Flaming Hot Toilet Seats + Potty Training Adventures

Thursday, January 24, 2013


Here we were over the weekend (lookin a little crazy) buying our first package of big boy undies and the last box of "back up diapers"...or so I hoped.

Mom life has been crazy this week and I am pretty sure (very sure) that I have lived in my gym clothes for the past three days.  I attempted to start potty training Max, which has been a nightmare and disaster all wrapped up in one.  I am almost positive the whole 2 1/2 day production gave me a few wrinkles.

He acted like I was making him sit on a flaming hot toilet seat with venomous snakes in the toilet that were going to attack his butt at any moment.  I even bought bribery goodies like good ole fashioned Jelly Beans.  Nope he didn't care.  What kid doesn't like Jelly Beans?!  Then I told him he could have a quarter every time he went potty so he could start filling up his new Spider Man piggy bank.  I told him when it was full we would go to the toy store and he could buy a new toy.  Well, he is too smart and decided when I wasn't looking to go in the drawer where all the change in and fill his piggy bank up himself.  HA!  Then I got irritated and told him he is NOT getting any more diapers and he has to go on the potty...or else...and he freakin lost it and peed on the carpet.  So I gave in two and 1/2 (the half counts) days later and put a diaper back on.

He knows what he is supposed to do.  I mean if he can sing the full on ABC's and have complete conversations with me about pretty much anything then he can go on the freakin potty.  But he wont.  Pretty sure he would rather go shopping with me to "Mommy Stores" aka Forever 21 (and he hates shopping--I mean really hates it) than go on the big potty.

Just for reference he will be 3 in July.  Have you been though this yet?  At what age did your child finally get it

66 comments:

KK said...

My son is 21 months and I try to sit him on the potty just to get used to it, and he too acts like it is flaming. I'm thinking I will wait for warm weather and have some play time outside without unders or pants on and hope that it speeds up the "recognition period." I know a mother of multiples that doesn't even try boys till they're 3... so, keep in mind that it is a journey for you and your son. : ) Best of luck!!

Domesblissity said...

Oh yeah Lindsay. My son was nearly 4 before he finally got it and just in time for Kindergarten. He used to wee and poo in the backyard! When I thought they were 'ready', I just let them run around in their undies. I know its winter time there so probably too cold but I did it here and it worked well. If my son kept soiling his underwear, I just put him back in nappies and tried again another time. My daughter, on the other hand, got it at 2. Its a hard slog. Just another one of those things.

Anne xx

The Yellow Door said...

They definitely have to want is as much as you. When we potty trained both our kids, once it was more of their decision it was smooth sailing. We never offered treats as rewards, because then they would just go sit on it and demand a treat and say they "tried". We talked about it for at least a month with them before we started anything hyping them up for "big kid underwear" letting them pick it out etc. Also if you're a stay at home mom, we let them run around naked and pretty much had a potty in every room so they'd make it no matter where they were! Every child is different though just remember it WILL happen!! And keep positive - they can definitely sense when you're frustrated and that frustrates them too! Good luck!!

Hanna said...

Yes!!! And dont fret!!! My son did the same thing to me twice I think before he got it! Twice I was determined it would be no big deal and he just wasn't having it! Finally one month after his 3rd birthday I decided enough was enough and we stayed in the house for a week and didn't go anywhere and I took away his diapers and his pants! I just left his naked for a week! It was rough still! He would beg and beg and cry fr a diaper! It was sad but I stuck to guns and he pooped on the couch 6 times:( so horrible!!! But after 5 days he got it!!! Potty reining boys can be tough. Dont give up. If he has absolutely no alternative, he'll gettired of pooping and peeing all over the house. Trust me but it takes some serious patience! Good luck mama! He'll get it. He might not be ready at 2 1/2 yet. They say boys take longer!

Amalia Athanaeleas said...

