Potty Training - Good Times!

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Gimme your best tips! I think we are going to need them all. :blink:

Every kid is different and of course my 3rd baby girl is trying to remind me of that right now. So, tell me--what worked for your kids?
 
hmm santa brought lily underwear and she was potty trained the next day. maybe stuff some in the easter basket and say the easter bunny brought them :D
 
I tried with Avery when he was about 2 1/2 and it was a no go..I backed off for a while and when he was 3 he just told me he had to go one day and that was it. But he's always been my easy child.

Ella was another story...what finally worked with her was sticker charts. She just loved being able to stick those stickers and see how many times a day she went. She was trained by 2 1/2. I tried the all weekend naked thing and that did NOT work for us..she just thought it was funny to tinkle everywhere.
 
Well, since my son FINALLY was potty trained in Feb - just turned 5 last month... lots of Cars 2 die cast cars... and a promise to stay in a hotel (his idea) and go to the car show with daddy... that finally got him interested and actually doing it... thank goodness!
 
First day of summer break, I stripped him down buck, put his potty in the middle of the living room floor, and told him that if he ever had to go he was to sit on the potty and NOT pee on my floor. It worked. :) He was 2.5.
 
I'll get back to you when my DD is potty trained herself. My DS practically potty trained himself. His motiviation? He wanted to go to preschool and we told him he couldn't unless he was potty trained. He was out of diapers 2 days later LOL We tried when he was just under 3 but no go then.
 
Definitely waiting until they are ready. I thought my daughter (my 3rd child) would be trained the youngest, but she wanted no part of it. She is very stubborn! lol We tried here and there, but I really waited until SHE said she was ready. We did give rewards for her and my boys, too. Mainly candy (2 m&m's or something similar after going on the potty), then a bigger reward for their first dry day in underwear. And, a fun trip somewhere when they are completely trained. I could never do the naked thing. I'm too anal about them sitting on my furniture or carpet without clothes on!
 
This is great. Thank you, guys!

She's totally ready. We found My Little Pony underwear at the store--and she's thrilled. She keeps asking about it. We got the M&Ms, the cloth pants, the Pull-Ups and the interest... she just isn't telling me anything until she has an accident. The chocolate treats worked so well for my eldest that she still yells out "I have to go to the bathroom!!!" even at nine years old. LOL! When she was getting trained, she would bawl when she wet her pants, so this part went really fast for her. But the little one? She giggled as she waddled over to me this morning with wet pants. That's what prompted my post. Because obviously my theory that getting wet would help her out wasn't sound for this kid. LOL!
 
My son was so easy to potty train compared to my littlest one. She was SO HARD to potty train. Nothing seemed to work for more than one day. ;) There was nothing that could tempt her. So, I did a treasure box at the suggestion of a friend. Every time she went #1 she got to visit the treasure box (DH's shoe box). First, we talked about the treasure box. Then I let her decorate it with pictures (I printed out embellies from some of my digi kits for her to clip and glue), glitter glue, and ribbons. Inside was stickers, miniature toys (dollar store finds, squinkies, polly pockets, littlest pet shops), candy, individually bagged snacks, and faux jewelry. So, whatever it was that she wanted that day was hopefully in that box. LOL! I figured the $$ I put into it was well worth my sanity. :D And, it worked 98% of the time. The other 2% I had to talk to her about it. Did Snow White and Cinderella wet themselves??? No, princesses do not pee in their gorgeous gowns. Eventually it sunk in. But, it was completely HER idea when she eventually became trained. Despite everything I tried, it really happened when it was her idea.

DS was convinced to become dry when we set up a potty chart for him. If he filled the chart with stars, he would be rewarded with a trip to Disney to meet Mickey (we had a trip planned anyway... I was worried what we'd do if he didn't fill the chart in time!!!) :) . I used a Mickey Mouse puppet to talk with him when he would sit on the potty. In 3 weeks he was 100% potty trained. LOL! :D

ETA: Oh, forgot to mention that after we trained her for #1 we eventually only rewarded her with a trip to the treasure box for #2's and #1's in stores or away from home. Kwim?

Oh, the things we do to potty train. haha.
 
I am on the same boat here! My first was so easy to train, 1 week and she was completely potty trained at 2 yrs old. My boy, that's a different story! He's 2,5 now and starts kindergarden in 2 weeks, but still is not out of diapers. An incentive helps, at least when it's candy, lol, but not always. Stickers he didn't care for much. I let him run around naked (no carpet here and tile floors, so no problem to clean up any accidents) and sometimes he goes, sometimes he has an accident.
To get him to know what he was supposed to do at first, I put his potty in front of the TV after breakfast and sat next to him, watching his favorite show. He likes sitting on it that way and can stay on it for 20 minutes. That's how the first times accidently happened on the potty.

I'll be following this thread! :)
 
She giggled as she waddled over to me this morning with wet pants. That's what prompted my post. Because obviously my theory that getting wet would help her out wasn't sound for this kid. LOL!

yeah, J didn't care that he was wet... he was like that as a baby... didn't bother him one bit to have a dirty diaper.

I did make this for J at the beginning so that every hour, and then every second hour he made it all day without and accident... the car moved along the road. He really wanted to move that car... haha...



If he went all day without an accident, he got a car. For each successful go, at the beginning, he got a piece of candy...
 
What really worked for my son was that singing potty. I bought it at Target and though..."OMG I can't believe I'm buying a singing potty!". But it worked and then I was so glad I got one. He loved hearing that thing play music when he went pee in it!

Here's the link to it on amazon:


And yes...we spent about 3 days at home naked at the right moment. Then he got it.
 
