Potty Trained before Disney????

[michael's mom]

Hi everyone,
I'm looking for any tips to help toilet train DS before our trip to Disney. We are leaving in 7 weeks. He is 2y9m old. More importantly, he knows what to do, how to do it, and when he's doing it. He just doesn't have any interest in going. I've taken him to buy his potty, we were rewarding him when he went. Things went well for about a week and then he just lost interest.

Tonight, I took him to buy some undies (Thomas the Tank and Lightning McQueen). I am planning on letting him wear them tomorrow at home. There isn't anything that a little accident would ruin in my house so we'll see how it goes.

I don't want to put too much pressure on him and if we end up packing Huggies 7 weeks from now, I really don't care. But, it would be great if we didn't need them.

Any tips?

 

[Cars2006]

We will be in Disney in April and hoping he will be a pro by then. We started around the same age and he lost intrest and we didn't push. He turned three in December and we started again. We did the same took him to buy undies and he picked the same characters. We also bought stickers and a cooking timer.

We have him turn the timer on for 30 min the first couple of weeks. When the timer went off we would do the potty dance and silly song we made up showing the action of going to the bathroom pulling pants down and sitting until he would wanted to get off. He loved to flush so we would let him. Then pull the pant up and wash and dry his hands. He would then pick a sticker. We then moved the time to every 45 min and than every hour. We have just pulled away from using the timer. We just watch the clock now and ask him if he needs to go potty or he just tell us he has to go potty.

The beginning of the week he did great and did not have an wet accident. But he is now just getting over a stomach thing so hopefully next week he will make it all week. Also he does go to bed with a pull-up but he is dry when he wakes in the morning. Hope this helps

 

[Mommy2JulietJocelyn]

not to be a downer but I would wait until you come home. the excitement & lines were a problem for us when I was potty training my girls. DD1 would wait until the last possible second to even tell us she had to go so by the time we got out of line and to the bathroom she was already wet. Then she would get upset because we missed what she had been waitingfor and had to start all over and then she stopped telling us she had to go adn she would just go - we would find out with the tell tale wet clothing --- and we were taking them to the bathroom between every ride/show/character already.

 

[Mommy2JulietJocelyn]

not to be a downer but I would wait until you come home. the excitement & lines were a problem for us when I was potty training my girls. DD1 would wait until the last possible second to even tell us she had to go so by the time we got out of line and to the bathroom she was already wet. Then she would get upset because we missed what she had been waitingfor and had to start all over and then she stopped telling us she had to go adn she would just go - we would find out with the tell tale wet clothing --- and we were taking them to the bathroom between every ride/show/character already.

 

[camdensmom]

I would also wait...There is so much excitement and the last thing you need is to spend 45 minutes in line for Dumbo only to have to get out of line and find a potty 5 minutes before your turn

This is our story...

We were going to Disney last April. My son was 2.5 and had shown signs he was ready in the months beforehand. My mom and his teachers kept saying, "He seems ready." Each time we would respond, "We are waiting until we get home from Disney. We don't want to worry about accidents and finding bathrooms in the parks."

So we went on our trip and packed our diapers and he wore them.

We flew home at the end of the week and arrived at our house. My husband changed his diaper and as he was putting the new one on him my son said, "Daddy wait! We home from Disney. Now I wear big boy underwear."

And that was it.

He went cold turkey from diapers to underwear without any accidents. He had been listening and went along with our plan. We didn't have a clue how to "potty train" so we really lucked out.

 

[msmayor]

I'm another one for not worrying about it. My daughter was on the cusp of training during our very first trip down, and I opted to just skip any type of reminding/training/etc. while away...it really made life SO easy, because I never needed to make sure I knew where every bathroom was, and didn't need to ask every 1-2 hours "Do you have to go?".

Not to mention...the electronic flushers scared the life out of my daughter when she heard them. I was SO glad I never tried to sit her on one or she'd have had a very tough time getting back on a toilet.

 

[tami82]

You cant guarantee he will be potty trained by then. I had two kids who were potty trained around 3 years old. Never had a problem and pretty much let them go at their own pace. Now my almost 5 year old girl has been a horror as far as potty traiing is going. She has been really good about going pee on the toilet but as far as #2 it is a mess. For some reason wont go on the potty for that and will wait until i put her pullup on at night to go #2. Also she wears underwear during the day and they arent the cleanest . I try as much as i can to help this along but realize when she is ready she will eventually stop doing this. You just cant predict it as you can see. I guess its good though for now that she will do #1 without a problem.

 

[michael's mom]

Thanks everyone! I certainly will not leave the Huggies at home if he's not close to Pro at this. I have heard that it takes some kids a long time for some kids, especially boys. If he were ready, it'd be great, but I want him to enjoy his trip and I'd hate for him to be upset with an accident so I guess we'll just let him do his thing and if it works, it works, if not, I know it's no biggie either.