My son was 3+ as well. We took him in the back yard and let him pee outside, he LOVED that, so from there it was easier getting him to go on the potty. We used pullups for a lot longer that I'd hoped... but it eventually worked. Just keep trying, don't give up! PS ~ How cute is Max in the pic?!
xx
Lia
www.smartnsnazzy.com

Simply LKJ said...

Oh boy...I can relate, but only because I have had a preschool class in the past all training at the same time!! Now only half of mine are. Whew.

They have to want to or they will do everything in their power to make it the most miserable process. I am NOT a fan of bribes...usually doesn't work. Start by introducing him to the potty, without having to sit. Some are fearful of falling in, some the flushing sound, some the height. I was a fan of transitioning them from a smaller potty on the floor to finally the big one with a seat and then finally the big potty alone. When they transition to the big potty for some boys in the beginning placing them backwards works best-no spraying everyone/everything. I will say, spring and summer are the easiest times...less clothing!! Some will resist going in public places at first too.

Most of all pay attention to his clues and be PATIENT!!

Tracy said...

I think my daughter gave your kid some anti-potty tips. She will be 3 in less than a month and wants NOTHING to do with the devil-seat. She couldn't care less that she is sitting in her own filth or when she has a big girl underwear accident. I've decided she can potty train herself when she goes off to college...-_-

AlishaHB said...

My oldest was three and a half, one of my two and a half year old twins is off to a good start right now(her decision!)and the other twin wants to but is scared.
My nephew was about 4 before he got it. I live in the country and have heard wonders worked with peeing outside, as Lia mentioned.
Max will probably need a bit of a break but will do it when he's ready for it.

Ash said...

bahahaha i don't mean to laugh, because i'm sure this is a semi nightmare.. but oh my goodness... your kid is one smart cookie (;

Anonymous said...

I'm in the same boat. Declan will be 3 in September. I let him pick out his own Cars potty seat, the one that goes over the adult seat, and he loved it, but as soon as I put it on the toilet and had him sit on it, he freaked!

I have no idea what to do other than wait. We even had daddy show him how to pee pee standing up, put cheerios in the toilet for him to aim at, tried to bribe him with chocolate, and told him he can't flush the toilet anymore unless he is the one that goes potty in it. None of it worked. The killer is that he used to think it was so cool to pee on the potty.

Emily said...

What do you do to your hair to make it look so perfect every. single. day!?!?

Brooke said...

Oh the potty training days! I am so glad that's is over. My first was 19 months old when I had my second and I was dead set on potty training. To the point I made her empty her own diaper (I am still trying to forgive myself for this) and she didn't get it until we went out of town and my Dad kept her and thought she was potty trained and never put a diaper on her. Funny isn't it. He potty trained her in four days! My second I didn't worry about and she was probably over three before it clicked and it was great. One day she just told me no more diapers and we were done. My third I had the same approach and she refused diapers around two at nighttime (she's always been my odd one) and about six months later decided she was done. Hang in there. He will get it! Just think, he won't go to kindergarten in a diaper!

Anonymous said...

With my daughter, I fought a battle that lasted a year. With my son, I tried at 2 1/2, put him in underwear and watched as he splashed in the puddles. I saved myself the frustration and went back to pullups. Tried again at 2 3/4. Shortly after 3, the first time he wet himself he stood there in horror and said he didn't like it. He's been trained ever since. I think they'll do it when they are ready.

jamie said...

Great advice from the about posters! I have three kids, two girls and a boy- all potty trained. My best advice is to wait until they are ready- if they are not is a HUGE stressor and there will be more accidents. If you can let yourself buy more diapers and wait it out it should be much smoother. My boy trained later than the girls- somewhere close to his 3rd birthday. My girls around 2 1/2.

Totally unrelated, but I found your blog when I was looking for DIY face mask on Pinterest. I bought the green clay and its amazing! Has really changed my skin for the better! Thanks!

Aria said...

potty training is traumatic- for parent and child! i used to work as a toddler teacher at a preschool and we potty trained thirteen 2-3 year olds. i was convinced that was going to be the death of me. i wish i had some advice, but my little guy is barely 9mos so we've still got time before potty days. hang in there, hope it gets better!

