I am trying to potty train my two year old son before the next addition arrives in may. He has gone on occasion, if I catch him in time. But he doesn't always tell me when he needs to go. Sometimes he tells me after he has gone, but not before. And I don't know whether I should ask him like every hour if he needs to go, or how I should go about this. Any advice on how to get this potty training in gear?

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Originally Posted by buggage

I am trying to potty train my two year old son before the next addition arrives in may. He has gone on occasion, if I catch him in time. But he doesnt always tell me when he needs to go. Sometimes he tells me after he has gone, but not before. and I dont know whether I should ask him like every hour if he needs to go, or how I should go about this. Any advice on how to get this potty training in gear?

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You should have him if he has to go every 30 min so he can tell you

Any one else have any advice?

I was a preschool teacher for 3 year. I had 15 2year olds to myself and had to potty train all of them. The best thing that you have to make it seem like it's the coolest thing in the world. Once they see someone else their age do it, they want to be cool and do it like them too. (monkey see- monkey do) there can be some kind of award once a day or once a week, if they stay dry and use the potty they can pick a movie for you two to watch.

Take your little one to the bathroom at least every hour whether they go or not. Explain to him that he is becoming a big kid, and using the toilet is what big kids do. The are tons of books geared to towards toddlers who are ready to potty train. You can go to the library and check out some and read them with your child. Another thing is if you are home all day with your child, allow him to wear underwear instead of diapers. I know this might sound like a disaster waiting to happen, but when a child wears a diaper, it just soaks everything up and they don't get the "sensation" of actually going. If and when they do have an accident, do not punish them in any way for it and be sure to change them immediately. Keep him dressed in easy to access clothes such as sweats so the child can learn to pull his pants down on his own and you are not constantly dealing with snaps or buttons. At night have him potty just before bed, but until you are confident that he will have no accidents, a diaper or pull-up should be used to keep his bed clean.
Remember that children learn to potty train at different rates and times just like everything else. For example, don't expect your child to be just like your friend's son and train in 2 months. He will do it when he is ready. But make sure to give him lots of praise and encouragement to keep himself dry.

This is all GREAT advice, but let me remind you not to push until he is ready.

Potty training a little one before they are ready can lead to many problems, nocturia (bedwetting) for one, that can last until they are older.

Buggage, look at it this way, no kindergartner goes to school still in diapers. I have had 4 kids I have potty trained and 22 years ago I was a preschool teacher of 2 year olds just like kholloway. She had some great ideas, but remember it will not happen until he is ready.

You can ask until you are blue in the face, you can take him to the potty until you feel like you live in the bathroom, but if he is not emotionally and mentally ready, it will not happen. There will be WAY too many accidents.

What happens is that they have to learn what it feels like to have a full bladder or bowel. BTW, the bowel training is usually the hardest for them to learn. If you are taking him to the potty, but he does not know what a full bladder feels like, you are wasting your efforts.

You may have 2 in diapers for a little bit, but there is worse that could happen. My youngest who is 4 1/2 now was not ready until almost age 3, this is not uncommon for boys.

So, just don't rush or push the issue, you will stress him out and that will make training all the harder. Just let him tell you when he is ready.

Believe me, he will :D

Thank you all for your advice. Yeah, I have been preping him for it for about 7 months now(he started showing signs of wanting to do it) so I would take him if he asked, or I would praise him when he told me he needed changed and stuff like that. I haven't been pushing the idea on him, and have just been lettign him take it in stride. But lately I got to thinking that maybe I wasn't talking to him about it enough, and encouraging him enough, and was thinking that as a result maybe he wasn't understanding that it was anything real important. I don't want to preasure him too much, because like you said j9, I know that it can cause him to regress and rebel, and that's the last thing I want. I want him to be confident in it and be willing to do it. With him being our first, its hard because he doesn't see any older siblings going or anything like that. I have him go in with his Daddy though when his daddy goes, and that is what seemed to get his interest up. So I don't know. I guess I am just like all the other first timers out there and I just have to feel along as I go. I just don't want to push him, or under encourage him. Thanks again for all the advice guys

Ever tried to use cherieos.. put one in the toilet and let him try and sink it and then he gets a reward if he does... games are always a good incentive

My cousins did the cherios thing and I always wanted to do that with my sons. BUT I didn't know if it was more for aim purposes, or if it was actually to encourage them to pee in the first place.

Well, it is a little of both Buggage.

See, it is fun, therefore they enjoy going, and it is an incentive because they get a reward if they go. So it serves dual purposes.

As for siblings, I never sent mine together. I just let them tell me when they were ready. It is just so much easier that way. Less stressful for you and less stressful for the little one.

I would take mine with me though. And we would talk about it on occasion like you are. But I never pushed, never prodded, all 4 did it on their own when they were ready, and we never had any accidents that way.

Remember he won't go to kindergarten in diapers. Letting him do it in his own good time is the healthiest approach.

OK. I don't feel like such a slouch now. Everyone was asking me if potty training wasn't going so well because he wasn't trained yet, and it started to make me think that I wasn't doing it right. Glad that I can relax and keep doing what I am doing. Thanks everyone!

No, you are not a slouch!! NO WAY!!

Every child does things at their own pace. They get their teeth at different ages, they walk at different ages, they talk at different ages, and they potty train at different ages.

If someone asks why he is not trained yet, just say that he will do it when he is good and ready.

Letting them train themselves is a great way to avoid "accidents" because by the time they are training they know full well what a full bladder feels like.

Just keep doing what you are doing, it will all work out. Just no pressure on him, no punishing if he wets himself, etc.

Johnny still has an accident at night once in a blue moon, he punishes himself, I just tell him "It's okay honey, it was an accident, now let's go potty while mommy changes the sheets." It is over and done with nothing else said.

Thanks so much. Its nice to hear. My husbands sister has a son that is only 12 days older then my son(and we are both pregnant at the same time again, so it will be the same distance apart again) and it seems like there has always been an unspoken competition going on, over who's kid was more developed. It seemed to start when our son was crawling, sitting and walking before theirs and then theirs started talking more before ours, and it seemed like they tried to hold it over our heads and try to compete since then. We really like them, but it has always annoyed me that its started to turn into that. Anyway, they are some of the ones asking whether he is going yet, and how they are training theirs and yeah. Haha I'm just babbling now. Its just nice to know that we are doing the right thing on letting him do it on his own time, and not pushing him into it just because family and friends think that it is over due. My little boy is so smart and animated and opinionated and I know he'll start doing it when he wants to and not a moment before. I just have to keep being supportive and loving. Thanks again everyone for your help. It was much appreciated.

Don't be surprised if one day he just starts going one day. My oldest did that. Her aunt told her that big girls use the toilet when they potty and that was that... she just started going. He might just do the same thing