How long/how often? (pottying)

[crunchy_mommy]

How long is reasonable to let DS sit on the potty? Yesterday (& most days) he sat on it 20+ minutes & didn't go. Today he sat on it about 10 minutes and went, and then later 5 minutes & then went.

And how often do most kids potty? It seems he asks several times an hour although I'm not sure if he really needs to go or if he's just saying "potty" for the fun of it...

Obviously I want him to learn to use the potty but I really don't want to devote my entire day to it. He is only 18 mos & he is fascinated by the potty but is only starting to actually GO in it. We might try the 3-day potty thing in a few weeks if DH can help out & we can stay home for a few days... but I really don't care that much either way if he potty-learns NOW (or in a few weeks), I just want him to be able to use it when he wants & get comfortable & familiar with it since he's SO interested in it. But he seems to want to use it ALL THE TIME & I'm not sure what's 'obsession' and what's normal pottying for a 1.5yo?? How do I encourage it without devoting our lives to it?

Oh and another really dumb question, if you bring a potty in the car, where do you dump it??? And what do I do if we're on a walk or something? And also, is it acceptable to let DS sit on someone else's potty (i.e. if we're at a playdate) or is that "ewww"? Oh and how do you wash out the potty, I've just been rinsing it but am I supposed to sanitize somehow????

[Neera]

It really depends. I'd take cues from him. There was a time when dd would sit for q. long watching dvds and would get off the potty only when she said she was tired. You could try setting the timer for 10-15 minutes, which is giving him enough time to go. There is a little travel potty available that comes with plastic bags that you could just dump in the garbage. I don't remember the name but I remember seeing it at Toysrus. For walks I am not the best person to help you as i didn't start pl until dd was 2. If it is a park get to know if there is a bathroom there and try to walk closer to it or I have seen little ones peeing in the grass. Don't know if that's something you'd want to do. I personally wouldn't use another child's potty. But that's me. I have seen used pottys/toilet seats being sold. I use some hand sanitizer to clean it out.

[ellemenope]

Originally Posted by crunchy_mommy

How long is reasonable to let DS sit on the potty? Yesterday (& most days) he sat on it 20+ minutes & didn't go. Today he sat on it about 10 minutes and went, and then later 5 minutes & then went.

And how often do most kids potty? It seems he asks several times an hour although I'm not sure if he really needs to go or if he's just saying "potty" for the fun of it...

Obviously I want him to learn to use the potty but I really don't want to devote my entire day to it. He is only 18 mos & he is fascinated by the potty but is only starting to actually GO in it. We might try the 3-day potty thing in a few weeks if DH can help out & we can stay home for a few days... but I really don't care that much either way if he potty-learns NOW (or in a few weeks), I just want him to be able to use it when he wants & get comfortable & familiar with it since he's SO interested in it. But he seems to want to use it ALL THE TIME & I'm not sure what's 'obsession' and what's normal pottying for a 1.5yo?? How do I encourage it without devoting our lives to it?

Oh and another really dumb question, if you bring a potty in the car, where do you dump it??? And what do I do if we're on a walk or something? And also, is it acceptable to let DS sit on someone else's potty (i.e. if we're at a playdate) or is that "ewww"? Oh and how do you wash out the potty, I've just been rinsing it but am I supposed to sanitize somehow????

DD started using the potty at about 18 months too. She is now 25 months and completely potty-trained. I don't say a word about it or do anything but wipe poops. She also stays dry at night, sleeps 12 hours and wakes up and goes by herself.

WE TOOK A COMPLETELY HANDS OFF APPROACH.

I even kept her in diapers way longer than I should have, and she was the one insisting on taking them off to go on the potty.

It all started with the potty for us. Went out and bought the baby bjorn one piece thing. Let her sit on it whenever she wanted.

Around 16 months, we started letting her go naked with increasing lengths of time. Remarkably, she had no accidents. So, she was holding it for the diaper. That's fine.

Then, one morning, I found peeps in the potty from the night before (maybe even the day before that.) So, I knew she could do that. I let her know how great that was and pretty much let her go naked all the time while we were at home. She went in the potty. yay.

So, during this time, I want to emphasize, I DID NOTHING. I never reminded her. I did not go in with her. I did not even wipe for her. (She wiped herself, although not very good. We started the frequent bath routine at this time.) She was not going poops in the potty. She saved those for diapers. When we went out, she was in diapers and then LET US KNOW when she had to go. We would take her to the potty and take off the diaper and she would go. Then the diaper would go back on.

At around 20 months we put her in underwear while we were in the house and while on short trips outside of the house, But for long trips we always went out with diapers on until she turned 2, but she treated them as if they were underwear. We never brought a potty with us anywhere. We had a couple of times we have had to stop at a McDonalds or got her to hold it till we got home. (DD never had a problem sitting on a toilet.)

A little before she turned 2 she kept waking up with a dry diaper, so we knew she was ready to go to bed with underwear on.

Right after she turned 2 we bribed her to go poops in the potty and it worked. We just said, "hey, if you put poopy in the potty we will take you to the toy store." She did it the next day and asked for her toy. She then had a phase where she went poops 10 times a day but is now going her very regular once a day poo. She even goes at the same time everyday and makes me close the door for her privacy. She reads on the potty. It takes her about 5 minutes.

So, that's it. I gave her the opportunity. We talked about it, and I set her up to succeed. I never asked her to do anything I knew she wasn't capable of. I was hands off.

If she wanted to sit on the potty all day I would have let her, but she never did. If she wanted to go 25 times a day, I let her. And, some days she did in the beginning.

I HATE cleaning out the potty. I just rinse it. It has gotten really gross. I really cannot wait to chuck it, but she loves it... We are now working on transitioning her to the toilet, but again there is no pressure. I have just provided a stool and let her know how much easier it is for me when she goes on the toilet.

I hope that helps. It is totally possible and no, you do not have to be a slave to it.