Tara {The Silver Lining} said...

haha that picture is adorable! Your hair is gorgeous!!!

Alexa said...

Ugh Lindsay. I'm following your lead. My friend recently went through a similar thing...he's a couple months younger than Max and she gave up for now. My neighbor said her son was ready at 3, but not before. Good luck! You have lots of wine handy right? ;)

Mindy said...

Ha! Seriously, you need to walk away. One day he'll just get it - without anything you do. Carter was easy and Emma was harder and took way longer. The exact opposite of how everyone says. Girls are NOT easier in my experience. My niece is almost three and she has absolutely no interest either.
With Carter, we just started putting underwear on him and he was done. There were some lapses, but overall, piece of cake. Totally depends on the kid. I'm sure having a baby in the house isn't helping matters any. He'll get it when he's ready. Patience mama. :)

Angelica said...

Wow, this entire post sounds like my life! My girls are 2 1/2 and while they will talk about the potty and sit on it with a diaper, they refuse to sit on it for real! While I'm sorry you are having to go through tantrum time, it's kind of nice to hear someone is going through the same thing! Good luck!

Unknown said...

My baby girl was two. Then came her brothers turn, three years and four months ... I actually thought there was something wrong with the boy but no, nothing but stubbornness.

heather said...

I have two boys. The first one I started early at 2 1/2. Nightmare situation like yours. I stopped and waited till he was just 2 months shy of turning 3. Guess what? He got it in 2 days. So when it was time to train my second boy, I waited till he was closer to 3 years old as well and went for it. No pull ups, just underwear and plastic cover pants and he had one potty accident and that was it. Now the poopy part took longer, but I was ok with that. My advice...wait. It's not worth the stress. It's so much easier to just change his diaper right now. He'll get there when he's ready. Good luck!

Maura said...

My son switched to big boy undies a bit after turning 3. he'd been going often on the potty (by his own choice) randomly for about 4 months leading up to it. we never put pressure on him, and he chose to do it. i tried him in undies one day of my choosing and he peed on the floor and i gave up. i had a newborn and couldn't deal with it. so i waited a few more months--he would choose go on the potty whenever he wanted but definitely still went in his diaper too. once i thought he was REALLY ready (and i agree with everyone else--HE has to be ready, no matter how much YOU want him to) then we started a sticker chart. for every time he went on the potty he got a sticker. After 10 he got a treat (ice cream), after another 10 he got a new dinosaur. After the final 10 he got to wear undies. And never looked back! So take it slow...and when you think he's more ready I think a 30-sticker countdown worked for us. The visual helped and there was enough excited talk about it that he kept working hard to fill the sticker chart. good luck!

stacy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
stacy said...

I want to know how you get your hair like that too! I love that look! I think my girls were both close to 3 and the only thing that worked was putting them in undies and letting them have lots of accidents.

sherri lynn said...

So sorry potty training has been so difficult! I have no advice since I am not a momma, but I hope that Max gets it soon, for both your sakes! :)

Anonymous said...

I have twins, and our potty training sounded about like yours times two. NOTHING worked. So eventually I gave up. Then sometime around 3 yrs and a few months, one decided she was ready and just did it. Never even has had one accident. Then a few months later, the other one did the same thing. No accidents either. I wasted so much time, energy, frustration, bribe money, etc... If I ever have another one, I'm seriously not even going to potty train at all. They'll do it on their own when they're ready.

tomatogrl606 said...

My son is doing the same thing! H has been using the potty off and on, but recently decided he wants no part. He'll be 3 on Feb 8th. I'm taking the hands off approach and giving him some time. I just hope it's soon!

Ashley S said...

My son is three years ten months (yes... almost FOUR!) and still isn't doing it. It's making me crazy. He is smart like yours - starting to sound out words and spell words, etc., and knows days of the week, months of the year, and so on, but still doesn't know when he's about to wet his pants. :(

Jennifer @ Delightfully Noted said...

