OT: Here we go! We're potty training! Potty chair or toilet trainer?

[1rockinmamato2]

We're just back from WDW and for months beforehand I kept saying I was going to wait to do the potty training thing with DS when we got back.

We've already been talking about using the potty, watching videos, reading books, and trying to teach him the difference between when he's going pee pee or poo poo (how ya like my toddler vocabulary there? ).

Now it's time to get serious!

We have a potty chair that I detest, so I'm either going to replace it with another or get one of the toilet trainers. I'm not sure which is the best way to go with our little man. He is on the smallish side and does not like being off the floor (he's not our climber, but DD sure is!). Common sense tells me to get the potty chair for him, but I've heard potty chair kids sometimes have a difficult time in public because they have the use the big toilet.

Uggh. And to make matters more complicated, I've found the Peter Potty Toddler Urinal that is supposed to be great for boys.

Also, DD is 19 months. Is it too soon to start working with her on the potty too? I had wanted to potty train them at the same time, but DS is going back to daycare in a few months and he kind of needs to be semi-potty trained.

I have a feeling I'm in for one of the biggest challenges as a mom.

And speaking of moms, Happy Mother's Day!!!

 

[las3888]

I am probably not qualified to answer this post since DS is not yet potty trained, but we have worked on it for a long stretch of time (we're now pulling back but ready to start again). I might recommend the smaller potty chair versus adapters that go on the toilet...in my situation, DS seems afraid of the big potty, so I can't even get him on it. However, if he doesn't seem to hesitant, I would try for that (with a stool).

Also, I'm on the fence with that urinal too...the thing is, DS has gone potty on his little potty chair and will do both #1 while he does #2...both functions seem to lend itself to sitting, at least right now...plus he doesn't seem at all interested in trying to go while standing.

I have seen other posts here for those who really liked the urinal and it was the one thing that worked for DS...

Sorry, no real advice...just general comments. Good luck either way!

Happy Mother's Day!

 

[of2dbeach]

19 mo is a bit young unless he is giving you signs he dosent want to wear a diaper anymore. i always put the boys on the toilet backwards to pee or poop till they were old enough to stand , hold it etc. the nice thing about sitting them backwards is they dont really have to aim and they can read a book on the back of the tank as they sit there. the one thing i would get is a small step stool because it can be used for 2 thing. 1 for the potty because little kids dont like there feet dangling... and because he needs to wash his hands silly goose!! best way to get them to wash there hands long enough is to sing "Happy Birthday " Dont push them to potty train it will happen in its own sweet time. my kids loved the movie "once upon a potty " there is also a book with a potty and a doll that might help also. another thing i did which helped alot is once you take them out of diaper/ pull ups do NOT never ever put them back into a pull up. buy a waterproof mattress cover instead. yes i know OMG this women is nuts but it is too confusing to go back and forth. I potty trained my Autistic son in 24 hours but I also had special training on how to do so. i dont reccomend it but he was 5 at the time. The one thing I will say from it is flood them with fluids, little food.. praise ALOT.. jump up and dont if you have to. whatever works.
i wish you the best i know how it is with the diaper thing plus god there exspensive !!
happy mother's day !!

 

[Mouse House Mama]

I wouldn't make yourself crazy about either choice. Your kids are very young. If they are ready to potty then let them but personally and from experience I would not force the issue. If your ds doesn't like being off the floor use the potty chair. He is not going to use it forever. When he is more comfortable he'll use a regular toilet.

 

[Mkrop]

My boys hated the potty chair. I got the soft cushy seats for the potty and a step stool so thier feet were not dangling. Worked great! GL

 

[rt2dz]

With my oldest, I got both and let him choose. He chose the standing on a stool and the seat adapter with a stool. He was 2 when we trained him.

DS#2 wanted the potty chair when he first started, but then switched to the big boy toilet and refused the adaptor; he started standing shortly after. He was 2, closer to 3 when we trained him. Do to some allergy issues, he wasn't 100% until 3 1/2.

DS#3 (2yo) is currently training himself and he is using the big boy toilet and sitting backwards. I don't know where he picked that up. I am doing nothing to train this child because someone has been sick all school year, especially since Christmas when he really was showing to be ready. I just haven't had the time. The preschool told me he has taken it on himself to start there, so I'm letting him handle it at home too. I think he'll have it pretty much done by the end of June.

Anyhow, the point is, let your DS decide what will work for him. Each of my boys has surprised me in their choices, but since each chose for himself; it wasn't really a struggle, minus the allergies that caused some control problems. That ended within 48 hours of diagnosis.

As far as your DD goes, if she shows readiness signs, go for it. I was trained by 15 months and so was one of my neices. My Pedi pointed out to me 20-30 years ago most kids were finished with potty training by the 20-26 months and there really isn't a reason to wait--with some exceptions. I believe if you miss "the window" many times you end up waiting longer. You might end up training longer, but you'll have a finished product at an earlier age.

 

[HelenePA]

Your gonna need both a potty chair and the toilet insert (their little butts fall in when they poop on the toilet with out one!) DS was training at 19months. Then he fell into the toilet he regressed but got back on with it and was done before he was 2. I really didn't have much to do with it so I can't give you much hints on "how to" he did it himself. I always said I'd never push him to be trained.. til he was 3... I had NO part in trying to train him early.