 

[happymommy]

My DD was potty trained first time we went, but I put pull-ups on her for the trip. It just helped make it easy to not worry if we were in a line or something. She had no problem when we got home, she didn't want them anyway. She was about 2 and a half.

I would just use pull ups for underwear at Disney. Just a suggestion.

 

[michael's mom]

We will be in Disney in April and hoping he will be a pro by then. We started around the same age and he lost intrest and we didn't push. He turned three in December and we started again. We did the same took him to buy undies and he picked the same characters. We also bought stickers and a cooking timer.

We have him turn the timer on for 30 min the first couple of weeks. When the timer went off we would do the potty dance and silly song we made up showing the action of going to the bathroom pulling pants down and sitting until he would wanted to get off. He loved to flush so we would let him. Then pull the pant up and wash and dry his hands. He would then pick a sticker. We then moved the time to every 45 min and than every hour. We have just pulled away from using the timer. We just watch the clock now and ask him if he needs to go potty or he just tell us he has to go potty.

The beginning of the week he did great and did not have an wet accident. But he is now just getting over a stomach thing so hopefully next week he will make it all week. Also he does go to bed with a pull-up but he is dry when he wakes in the morning. Hope this helps

Great suggestions...I had heard to bring him every XX minutes, but never thought of using a timer, and I LOVE the potty dance idea. I hope DS is feeling better.

 

[michael's mom]

My DD was potty trained first time we went, but I put pull-ups on her for the trip. It just helped make it easy to not worry if we were in a line or something. She had no problem when we got home, she didn't want them anyway. She was about 2 and a half.

I would just use pull ups for underwear at Disney. Just a suggestion.

Thats another good idea. When DD was wearing her pull-up, did she still tell you she needed to go and the pull-ups were just a safety net, or did she end up using the pull-up all the time rather than tell you? Either way, I'm not concerned, just curious. I think that would take the pressure of of DS if he gets too excited.

 

[mjkacmom]

Nakey-butt - if he's ready, it's quick, and if he's not, it won't work.

 

[PrincessMickey]

We're in the same boat as you.

Potty training was a nightmare with my older DS. I had him pee tarined early but he refused too poop on the potty. I started out in undies but soon got very ired of cleaning it up. Switched to pullups and did fine for awhile. Then he figured out that he could pee in the pullup instead of taking time to go on the potty. I finally told him if he didn't start going on the potty I would put a diaper back on him. It took more than 6 months to finally get it and by this time it was right around his 4th BD when he got it.

Now my younger DS is almost to to the point where he will be ready but I'm not sure if I want to wait til we get back or not. We don't go until June but after dealing with older DS I'm leaning to just waiing. I guess we wil give it a shot in the next few weeks and see how it goes.

 

[michael's mom]

DS doesn't mind peeing on the potty either...but pooping is another story. In fact, he was wearing his undies all morning and just pooped in them. We cleaned him up, showed him that the poop went in the potty and he sat there for a bit and peed so we praised that. I know it could be a long road..but it's one we have to travel huh? Anyway, big time signs he was in need of a nap so we put his new pull-ups on him to let him sleep.


MJKACMOM: I thought of nakey butt too, but it's pretty cold here today and while the heat is on, he'd get too cold naked. That will be our post-disney trick if need be

 

[Dizneydaz]

Not to mention...the electronic flushers scared the life out of my daughter when she heard them. I was SO glad I never tried to sit her on one or she'd have had a very tough time getting back on a toilet.

On my DD(9) 1st trip to WDW she was 2-3/4. She was trained but wore Pullups just in case (at WDW). Unfortunately prior to going to WDW she was scared by an automatic toilet at DLR that flushed while she was seated. After that I couldn't get her to sit on an automatic toilet for months.

When we went to WDW she would say she had to go and she wanted "Shelley to take me" (Her 20 y/o cousin who was with us) However, as soon as she saw the automatic toilets she would say "I changed my mind, I don't have to go!" This became a routine.

Luckily we knew each park had a Baby Center with kid size toilets (manual flushing) and we would make a point to visit them (the CMs there are really nice! ) Plus I believe there may have been a few restrooms scattered around without the "scary" toilets. (Can't remember where-it's been too many years now).

Anyway, I wouldn't hold off training him before you go if you think it's time, but be prepared for a litte regression (excitement, automatic toilets, etc.) Plus like others have said, you don't want to have to get out of line after waiting a long time to ride if he has to go just as you are ready to board. (This always seems to happen ) Just now I'm trying to think where the closest restroom is to the dinosaur excavation at the Boneyard in AK and I think it's pretty far away (behind Restaurantasaurus). Not someplace you want to have to find in a hurry as your DS is playing and says "I have to go potty!