Oh I am sorry you are probably pulling your hair out but I got a giggle out of the stinker sneaking into the drawer for his own change!! My nephew was 3 in November and he took to potty training right away (they did a star sticker chart and once he got so many stars he got candy)BUT then two months later he just completely backtracked and refused to go on the potty. He eventually just stopped caring about the stars and candy. Hang in there!

Jess said...

My daughter potty trained at 22mo. and only wet the bed 5 times, ever. She is 5 now! Bribery worked really well with her. My son however is 28mo and refuses to go on the potty. The boy sees nothing wrong with sitting in a squishy poop/pee filled diaper. I've heard boys are much more difficult to potty train. He cares nothing about bribery. We got him a Lightening McQueen potty, nothing. Thomas the Train underwear, peed in them. And you should have seen his face when I played a potty training video for him. His expression was like "Oh no, I am not falling for this crap. I don't believe any of this!"

Unknown said...

When my oldest was 3 1/2, I gave up and told her "There's the potty. You know what to do with it!" That little stinker potty trained within days. I guess she just needed to do it all by herself? I used to work in the potty training room in a daycare and a good majority of our kids walked in one day having just decided they were ready to use the potty over the weekend. Honestly, those kids had fewer accidents than the ones whose parent started early and/or put them on the potty on a schedule.
Also {and this is crazy important to me for some reason}... Where can I find the boots you're wearing? I've been looking for a while and can't find exactly what I want. I think those might work though!

Ginette said...

My daughter was the same way. We kept her in big girl undies for 3 days and she made messes and everything but we persevered. We tried bribes and nothing worked until the 4th morning... We had a potty in the living room in front of the tv. She was playing and watching The Little Einsteins when all of a sudden she pulled her undies down on her own and sat down on the potty to poop. That was it... we haven't looked back since... she is now 7. I think because she was so reasonable, after 3 full days she just finally got that she wasn't gonna win this fight and she had to be a big girl who went in the potty or toilet.
My girls are 5 and 7 and I still say that potty training has been the hardest part of being a mom. Don't worry, as they say, he will no longer be in diapers when he is 21! It will happen eventually. Good luck!

Amy @ Amy Day to Day said...

My daughter still won't do it and she turned 3 last month. She's super smart, just stubborn. My pediatrician said any time between age 3 and 4 is totally normal, so I wouldn't push it. They say they'll do it when they're ready. I feel your pain though. I feel like my little girl is so old!

Anonymous said...

Our daughter got potty training fairly quick. We let her run around without diapers for about 3-4 days (The Naked & 75 Method)and it clicked in her mind what to do. It was a slow going process. She will be 3 next week and has had only 3 accidents since getting rid of the diapers. The child will let you know when they are ready and they do not like being forced into it. We let her choose her time line. For us it has been very easy. Some kids just learn at a different pace. Maybe if you let it go and try at another time it will be easier. Have some wine and take it slow. Our little girl definitely hates messing her "pretty panties" so she has better control. Sometimes they need to feel the sensation of the accident. Good luck!!!

Lieke said...

My son became two in November and loves going to the toilet, but being able to pee on the toilet and knowing when you have to go to the toilet are two completely different things. My daughter was 2,5 when I decided that I changed enough diapers and on vacation she became potty trained in two days.
We life (live? I am Dutch and never can keep those two apart) in a small apartement in Amsterdam and I am planning to throw away the diapers for my son in the summer aswell. I hate changing those million layers of winterclothes each time he pees in his pants. (and I hate mopping the floors too;-))

❤ Meghan said...

gosh, i can't wait for the day when my little one is potty trained! she's only 1, so i guess i still have some time...

Lindsay said...

YOu are the worlds cutest momma ever! XO

Allison said...

I had a similar experience with my son. I knew he could do it, but he didn't know it yet. About 3 months after the first attempt he saw some cool underwear he wanted and that was that! We went home put them on and only had 2 or 3 accidents after that! I guess you just need to let him decide that underwear is cooler.