I think the main advice I would give is to not start too early. I had a completely potty trained kid in a few weeks. Some of my friends worked with their kids for over a year! One of them had the same age kid as I did (only 1 day apart in birthday). She started WAY to young and they just ended up in a power struggle. He was still pooping in pull-ups at age 4 1/2! I started my kid about a year after her and mine was completely trained way before hers at about age 3 1/2.
 
Stickers, a chart and prizes worked for kid #1. (2 y/o girl)
Kid #2 just got it...in like 3 days. (2 y/o girl)
M & M's worked for kid #3 (3 y/o boy)
Time and lots of patience worked for kid #4 (3 y/o boy)
Being naked all the time worked for kid #5 (2 y/o boy)
 
I also wanted to add that all my kids were completely trained in 2 weeks or less...day and night..except Kid #1 (she was 4 before she was night trained) and kid #5 (he still wets like once during the night).
 
lol! Yeah my biggest advice is wait till their ready.

Christian was well trained last summer but then kind of reverted back during the winter but since January he has been out of diapers and even had a few dry nights in between (yay!) lol. I forced it last Summer and that was why it did not last but now he is so much more aware of when he had an accident and would be so proud and come and call me when he went (before I had to remind him and go with him but he is so independent and goes on his own and even tells me when he needs to go)

But yes I know not having to change diapers is heavenly but knowing my baby is growing up....makes me wanna bawl my eyes out!:crying:
 
No advice, just some hugs!

Honestly, I'm like the luckiest mom ever. My kids trained themselves. No work involved on my part to speak of.

DD started working on it before she turned 2 but we went on a 2 week vacation and she totally lost interest. She had no further interest at ALL. A few months before she turned 3 I told her that binky (pacifier) or the diapers had to go. She told me "binky is not an option" (and yes, she talked like a little adult even then). A few days later she couldn't find binky at bedtime. I cuddled her to sleep and she never asked for it again. When I asked her again about the diapers she said "when I am three". She turned three and nothing. She refused. We had her birthday party 1 week after her 3rd birthday. She woke up the day after her party and declared that she wanted big girl panties that day. That was it, she was trained. We had a brief traumatic period where she wouldn't go to the potty in public. She held it for 17 hours once while we were out of town because she wouldn't go anywhere but home, poor thing. We didn't have to worry about night time training with her either. She never went in her sleep, not even as a brand new baby. She would wake up, go, and go back to sleep (she wore cloth diapers and in my sleepless stupor there were plenty of times I forgot to put the cover on them, so I know all this for a fact, she didn't just have super absorbent diapers or anything ;) )

My son was barely 2 and he was upstairs playing with his sister. It got quiet. Too quiet. You guys know how that is. Dh went up to check on the kids and called out "I need the camera". I took it up and there our little guy was, diaper stripped off, sitting on the potty. He took longer to train himself entirely but it was a smooth process. I didn't push it. He would go on the potty a few times a week and ask for diapers the rest of the time. I didn't stress it and he was fully trained, even at night, by the time he was almost 3 which was sooner than his sister. Nights were harder for him as he did go in his sleep. He's 6 and we still have night issues once in a while (every few months maybe) because he sleeps so heavy.
 
Thanks for posting this, Nicole! It's been stressing me out worrying abt getting DD pottytrained. She has to be fully trained by the end of August or she can't go to preschool, and she is so NOT interested right now. We've done books, movies, etc. and she knows what to do; she just doesn't want to. She likes looking at the underwear, but refuses to try it on.

I haven't pushed it yet, but I will have to at least try by June so she can go to school. I think trying the potty in front of the TV may help.

Lord help us! :p
 
Another one who says wait till they're ready. Kids have sooo much control in this area, and they love to exercise it. My boys both potty trained quite late, but I did NOT have the energy to deal with cleaning up tons of accidents or begging and pleading with them to do what they were supposed to do. Once they finally decided they were ready, they were both potty trained very quickly. Raegan turns 3 in 10 days, and I haven't done more than talk to her about it. She does have some Minnie Mouse underwear waiting for when she's ready, but I'm really not interested in trying to "make" anything happen. Honestly, I'd rather change diapers than clean up accidents. But, I'm lazy like that. :p
 
My girls never wanted a potty - they went straight to the bathroom so we bought (I don't know what it's called) but it's something we put on top of it so their butts would fit in. They liked it better so I left them alone with that. At age 3, they were no longer in diapers and that made me really happy!

Rebecca, that's one creative strategy! I sure do love it and if I'll have a baby again, I'll keep that in mind :D
 
Well, something worked yesterday... while she had those two accidents in the cloth training pants in the morning, she kept her Pull Up dry all afternoon. She's still not very self-aware (I have to ask her a lot). But at least she's interested in all this big girl stuff. LOL!
 
That's a pretty good sign, Nicole. I noticed mine were ready when their pull ups are dry for a couple of hours. Frequently asking her will eventually make her tell you when she's wanting a pee :D
 
My girls never wanted a potty - they went straight to the bathroom so we bought (I don't know what it's called) but it's something we put on top of it so their butts would fit in. They liked it better so I left them alone with that. At age 3, they were no longer in diapers and that made me really happy!

Rebecca, that's one creative strategy! I sure do love it and if I'll have a baby again, I'll keep that in mind :D

I had one of those Mye! Mine is a travel one too. The sides pop out and it can make a little seated potty. It has these little liners that go in so you can dispose of the stuff. I have a 5 year old, and I've used it several times in the last couple months when we were in a place with no toilet (like in the middle of a big city in a parking garage!). And I'll have to confess...I've used it a couple of times too! :p
 
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