Calling All Moms Who Have Successfully Potty Trained Their Little Boy(s): H-E-L-P!!!
Seriously...I need help...I'm completely lost as to how I should start this whole potty-training gig! What I do know is that Zander is really close to being, if not completely, ready.
Last night was our first poop-on-the-floor experience. I'm not so naive to believe there won't be countless floor-poop moments in our future...it's a milestone none the less.
It was bath time, and both boys had stinky nasty suffocating toxic-waste-filled poopy diapers. Carlos, being the wonderful husband that he is (or maybe he was just trying to get some), offered to do diaper-duty while I got the bath ready. So off I went up the stairs to start filling the tub while hubby started changing Logan.
As I was gathering towels and wash cloths I heard Carlos yell "Zander...NO!". I ran to see what was going on. When I got to the bottom of the staircase Zander was waiting for me sans-diaper....and he ever-so-proudly proceeded to lead me to the scene of the poop-crime.
There it was on the floor...Zander's poop. He pointed to it, loudly proclaiming "poo", and then showed me the now-empty diaper that he had just removed from his bottom. It was all I could do not to burst into fits of laughter (I'm sure someday soon floor-poop will no longer be funny). Carlos didn't find the humour in the whole thing....but he had had a really long day.
So...here is my quandary. Zander is starting to be very aware of his bodily functions. He tends to hold the front of his diaper when he pees, and likes to hide (usually under the dining room table) when he goes #2. When I'm changing him, he tells me he's pooped before I even open his diaper. I do believe we have reached the point when we have to at least start looking into potties and potty-training paraphernalia. And this, my dear bloggy friends, is where I need your expertise.
What do you think is a must-have feature in a potty? Is a bare-bones potty perfectly sufficient? Are the bells-&-whistles potty chairs really worth the money? Do potty chairs with musical rewards, etc. really work/help?
What about Pull-Ups? Is this something that we should start with before trying to put him on the potty? And there are so many kinds...some with disappearing images, some feel cool when wet.....
I'm drowning in potty-perplexity. H-E-L-P!
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8 comments:
My number one thing to look for in a little potty is easy to get out bowl for mom to clean. hehe!
2nd would be a sturdy pot for the kid. You dont want them tipping over in mid-poo you know.
3rd would be some Totally Awesome carpet cleaning product. Go read my review if you doubt it's awesome-ness. LOL!
Ahhh, potty training boys. Such fun!
Oh! when they start going on the pot, invest in those flushable wipes. SO great for getting off sticky toddler poo. TP sucks!
I found my way here as one does in blog land - link here link there and voila.
My boy is 5. My daughter is 3 and just 1 month out of diapers. I have a baby so we will do this all one more time.
For our son it was rewards - sticker charts and prizes. His Thomas collection grew incredibly. We also gave M&Ms while he earned the stickers for the prizes. He preferred the little ring that goes on the big toilet. And then when we were a while into the training papa taught him how to stand up and pee on trees (we have 10 acres). For a friend that was geat incentive.
My daughter likes the little potty in the family room with a nice easily removed pot. The stickers and rewards only marginally worked with her. I let them choose their spot and went with it.
Enough of my babble, hope this helps.
I have a 4 year old girl, 2 year boy - just potty trained at the start of April. Also have another baby).
My steps
- Basic potty - forget about the music/flush stuff they spend more time playing than going
- I taught them with a doll that could go pee - worked better with my girl....
- I did not do pull-ups they did not allow them to feel wet as fast. Yes it meant the first few days was a lot of clean-ups but within three days he caught on to the peeing sensation (still do pull-ups at night though)
- we rewarded with stickers - get 5 get a surprise, and then gradually increased it to 10 to get the surprised - he soon forgot about them.
He sounds like he is ready hopefully this will be relatively easy.
Good luck!
We had a hard time getting DS to poop in the toilet. He would be just fine but he avoided the pooping at all costs. We pulled out the big guns and told him everytime he pooped in the toilet he would get a Hot Wheels car...which HE LOVES. Yes, we were desperate. It worked, but he really came to expect them. Sometimes he would poop little pellets....just to get a car. Once in a while he still asks for one, and once in a while - I give in...just for reinforcement.
As far as little toilets - our guy had a hard time sitting on one comfortably. He is a big kid and didn't really fit. When he would pee - it would go straight out instead of down. So we started just using the big toilet with a step stool and holding mommy's hands. Practice practice practice
Good luck Cate!
Well, I'm by no means an expert. My almost three year old just learned to pee on the potty quickly and without much fuss, but pooping is another matter entirely.
Rewards do seem to motivate her. I swore I wouldn't use candy as a reward. We started using hand stamps but quickly switched to candy which has worked well.
In buying a potty we got a very simple one. One thing I don't like about it is the inside has all these nooks and crannies that get disgusting and are hard to clean.
Good Luck!!!
Good luck, Cate! My advice?
Skip the pull-ups. I think that stalled Nicholas a lot. Once he figured out he could GO in the pull-up, he stopped wanting to go on the toilet. We got the cotton training pants instead (they are like underwear only thicker). Not totally mess-free, but helps the process along.
I refused one of those portable potties. I didn't want to clean it. Plus, I think that pooping and peeing should be done in the bathroom. But that's me and my neuroses.
Ditto Heather - carpet cleaner is a must!
We used stickers as a prize. We put a paper on the wall in the bathroom and he could put his stickers on the paper or on his shirt (and then at the end of the way, we'd put them on the paper). He liked seeing how many stickers he got so it was good to have them all be in one place.
Last word of advice: Don't push. If you start to push him, he might stop being interest and it'll be a power struggle.
Good luck! We're here for more encouragement, advice and tears as you need it.
I read this post with much interest because I will be there someday Cate, and although I will probably forget every last piece of advice, at least I'm trying to learn right? ;-)
Good luck with everything. Just remember what worked for you and what didn't so you can tell me all over again in a couple of years ok?
I go back and forth about potty training my youngest right now. Summer is by far the best time to do it, but we *just* finished potty training my middle one after nearly a year of working on it. Training boys is HARD!
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