Bare bottom potty training method for boys?

[GuavaGirl]

We're gearing up to give this potty training method a go.  http://www.babycenter.com/0_potty-training-in-three-days-or-less_10310078.bc   It's basically a three day focused potty training.  Nothing on their bottom, and when you can tell they have to go (or start to go) you wisk them to a nearby potty chair.

My son is 20 months, and I'm just imagining him enjoying peeing all over the place. ...but maybe that's necessarily important here. Has anyone given this method a solid try and found that it worked better for their boy to wear underwear?

I'm also a little scared of poop on the carpet...since I have a 3-4 a day pooper.  

Any experiences with this?

Thanks so much.

[AdinaL]

I did this with my daughter.  We just spent two days with her wearing nothing on her bottom half.  We had 3 potties though, one in each bathroom and one in the living room where we spent most of our time.  It worked pretty well, when she didn't have a diaper on, she usually made it.  I think she was a bit over 2 at the time.

Keep in mind though, that unless they are developmentally ready to potty learn, it won't work.  Some kids take longer than others, and I know a lot of boys take longer than girls.

[GuavaGirl]

The "developmentally ready" thing is very confusing because there seems to be a lot of different opinions on this.  In the article I posted Julie Fellom says that if after 3 days you're kid is just not getting it, wait a couple months and try again. So figure that's what I'll do.  How else can I really know?   My thought is, he's a smart kid, what if he is ready?, I should I at least give him the opportunity and see what happens.

What do you think qualifies as "developmentally ready?"

Thanks!

[AdinaL]

I think it depends on the kid.  I didn't know if my DD was going to be ready, but like you gave it a shot, and it stuck.  We potty trained during the day pretty easily.  But diaper free at night took a bit longer.  So, yeah, give it a shot, but if it doesn't seem to be working, then don't be afraid to bag it and try later. :)  

[colsxjack]

Being developmentally ready means he is able to hold it a bit. And means he is able to know that he actually has to go...before he goes. There is no way for him to get to a potty before going if he doesn't even know how to recognize the feeling that he has to go.

Does he talk about the potty?

Does he ever tell you he has to go or that he has just gone?

Does he show interest in the potty?

Does he frequently have dry diapers and then soaks one in one go? (this shows that he is probably holding up his pee and releasing it all in one pee instead of several small pees whenever. So now can he go a couple of hours with a dry diaper?

Does he dislike having a wet or dirty diaper or does he not seem to mind?

20 months is pretty young for being diaperless, especially for a boy. Although it isn't unheard of.

You can't be afraid of him going on the carpet though....because he definately will. Even well after being "potty trained" he sill have accidents.

[mommy212]

I think 'being developmentally ready' is just, don't try it when they're in a stubborn, contrary toddler phase, because people in the past have 'potty trained' their 2 month olds. I was all set to potty train DS but he says no to anything at all suggested so it is just not a good time

[Megan73]

My three-year-old son is just now seriously potty learning and I'm glad I waited because I'm struck by how many skills come into play - communicating that he needs to go, pulling down his pants, holding his penis down so pee doesn't hit the floor, etc.
I've read about the "nothing on the bottom" approach but I know myself - pee and poo on the floor, carpets and furniture would really, really frustrate me and I just don't want to complicate potty learning with my grumpiness about cleaning up inevitable - and totally developmentally appropriate - messes. YMMV

[cameragirl]

It might help if you have a couple of warm days so that he can spend time outside. It is easier to deal with accidents outside than all over the house. I agree that they have to be ready and willing. Otherwise it is a waste of time, and frustrating for everyone involved.

[SunRise]

My 20 mth old girl is just starting to talk about pee. She sometimes tells me when she went pee in her diaper. Sometimes tells me she pooed. She wont sit the potty even though we have had the potty sitting in our house since she was born. That being said and although we are not trying to potty learn right now, these are some things I am doing in preparation:

As a first step, I started to keep a diaper off of her in the am, so she could become aware of pee falling on the ground.  She usually wakes up dry, so thats a good sign too.

And a montessori daycare person referred to potting training as "putting pee in the toilet". Sometimes I ask her if she has pee/poo to put in the toilet. (She loves "putting garbage in the trash can", so I am working this concept :))

With my son we got rid of the diapers during naps and then at night as he was waking up dry.  And then at daycare he learned the rest (for the most part). He was using the toilet @ 2.5 yrs. and rarely had accidents.

Go ahead and try it ... I think you will know very quickly whether your son is ready!

[beebalmmama]

We did the bare bottom method with our first but it was more like a 3-4 month period, starting when he was about 22 months. We had offered the potty starting around 18 months, but this mostly consisted of asking him if he wanted to sit on it. He woke up dry a lot and usually told us when he was about to poop. We had a few accidents but mostly pee, fortunately though we had wood floors throughout the house at the time. He was pretty much fully trained at home by 26 months.

My 2nd ds is now 23 months and I have no intention of starting potty learning anytime soon. We've had a potty seat available for 4 months or so now and he has pretty much no interest and like another pp said, responds with NO to anything suggested. His vocab is pretty much limited to about 5 words right now and so I don't think he has the capability to really communicate well enough about it. Plus we have wall to wall carpeting at our new house now and I really don't want to deal with that until he's truly ready (he's got really soft stools too! ugh what a mess that would be). He is telling me that he's gone poop (his new #5 word), so he's getting there. We're replacing our flooring next summer so maybe we'll start in the spring when I won't care if the carpet gets stained.

I'm not really a proponent of the 3 day or one week training though. I think it's too much stress on both parts (parent and child) and probably works better for a 3yr old imo.