 

[Matt'nMeg'sMom]

Do not use a chamberpot. Go directly to cushy toilet ring. Why confuse the issue???

I don't agree with the philosophy of waiting to train.

DS started sitting on the ring at around 11 months old. I'd plop him on it after every meal and nap. He'd sit with a toy for about about 5 minutes. If he peed/pooped (he usually did because he'd just woken up or eaten) then I'd give HUGE praise. If not, no big deal, we'd just try again after next meal/nap. It was a happy experience.

He was fully poop trained by 15 months old, and fully pee trained by 22 months. (no more accidents.) We never had ANY issue toilet training.

Also -- for constipated babies, the little handles and leverage on a cushy toilet seat is a GODSEND.

 

[camdensmom]

Ironically we were in the same situation. We kept saying, "We'll have to work on him using the potty AFTER Disney" because I didn't want to deal with the issue while away.

We lucked out though because the day we got home DS said, "We home from Disney, I wear big boy underwear now." And oddly enough that was that!

It's been 3 weeks and he has only had 2 accidents after going cold turkey off diapers. He had used the potty before, but it was never something we pushed or even really tried for.

With DS I did find that he did MUCH better with the small floor potty than the ring because he didn't like feeling suspended. I think having his feet on the floor also 'gave him some leverage.'

Lots of luck!

 

[kids1617]

Both my kids are potty trained and I always used the toilet ring. With my son he refused to use a potty at a public store or someone else's home unless he had his toilet ring. We put the ring in a plastic bag from the grocery store and then into a backpack and when he had to go we used the ring at the stores. It was easier for him because he was used to his toilet ring. My youngest had interest in the potty on her own and would go to the bathroom to put the ring on the toilet and motion that she wanted to sit. She can go in any public bathroom so I didn't have the same issue of carrying the potty ring around to Target or to a friends house.
I agree about putting kids on earlier than later. I used to put my daughter on before naps and bath time and then she just started learning from there. The potty ring was the way to go for our famly.

 

[teacup princess]

I think it depends on your child's preference and your personal gag reflux (I seriously cannot empty or clean the potty chair without almost losing my lunch). We went with the toilet ring for this reason. Read your child's cues. You'll know when he has some interest in using the toilet. Don't rush it if they are not ready.

 

[workinmomof2]

We used the cushy seat too. We started putting our DSs on there around the time that they turned one prior to putting them in the bath. Got each one used to the toilet so they weren't afraid of it. As they got older we put them on there more often and would read to them. It worked for us. I do not think 19 months is too young to start. Agreed with also getting a step stool to put by the toilet. We have one by the toilet and one by the sink so that they can get to the toilet by themselves and get to wash their hands.

 

[Russian-in-Kansas]

I toilet trained both of mine at the same time, started with the oldest when he was 24 months old and the little one was 12 months old. I thought it was easiest to knock them out both at once. Due to their size and different abilities, the little one had to go on the little potty and the older on the cushioned toilet seat. The strangest thing was that they both were using their respective toilet places within a month!!! But the little one was a bit of a pain to move from the potty chair to even the cushioned seat. He just got so used to doing business in his own receptacle. And it was a pain for me to constantly clean and sanitize it....So, yeah I'd say do the cushioned seat and a step stool, much easier for both in the long run.

 

[1rockinmamato2]

Thanks everyone for your replies and advice.

I really would like to go with the toilet trainer/toilet ring. It makes a lot of sense. Plus, and I know this may sound crazy, I had never even thought about what it was going to be like to clean a potty chair. I mean, I assume you dump the waste in the toilet afterwards and flush it, but then what? It would have to be cleaned after every use. Yuck!

And with two at a time, I don't think that would be fun for us. So, toilet trainer it is for us. If that doesn't work, we'll do the potties I guess.

 

[HerdOHuds]

I am in the midst of training all four of my kids. They are quadruplets. We have both the potty chairs and a toilet ring adaptor. Some prefer the 'little potty' and others want to sit or stand at the 'big potty.' The boys only use the adaptor when they need to do a sit down job and I love that when they stand, their hands don't have to touch the toilet, especially when we are out and about.

Though your daughter might be a bit young to train, there isn't any reason she can't sit on the potty for a few minutes when big brother is in there or before bathtime, but I wouldn't push her.

In my situation, I am not always right there when someone is in the bathroom. I might be dealing with a dirty bottom or breaking up a toy disagreement or cleaning up a spill, or you name it. So I don't empty the potty seat after every use. These seats have lids, so the odor doesn't permeate around the room. Anytime I do get into the bathroom, I empty it into the toilet, fill it with water from the sink, swish it around and empty it again. Then wipe it out with a Clorox disinfecting wipe, then finally spray the whole thing down with Lysol and let it air dry. It takes about 2 minutes.

Good luck training them both at the same time. It has been a pretty tough road for us. But don't feel intimidated. It will work itself out eventually!

 

[CruisingCamper]

My DS is now 19 months old and I too have thought "I better wait to try and potty train AFTER the WDW trip"!! But am I waiting too late? He'll be 23 months when we return.

I can't imagine trying to get him to the bathroom in a hurry at Disney!