Good luck with whatever you decide and have fun.

 

[michael's mom]

On my DD(9) 1st trip to WDW she was 2-3/4. She was trained but wore Pullups just in case (at WDW). Unfortunately prior to going to WDW she was scared by an automatic toilet at DLR that flushed while she was seated. After that I couldn't get her to sit on an automatic toilet for months.

When we went to WDW she would say she had to go and she wanted "Shelley to take me" (Her 20 y/o cousin who was with us) However, as soon as she saw the automatic toilets she would say "I changed my mind, I don't have to go!" This became a routine.

Luckily we knew each park had a Baby Center with kid size toilets (manual flushing) and we would make a point to visit them (the CMs there are really nice! ) Plus I believe there may have been a few restrooms scattered around without the "scary" toilets. (Can't remember where-it's been too many years now).

Anyway, I wouldn't hold off training him before you go if you think it's time, but be prepared for a litte regression (excitement, automatic toilets, etc.) Plus like others have said, you don't want to have to get out of line after waiting a long time to ride if he has to go just as you are ready to board. (This always seems to happen ) Just now I'm trying to think where the closest restroom is to the dinosaur excavation at the Boneyard in AK and I think it's pretty far away (behind Restaurantasaurus). Not someplace you want to have to find in a hurry as your DS is playing and says "I have to go potty!

Good luck with whatever you decide and have fun.

I agree, I'm not going to hold off because he's showing the signs... but, I'm certainly not opposed to pull-ups or even diapers if we need them.

That is GREAT to hear about the baby care centers and the not scary toilets. My school has those toilets and many of the kindergartners and some of my first graders were frightened by them. We did have a way to help the kids through that so now being reminded about them at Disney I'll be prepared. The kindergarten teachers all had a large cup on the sensor and the kids would just pull the cup up when they were ready to flush. Now, this totally eliminates the hygeine factor of the automatic flushers, but, they still should wash their hands so if this helps avoid accidents or back-ups and discomfort, that's what we've done.

Maybe I'll bring one with me just in case? Anyway, I'll have to also so some research to know where restrooms are before we get there. Sort of map out our plan.

Thanks for the info!

 

[Dizneydaz]

My school has those toilets and many of the kindergartners and some of my first graders were frightened by them. We did have a way to help the kids through that so now being reminded about them at Disney I'll be prepared. The kindergarten teachers all had a large cup on the sensor and the kids would just pull the cup up when they were ready to flush. Now, this totally eliminates the hygeine factor of the automatic flushers, but, they still should wash their hands so if this helps avoid accidents or back-ups and discomfort, that's what we've done.

Maybe I'll bring one with me just in case? Anyway, I'll have to also so some research to know where restrooms are before we get there. Sort of map out our plan.

Thanks for the info!

When my DD got a little older and I was able to convice her to finally sit back down on the "scary" toilet I would hold my hand over the sensor-this helped alot. However, since then I have read about bringing some sticky notes with you and just putting one of those over the sensor. Then you can just throw it away if you want after you remove it. Easier to carry than a cup.

I think you can find out the manual toilet locations on the Family Thread. Kids being scared of the toilets is a common occurence. I know I read a thread or two years back that had the "kid friendly" toilets on it. If you don't find one, just ask the question there. I'm sure you'll get some responses.

Have a great time! Your DS is the same age as my DD was on her first trip. And while she doesn't really remember that much about it, the memories and pictures for me are priceless. It was also her first plane trip.

 

[michael's mom]

When my DD got a little older and I was able to convice her to finally sit back down on the "scary" toilet I would hold my hand over the sensor-this helped alot. However, since then I have read about bringing some sticky notes with you and just putting one of those over the sensor. Then you can just throw it away if you want after you remove it. Easier to carry than a cup.

I think you can find out the manual toilet locations on the Family Thread. Kids being scared of the toilets is a common occurence. I know I read a thread or two years back that had the "kid friendly" toilets on it. If you don't find one, just ask the question there. I'm sure you'll get some responses.

Have a great time! Your DS is the same age as my DD was on her first trip. And while she doesn't really remember that much about it, the memories and pictures for me are priceless. It was also her first plane trip.

I love having access to other parents...I never would have thought of sticky notes, and I can be pretty resourceful. Here I would be, lugging a huge, large soda cup from McD's or something...and a small pack of paper in my pocket would suffice.

We took DS down at 14 months, and you're right, he doesn't remember, but I have memories from that trip that I will never forget...in fact, my fave. disney memories are from that trip. I also know he won't remember too much of this trip, but it will still be fun while we're there in less than 2 months

 

[michael's mom]

so we're still not training...he'll go whenever we remind him, and he occassionally tells us, but only pee. It looks like we'll be packing those huggies afterall.