Laurie said...

My son (now 14) was like 3 1/2. I put him in loose cotton shorts with no undies and after about a week of not liking the wet feeling of the shorts sticking to his legs, he decided to use the potty. My middle child, a daughter who is now 12, was closer to 2. She pretty much did it herself. My youngest is 3 (will be four in July) and she started at daycare because her best friend was doing it. Now she'll do great all day--preschool, daycare, dance class. Come in the house and pee her pants. But that's happening less and less. I'm less stressed because I know she'll do it when she's ready. Hang in there! Someone mentioned the baby--I think that may have had something to do with why my oldest took so long. His sister showed up and took his crib, his undivided mommy attention....but that worked well when he was in first grade and did NOT want to learn how to tie his shoes. Once his sister started to learn and someone commented that she could tie better than him, he got his nose out of joint and figured it out real quick!

xfallenmoon said...

Oh dear. I have no experience in that department, but I've already started training my 8 month old. I hope it doesn't take me until 3 years old. I'd say just stick to it and not give in to him otherwise he will do the same thing for everything. If you aren't comfortable with that you can wait until he decides on his own that he is ready.
http://xfallenmoon.blogspot.ca/

deanna said...

I remember those days! My oldest, who is now 15, was so stubborn. Like you, I knew she knew what was going on - especially when she looked at me one day and pointed to her diaper and said, "THIS!!! is my potty!" That's when I knew it was time. LOL But really, is so much easier to wait until they are ready. Just keep trying and eventually, they will just decide to do it. Trust me. I used to teach first grade - I never had a 1st grader who couldn't walk, I never had one who wasn't potty trained! ;-)

colleen said...

oh man. this part has always freaked me about early parenthood. and from the comments, it seems i don't know the half of it!!! i don't have much advice, but one doctor i work with said one weekend they were having "naked weekend" to potty train his son before the next one arrived. since we're co-workers i didn't delve too much into what that meant, lol, but perhaps everyone in their underwear for the weekend? a lot of going to the bathroom with dad? i really have no idea. but good luck!

Anonymous said...

I have 6 kiddoes and have learned not to push it. My last son woke up one day when he was 3 and decided he wanted to potty in the potty chair. That was it, No major accidents or training. He was just ready and in HIS time. :O)
By the way, can you give a tutorial on how you curl your hair in an upcoming post? I know a lot of us would love to know...it's very cute and trendy!
Thanks!

Krissa said...

I say wait until he's ready. My daughter was over three when she finally potty trained and it's because she's a bit stubborn and wanted to do it on her own time. So this time around with my son, I'm not making a big deal about it and waiting until he's ready. It's not worth all the stress (for you) to try and make it happen. Hang in there!

Anonymous said...

I agree with the majority -- you have to wait until he's ready. I got lucky with my 22 month old son for some odd reason. He completely told me he was ready and it happened. Its much less stress with no possibility of regression. Good Luck! Keep the potty books and open door bathroom policy intact - he'll come around to it!

My-cliffnotes said...

This pic is so cute

Tabitha said...

My daughter, who turns 4 in April, was the same way! She knew what the potty was, she knew how to go, she just plain didn't want to. So I quit fighting her on it. I'd still ask her if she needs to go, and sometimes she would and sometimes she wouldn't. I treated it as more of a casual thing, just to make sure I kept the option out there. Then one day (after she was three last April) she just started telling me she had to go potty, and it was smooth sailing then on, with one break through after the other. First peeing, then pooping, then long outings, then nights. We were completely diaper free by November. I would suggest making sure you keep the option open, and continue letting him know that it's a possibility, and something he should be doing. He should let you know when he's definitely ready.

Unknown said...

