OT: Potty training

[ntburns22]

I am at loss here so I figured I would ask for some ideas. My DS2.5 loves to use his potty. If at home we can go all day without an accident. But here is the catch his lower half must be without any clothes, pullups or underware. If I put him in his big boy pantshe will have an accident and not care about it. He will even ask for his diaper/pullup off when at home during the day so he can use his potty. I know he may be alittle young but we brought the potty out just to introduce it and he loves to use it. Any ideas on how to get him to wear big boy pants? He does have all his favorites to choose from.

 

[100AcreWood]

Hmmm, that's a tough one. We had a preschool teacher who tried to potty train our dd at that age. She was very interested, but not consistently interested. Our pediatrician told us to back off and give it a few months. So we left the potty out and she used it every now and then. Two weeks before her 3rd birthday she told me she needed underwear because she didn't want to be a baby anymore. And that was it! She still has accidents every now and then but I was glad I waited for her to decide.

Good luck! I think this is one of the most complicated phases of the toddler. Especially getting used to taking them to the potty 2-3 times when you're out

 

[waspnest]

Just keep it available, he'll use it every once in awhile. Maybe read books to him about going potty, etc. I've always heard that when they're ready, they just decide to do it and it's easy. But when ds was potty training I was so stressed that he wouldn't be ready for preschool that I just got so frustrated. After a few weeks of cleaning up messes (thankfully usually on the linoleum or hardwoods, not carpet), I just put him back in pullups. Shorty after he turned three we took a weekend trip and noticed that he was dry the whole weekend. So we tried underwear again, and that was it, except for occasional accidents.

 

[mishtb]

my 2.5 yr old..... back months ago she was doing so good... Now its seems the opposite way around. Now when we ask her if she has to go -- its always no.... I even tried having her wear panties. They have the disney princess on them...so we tried telling her not to pee-pee on the pretty princess. Well that didn't work.... Lately we haven't bothered her with it.. I just don't get it... she does fine with it at school, but she never wants to try when she's home..

 

[100AcreWood]

my 2.5 yr old..... back months ago she was doing so good... Now its seems the opposite way around. Now when we ask her if she has to go -- its always no.... I even tried having her wear panties. They have the disney princess on them...so we tried telling her not to pee-pee on the pretty princess. Well that didn't work.... Lately we haven't bothered her with it.. I just don't get it... she does fine with it at school, but she never wants to try when she's home..

I'm no expert for sure, but you may want to try telling her it's time to go to the potty. I found with my dd if I told her it was time and didn't make it a choice she would go. Also, have you tried the Gerber training pants? The cloth ones, not the plastic. My dd loves those and they soak up some of the wetness if they have an accident.

 

[Ask"WhyNot?"]

I am at loss here so I figured I would ask for some ideas. My DS2.5 loves to use his potty. If at home we can go all day without an accident. But here is the catch his lower half must be without any clothes, pullups or underware. If I put him in his big boy pantshe will have an accident and not care about it. He will even ask for his diaper/pullup off when at home during the day so he can use his potty. I know he may be alittle young but we brought the potty out just to introduce it and he loves to use it. Any ideas on how to get him to wear big boy pants? He does have all his favorites to choose from.

My oldest DS was the same way. At two he'd use the potty without fail as long as he was "nudey budey". In pants of any type (underware, pullup, diaper) he could care less. It wasn't that he didn't know, it's that we waited so long past his window of interest (I'm convinced) that he learned not to care about using the potty. Well, at home I did let me run around naked from the waiste down as long as we didn't have company to get him used to not going in his pants. And when he went in the pull up (wish they had the feel wet kind then), we didn't make a big deal out of it--just changed him. Well, after about 6 months of this, no more accidents. One day I said "we're out of pull ups and Daddy bought the wrong size" (True) and "you'll just have to wear underwear and not have an accident". He said OK. And never had an accident again. Even woke up at 11 pm that night to use the toilet. The other boys I started training sooner & they were all trained by 2 years (part of my window of opportunity theory--can't start too early, but don't wait too long or it will be long).

OK, so my advice is: Let him run around with nothing on the lower half and unless you have company or are out and about. Use the feel wet type (like underware without the mess for you) of pull ups when people are over and when you go places. Then when your DS is ready to move on (no pull up accidents), then pull out the underware. Don't make any kind of big deal his being naked or having accidents and it will probably all fall into place sooner than you think.

 

[ntburns22]

My oldest DS was the same way. At two he'd use the potty without fail as long as he was "nudey budey". In pants of any type (underware, pullup, diaper) he could care less. It wasn't that he didn't know, it's that we waited so long past his window of interest (I'm convinced) that he learned not to care about using the potty. Well, at home I did let me run around naked from the waiste down as long as we didn't have company to get him used to not going in his pants. And when he went in the pull up (wish they had the feel wet kind then), we didn't make a big deal out of it--just changed him. Well, after about 6 months of this, no more accidents. One day I said "we're out of pull ups and Daddy bought the wrong size" (True) and "you'll just have to wear underwear and not have an accident". He said OK. And never had an accident again. Even woke up at 11 pm that night to use the toilet. The other boys I started training sooner & they were all trained by 2 years (part of my window of opportunity theory--can't start too early, but don't wait too long or it will be long).

