the living room, gave skittles for rewards and he just did it
I also try to just remind him to tell us if he needed to go instead of going by time

[carawestt]

I just followed Lincoln's lead, he started telling me he needed to pee before going in his diaper. I decided to try it out and he was day trained within a week. I just left him underwear all day and asked him every 30 minutes to an hour if he had to go. Now, almost a year later, he is night trained after a week. I was pretty lazy about doing the night training because I didn't think he was ready but he caught on really quickly and did awesome with it.

[carawestt]

Oh and I used m&m's as a reward for poop.