I have the EXACT same story - pretty much! My little dude will be 3 in June and he acts like the toilet is "flamin' hot" as well! It's weird! We've tried everything... and are not just waiting for HIM to tell us WHEN. Sigh! Mommahood! Earning our badges, right?!?! So I just wanted to say that I've been RAVING about your flourless brownies over in my space the past couple of weeks!!! http://thelilyfield.blogspot.com/ --- I LOVE your blog!!! XO, Brittany from The Lily Field :-)

Anonymous said...

I have been a nanny for about seven years. Last year, I was a full-time nanny for 2 1/2 year old twins (boy and girl). The girl was a breeze! She had it down in no time. The boy was a different story.. He refused and definitely acted like the seat was "flamin hot." His mother bought a small froggy potty to see if that would help. I'm telling you this boy would scream and cry until he got his way. I decided to sit him on the potty with his diaper on - just to get him used to the potty. He still continued to scream his head off. After a while, we both gave up. I moved the potty out to the family room and put it right in front of his toys. I was in the other room with his sister, and he finally just did it! Sometimes boys are difficult and need to figure it out on his own. He would have accidents every once and a while, but we taught him that it wasn't a big deal at all. Now he loves to pee on the toilet paper (a game to make things easier for him to aim). No matter how hard it is, it will happen!

Jessica said...

I didn't have time to read through all your comments to see if anyone recommended this or not, but go search in Amazon.com "Potty Power" I tried elmo, i tried every potty book every toy...Nothing worked until someone let us borrow this movie and them bam it hit him, I'm going to use the potty now. No more accidents, Never wet the bed at night (I took away diapers at night too in one fell swoop) He was trained at 2.5 he's now 4 and probably has only wet the bed a few times. Another trick that worked great for bribery is go to the dollar store and pick out a whole bunch of cars, dinos, anything that you think he will like, show them to him, and tell him whenever he puts a poop in the potty he gets to pick a toy from that drawer. Man we tried sticker charts, jelly beans, putting a doll on the toilet and pretending the doll went potty (his cousins doll lol) I swear it was a nightmare, and I introduced the potty at 16 months with this kid! Im rambling now, but bottom line, get potty power and a bag full of cheap toys and hopefully that will help!
I feel your pain sister! I am so not looking forward to potty training my 15 month old anytime soon!

jessica

www.thehazelstreetdiaries.blogspot.com

Jessica said...

oh, and have you seen those toilet seats at home depot that are just like the regular one on your toilet but have a little seat that pulls down on top of the grown up seat? He loved it! He called it the little guy!
here's the link~ I don't remember paying 45$ though, I bet you could find it cheaper elsewhere!

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-202721314/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=toilet+training+seat&storeId=10051&superSkuId=202751347#.UQL4gInjmcI

Unknown said...

Oh my - realized I had a typo from earlier--- we are NOW just waiting on our little guy to tell us when HE wants to potty train! Hoping that happens soon!!! Please happen soon. Lol. Good luck to you!!!

Roo Magoo said...

Hate to tell you what I'm sure you 've already been told, but the child has to WANT to go and be ready- you can't really do it successfully until then. YOu will both end up in tears. My daughter wanted to go on the big potty about a week after her second birthday, and was potty trained about two weeks later. That just proves that the child has to want it. She was asking to pee pee like mommy and was so proud of herself. GOOD LUCK!

Unknown said...

Oh no! Sounds like you've been having a hard time. Last summer, one of my best friend's sons as 4 and still not potty trained. He refused to pee in anything besides his diaper. My friend finally had enough and her son had to be potty trained for school so she took away the diapers. He held his pee for an entire day but finally gave into going in the potty before bed. Don't worry, he will do it eventually and I love that he is so very smart!!

Anonymous said...

I have three boys and, I'm sorry to say, they take way longer than boys. None of my guys were trained before three and my youngest (and last) is approaching 4 and still not done. My middle guy had some developmental delays and didn't finish until he was almost 5. The things that has worked best for my boys were putting them in underpants, sticker charts and lots and lots of praise. (You're such a big boy!!! I'm so proud of you!!!) They get a sticker every time they go potty and at the end of a certain number of stickers they get a prize and at the end of the training, when they only need a diaper for bedtime, they get a party. For my family it was friends and family and a cake, obviously, for yours it would be whatever your big boy wants to have. They get to pick because then it makes it a really big deal for them. For you, patience, unfortunately, is the only thing. You can't get upset about the messes either because then the accomplishment of "trying" is lost. Good luck and deep breaths.