OK, so my advice is: Let him run around with nothing on the lower half and unless you have company or are out and about. Use the feel wet type (like underware without the mess for you) of pull ups when people are over and when you go places. Then when your DS is ready to move on (no pull up accidents), then pull out the underware. Don't make any kind of big deal his being naked or having accidents and it will probably all fall into place sooner than you think.

Thanks I have bought the feel wet pullups but he is not bothered by being wet. I guess I will just let him go in his birthday suit until he stays dry in his pullup while we are about and about. Thanks for all the great replies.

 

[rchristiansen]

The best advice I can give you is to give it up for a couple of weeks. Just let it go. Put him back in pull-ups and don't even mention the potty. Then start again in a couple of weeks. See what happens --- you'll be surprised!!! (take it from the voice of experience - and friend's experiences)

 

[holden]

We are working on potty training with our DD, who will be 3 next month. She is pretty good during the day, but has accidents when she is tired (starting around 5pm). We tried to train her six months ago, but had the same problems you are having. I agree with the experts out there...take a little break and try again in a few weeks. She really wants to keep her panties dry now, even if she does have accidents sometimes. I'm hoping she'll be trained by her birthday!

 

[susykt4]

I trained my son by using the "bottom half naked" method when he was 22 months old. I started training at the end of the summer but when the weather got cooler I put him in sweatpants or other easy-on/off pants. I didn't use underwear because he was so little I didn't think he'd be able to pull it up or down by himself. Mistake! He just had his 3rd birthday and still insists on going "commando"!!! I'm hoping to go back to work soon and can't wait to hear what the daycare provider thinks of a 3-yr-old without underwear.

Hang in there. Your son will "get it" soon. Just don't give up!!!

 

[BlondeAlligator]

I have been thinking about posting a potty training question here for a while...my DD is 3 and 3 months and still not potty trained. We have tried 3 times this year to train...she'll do it for a day or two and then it turns into this massive battle of wills and she just screams and slams the potty lid down if I even mention it. Our ped told me in Aug. to back off until after our Oct. Disney trip (which was wonderful) because even if we made progress so close to our trip she might get derailed while we were there. So now we are back & I have NO IDEA how to proceed. I have tried the Gerber training pants, Easy ups, panties...potty chair, big potty...I feel like the only way to get this done is to lock us both in my bathroom & not come out until she gets it!! ARGH! I am a stay at home mom but we have a very busy schedule...how do I deal with this? Nothing about raising her has been this difficult. HELP! Everytime I ask someone how to train her, they always say "It just happens"... but I need some direction. Advice please! I am soooo frustrated!!

 

[brymolmom]

Hi - DS 3.5 JUST got it down in the last month or so - we started a month before his 3rd birthday. I know you'll hear a lot of stories about 'they just get it' and 'he/she asked to get rid of the diaper' but I'm here to tell you that it totally depends on the child and some children will NOT 'just do it'. My son is very into routine (almost anally so) and I need to coax him into stopping to wear his winter coat when it's 60 degrees out, so I knew that he would never just 'decide' to change his routine and it was something I needed to coax/train him to change.

So- we made the decision and just went 'all in'. Changed to underwear one day and never went back. He had ups and downs, days with a lot of accidents and then some weeks when he went almost accident-free and I thought we were out of the woods, then he would go back to accidents. He had mostly poop accidents after the first few weeks, so I knew it was an emotional thing - he could do it - he just chose not to.

Some things helped - we ended up letting him tell us when he had to go (instead of forcing him to go every couple of hours - which always ended up in fights) - and it caused accidents for 2 days before he was happier with the control to decide for himself.

Anyway- my best advice - decide to do it and do it. If you know he/she is ready physically just go for it and don't look back. It will be emotionally draining on you - the parents, so be prepared to be frustrated. But hang in there and it will get better.

We're about to start the same thing with dd here shortly...I'm trying to gear up for round 2.

Best of luck.

 

[rt2dz]

Well, there are a couple of things no matter what you can't do--force your child to eat or use the toilet. Understanding and accepting that will take you a long way. It is completely a control issue. And there is no battle for control if you don't fight it. And I think that if your child has grown out of the toddler stage and into the preschooler age, it will be a bigger battle. You'd think it would be the opposite, but experience and observation has convinced me otherwise.

Anyhow, offer your ds the potty or the big toilet with a seat insert and stool. Let him choose which type and pick out the accesories. You've given him the first part of the control. Let him decide when to use it--DON'T take him every couple of hours. It's under his control. Let him decide if he wants to be naked or not. If he doesn't want to be naked, let him pick out the pull ups or the underwear. Again, he has the control. Any accidents, just clean it up and don't say a word. Again, you aren't trying to control the situation. It will be used under his control totally and he is more likely to use it. Afterall, everyone else is. Which is my next hint, let him go into the bathroom with both you and his dad, especially dad.

He just had his 3rd birthday and still insists on going "commando"!!! I'm hoping to go back to work soon and can't wait to hear what the daycare provider thinks of a 3-yr-old without underwear.

Don't be surprised if when he sees everyone else's underwear, he will suddenly want to start wearing some himself.