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Khmerbodian · Jul 16, 2009, 12:22 PM

Hello all! I am a first time mother. My son will be 2 years old in September. He takes his diaper off after he pees and throws it away. then gives me a new one. Does this mean he is ready to start training? How would I go about teaching a little boy how to use the potty? Any advice would be greatly appreciated thank you!:o

HotPotato2009 · Jul 16, 2009, 01:57 PM

Hello! I don't have a kid but I can tell you what my aunt did when she though her son was ready. You don't have to take my advice but I'll throw it out there.

My aunt bought a potty. Every now and then she would take him to the potty and see if he would go. No results right away, but it eventually worked after a while. He ended up calling for his mom and pointing to the bathroom lol. I thought it was cute!

I don't know if that would work for all babies. But I thought I'd you.

Good Luck

Khmerbodian · Jul 16, 2009, 02:03 PM

Yea that sounds like something I will most likely try. I'm wondering if I would teach him to sit and go potty? because obviously I can't teach him how to stand and go. I also noticed when he was going pee in the tub once he was holding his lil wee wee lol..usually if his diapers off when i'm not looking he just goes on the floor. but he was actually holding it this time..maybe his dad has been showing him and I'm just not aware of it haha.

xoxaprilwine · Jul 16, 2009, 02:46 PM

I am going through that right now with my daughter... she is 2 1/2. I would have liked to potty trained her sooner but I have a 5 month son and so she was reluctant to use the potty when her brother had diapers.

First I bought her potty training video's (she really liked Elmo)... she watched that over and over and over again (you know kids... they learn better with positive approach and an applaud... redundancy).

Let him come in the bathroom and watch you go pee and poo (I know its gross) because they learn better watching and seeing it first hand. Explain what your doing and why.

I bought her big girl princess underwear and told them what they where for explaining that mommy wears them and why. I also let her wear them around the house to see how it felt without a sweaty wet diaper... she enjoys the freedom... well until she forgets they are not diapers. I bought her pull-ups and two potties (floor potties... need to keep it clean so buy lots of cleaner and leave a little bit of water in it to dilute the smell). It is nice to set up a hand washing station with their own personal soaps to encourage hygiene - it makes it fun too... most of the soaps have colors and a yummy smell. That is the start... introduce the idea and it probably won't sink in for about a month.

I also found that when she did go pee or poo in her diaper I would discourage it and explain to her she was a big girl and needed to use a potty like a big girl (like all her cousins). Big thing is once they do go in the diaper... take it off and sit them on the toilet to promote the association of pee and poo in the toilet.

When he is sitting on the toilet for association reasons... turn on the tap water... helps them dribble. I know for boys you will have to teach the standing up, holding, aiming, wiping and cleaning of the genital area... I potty trained a 3 year old boy when I was 13 babysitting (actually I trained both him and his sister... they would take turns and I would explain the difference (they have so many questions)).

ALWAYS ASK: Do you have to pee or poo? Do you want to try and sit on the toilet? Constantly remind and ask.

Finally, the drawing line... it was a slow process so I knew that I had no alternative but to take the diaper off. She wears a dress and big girl panties... she had 3 accidents of pee but has religiously pooped all by herself the last 5 days. The accidents all ended up on my hardwood... after each accident I made her sit on the toilet. Told her that she has to hold it and run... pull your shirt up and your underwear down, sit, poop, call mommy "I AM DONE" - mommy will clean up and she could flush the toilet while we sang "bye bye poo poo!!" So far so good.

There will be good days and not so good days but he will get it. If you aren't getting anywhere in 4 months then you need to keep taking and being consistent in that positive/active approach.

Khmerbodian · Jul 16, 2009, 02:49 PM

Thank you that is great advice! I would give you a green thing but my account isn't old enough! That is awesome! And congrats to your little 1 on learning how to use the potty!

jenniepepsi · Jul 16, 2009, 02:54 PM

It definitely sounds to me like he is ready :)
And at 2 he is physically ready too.

I would say the first step would be to sit down and talk to him about it. Explain to him WHY we poop/pee in the potty, and ask him how he feels about it. There are so many books and videos out there too. My daughters favorite was bear in the big blue house episode of the potty. It explains many different situations, like playing and having to go potty but you don't want to get up because you dotn want to miss anything. Or having an accedent, or why we get rid of our diapers (because they get 'droopy'. The way he says it and the face he makes is so cute)

Also, 2 year olds love rewards, I used a bag of mini marshmellows, one marshmellow for pee in the potty and 2 for poop.

But I am also aware that some parents are against the 'sweets' rewards, so a sticker chart works wonders too! Or you can get one of those big bags of cheap, generic 'party gift bag' stuffers with lots of mini little cheap toys, and give one of those each time he uses the potty.

If you are going to start him standing up and peeing which some parents prefer to do, get him a stool, and put a cherrio in the toilet and have him 'aim' for the cherrio.

If daddy is there, he can also go potty with him and they can have a contest on who can sink their cherrio first :D fun huh? Hehe.

Remember, to go at HIS pace, and try not to react negitively to accedents.

Good luck, and congratulations on him being a big boy :D

xoxaprilwine · Jul 16, 2009, 03:07 PM

Yes, yes... stickers on the potty - help them decorate it if it's plane like mine... I let her have at it - she likes it because she personalized it - she shows everyone too... that's an awesome point jennie!

Just Dahlia · Jul 16, 2009, 04:51 PM

After all this reading, 'I' had to go potty!:p

My son caught on to the poop thing (on his own) a couple months before the pee.:confused:
I used the cheerio method also and it was very entertaining for both of us and it worked. We didn't have an extra potty, he just had a small step stool that he used for the regular one and that was fine. (they might not have been around then) he is 27 now:eek:

I do remember thinking that he won't be in diapers at 4 years, and he wasn't. I believe it was 2 1/2 or 3. BUT everyone is different and I wouldn't be pressured by other people telling me about their child being trained already.

The key (if you are able) is to be there to see the signs (and we all know what they are) so you can suggest to go to the bathroom. That's the most you can do.
They learn on their own, you can encourage all you want, but I feel it's up to them.:)