[SollysMom]

My 2.5y/o DS is showing signs that he's ready for potty-learning: seeking privacy when he needs to poop, sometimes taking off his own diaper after peeing or pooping, requesting diaper changes, etc. He's actually been showing signs for a while, but I kept putting off potty-teaching because I thought there were other more important things going on. For example, while I was pregnant with DS2, I wanted to get him nightweaned first then worry about the potty once nightweaning was well-established. After several failed attempts at nightweaning, I thought about doing it but then it was pretty close to the end of my pregnancy and I was afraid he'd revert back when the baby was born. I didn't want to have to do it all twice, so I just decided to wait. DS2 is now 5 months old, so I think it's about time.<br><br>
I had planned to teach DS1 by putting him in underwear and bringing him to the potty every 30 minutes, then acting like a goofy cheerleader every time he went in the potty, and making no big deal if he missed. My husband thinks this method will be way too hard for me with the baby to look after too, and I'm starting to worry that he's right. My husband says we should just offer the potty and let DS1 tell us when he needs to go, but that won't happen. He's known about the potty for over a year and we've been offering it - and he's used it a few times if we caught him at the right time - but he's a pretty immature 2.5 and won't tell us himself.<br><br>
Any other tips/suggestions? I'd love to cut my diaper laundry in half sometime soon <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/lol.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="lol">

 

[~Amy~]

I would get DH to take a Friday or Monday off & do the 3 day PTing method. You really need one parent totally devoted to the PTing child but it works very quickly for most children.

 

[SollysMom]

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<div>Originally Posted by <strong>~Amy~</strong> <a href="/community/forum/post/15390445"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/community/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border:0px solid;"></a></div>
<div style="font-style:italic;">I would get DH to take a Friday or Monday off & do the 3 day PTing method. You really need one parent totally devoted to the PTing child but it works very quickly for most children.</div>
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Thanks for the reply! What is the 3 day method? Can we not leave the house during the 3 days?

 

[~Amy~]

If you google "3 day pottying training" you'll find the official site where you can buy the ebook but basically you wake up on day 1, eat breakfast and tell your child they are a big boy and done with diapers. Show him the potty, put him in underwear and ask him to keep them dry. Ask him to tell you when he needs to pee or poop. Watch him like a hawk (that's why you need two parents) and whenever he starts to pee or poop you rush him to the potty and have him sit (only if he's willing though. Never force it). If you're into rewards you can give one when he gets any pee or poop in the potty even just a little. Or you can do a funny dance, cheer, whatever you want. We used stickers. So that's basically it. The author has all kinds of suggestions for different situation and scenarios and if you purchase the book you have access to help from her if you need it. You do need to pretty much stay all three days or at least until your child gets it. It doesn't necessarily take three whole days. My son was doing great by the afternoon of day two. In fact the only time he had an accident at all on day two was because it was Sunday and we wanted to go to church. We just took extra clothes and DH stayed with him during his class so he could take him to the potty. It didn't cause any setbacks though. It's been almost 2 months since DS has PTd and he's done very well.

 

[LindsC]

DS was just shy of his 3rd birthday when he started to potty train. We had introduced the potty to him around his 2nd birthday, but like you, I was very pregnant and didn't necessarily want him to revert when the baby was born, so we didn't force anything. We just occassionally offered him the potty or asked him if he wanted to wear underwear. One morning he woke up and decided he was done with diapers and asked for underwear and there has been no looking back. The only time he wears a diaper right now is at bedtime and that is only for a little while longer since he is staying dry most nights. I honestly wouldn't use pullups or go back and forth between diapers and underwear during the day. We just kept him in underwear and if we needed to go out somewhere, we brought a change of clothes with us.<br>
For the first couple of days, we offered the potty to him a lot more often and at scheduled times like before a meal, after a meal, before going outside, etc so that he got into a routine and didn't get distracted when he already had to go and didn't think about it. Now he is much better about it and knows that he goes at these times and any other time he needs to during the day.

 

[SollysMom]

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<div>Originally Posted by <strong>LindsC</strong> <a href="/community/forum/post/15390877"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/community/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border:0px solid;"></a></div>
<div style="font-style:italic;">We just occassionally offered him the potty or asked him if he wanted to wear underwear.</div>
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This is pretty much what I've been doing since he was 18 months with the potty, though we introduced underwear more recently. He doesn't really ever want to wear them though. I'm wondering if I should just wait until he decides on his own that he wants to wear underwear and use the potty. I'm starting to feel outside pressure (even though no one's said anything about it) as he approaches 3 and still wears diapers. I don't necessarily want to do rewards (other than verbal praise) because I don't want him to feel bad if he's just not ready yet.<br><br>
Or maybe we can try a modified version of the 3-day approach... I hesitate to say "you're a big boy and done with diapers" because again I worry about how he'll feel if he "fails" - like he's not a big boy? But the rest of it is pretty much what I was thinking anyway, and if DH can take a Friday or Monday, then maybe we can do it while he's home too. Perhaps I'll wait until the weather's nice so we can at least go out to play in the yard if we have to stay home the whole time. I'll even bring the potty to the backyard if it helps LOL.

 

[tbone_kneegrabber]

definetly bring the potty to the backyard! Naked-butt in the yard with the potty available really helped it start clicking for ds. He's not totally there, but he asks to go now, even when we are our or doing fun stuff. Being naked in the yard gave him a real sense of accomplishment and autonomony with it and I think is really helping.