Potty Training

When it comes to potty training I consider myself a pro. I’m only kidding. Having 5 boys certainly does give me a bit of experience in the department of potty training boys though. I must say that not all children are the same when it comes to potty training. They all have different personalities and ways of learning.

With our oldest we stripped him down (naked) and let him run around the house like that. He hated peeing on the floor and would run to the potty to go. He started showing signs of being ready very early on and was trained by 18 months of age. All of our other boys were trained at the age of 2. We never had 2 in diapers, thankfully.

One of my biggest points of advice when potty training is to be patient and don’t push your child or yell at them if they do have an accident. As frustrating as it can be for you as a parent, you have to remember that it is just as frustrating for you child and you certainly do not want to scare them away from the potty–that will only cause bigger problems for you in the future.

We always train our boys sitting down. I do know people that train standing up, but I like to wait until they are a little older for that (and have a little more control over where the spray goes!)

Start when they are young. Just bring them into the bathroom with you and tell them something like, “Yay! Mommy goes Pee Pee on the potty!” Get them excited about the potty. If they have interest in sitting on the potty, even though they more than likely won’t actually go pee, let them. If they are scared of the potty, do not force them to sit on it. Baby steps–get them used to the potty and excited about it.

When they start showing signs of readiness you can start your training.

What are the signs?

When they can hold their pee, are telling you when they have gone and are wanting changed, and when they can say pee and poopy. It will be hard to train them if they can not tell you when they have to go.

Now, this is where the patience needs to come in. Be sure to always talk in a loving voice to them and be sure you have time to cater to their bathroom needs. You will need to take them to the bathroom often as they are learning how to pee on the potty and how to time it out. It is going to take practice and patience.

When they do go on the potty you need to make a big deal of it. Children love to hear praise, especially from their parents, so give them the praise they desire and deserve. Cheer, sing a potty song and get up an do that potty dance! Who cares what you look like, this is going to help your child.

Aren’t you excited?

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQMQzkXlERk]

My little guy is! He will be 2 next month and has been going pee on the potty periodically. He takes his diaper off when he needs changed–yes, EVERY time! Yucky! I have to be quick, check him often and take him to the potty often. He is doing great, but to be honest, he is sort of training himself as I really did nothing more than introduce him to the potty. I just wish he would leave his diapers on!

But, now that he is wearing pull-ups it’s not QUITE as bad. He likes his BIG BOY pants and he likes that he can pull the up and down–I like that they have straps on the side in case it’s a really messy change.

The video above is of him receiving his personal phone call from Towmater from the movie Cars! When they called I actually thought Lightning McQueen was calling and since I couldn’t hear what they were saying I kept asking him if Lightning McQueen called him. Oops! That’s right, you can go to the Pull-Ups website and sign up for your child to receive a phone call from a Disney character. How cool is that!?

The Pull-Ups Potty Break is a great tool for potty training!

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Are you preparing to or currently potty training a little one at home?

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