Anonymous said...

Been there - done that! Don't force the matter or it will backfire. My daughter was very resistant to the idea for over a year. She was a pretty smart cookie, so I spent a couple of weeks making sure she understood the concept of one number being larger than the previous (e.g. 2 is bigger than one, 3 is bigger than 2 etc.). I purchased diapers that were one size too small for her. Then I started to sabotage the tape fasteners so they lost their stickiness by blotting them on a piece of fuzzy fabric. She started to get annoyed by diapers popping off spontaneously. We went shopping for more diapers and I showed her the sizes and how she was already wearing the biggest size (wink!). We ran through the numbers and she said "I'll just use the potty"! Not a single accident occurred thereafter. Trust me, we will not burn in hell for "fibbing" to our children when it is absolutely necessary!

lisajed said...

You're not alone. My son is FINALLY peeing on the potty. He will be 4 next month. He knew how (and did briefly at 2.5) but then acted like we were trying to murder him every time it was merely suggested. Then one day my husband told him he's going to wear underwear and he did. We're certainly not all the way there yet and he still asks for a diaper to poop but it's serious progress. He was barely fitting in the last size diaper. But don't worry. I'm sure your son will get it before 4. I've learned that no matter how smart and advanced they are in all other matters it doesn't matter until they're ready. Good luck.

Bronwyn said...

Such a funny post because I am going through it now with twin boys who will be 3 at the end of March!
They used to be so interested and now they just say "no thanks" anytime we discuss the potty or I suggest trying it!
I have another baby on the way in March and figure I will wait until the baby is here and settled and then have a go at it again when the weather is better!

Anna N. Antonucci said...

I feel your pain here... I did the bootcamp potty training session with my son back in November he was just over 2.5 yrs old. For 3 days straight, nothing but salty snacks, juice/water, sticker charting, bribing with mini marshmallows, saying that he was a "big boy" and no pants (him not me) I felt like a crazy person asking him "do you have to go to the potty?" every 30 min. He went a few times the first day and it was great, no accidents. I was amazed! By the 2nd and 3rd day, it was like I was making him sit on a flaming hot toilet seat, then he began holding it in and pooping at around 4:30am in his diaper and not going back to sleep. It was awesome...not really. Him holding it in, meant to me, that he was not ready. So we went back to diapers after day 4. I was going to revisit when he was 3 in March.

Three weeks later, by himself, he brought out the potty chart that I had made for him on his easel and started going by himself, taking his pants down and diaper off and using the potty like he had underwear on. We went to underwear that day and didn't look back to diapers. Just during overnight. Good luck, it is difficult... but they really are ready when they're ready, it's a power thing for some kids, boys especially are harder to train most don't get it until they are 3. Guess we were lucky. Also, the more I ask him the more he doesn't want to go,for the most part he'd rather go on his own. Pooping on the potty took another 2-3 weeks to do, after we lost the diapers. He would go and hide and attempt to go in his underwear, the first 2 times I caught him in the nick of time and ran him over to the potty and plop! Hallelujah!

Anonymous said...

Hi, I am a mother of an 8-year old boy and know all to well the struggles of potty training. I have some tips that I think would help. Try to get him used to wearing his big boy pants (underwear) maybe a couple hours out of the day then put back on his diaper.Also try to have him sit on the potty for 10-15 minutes a day.If you can't get 10-15 minutes try it in 5 minute increments and build. Make sure you ask if he has to use the bathroom constantly when he has on his underwear. Try not to give him anything to drink before bedtime. Since you have a little one also try to wake him up to use the bathroom maybe three or four times a week and build up to everyday of the week if you can. You can also explain to him that Daddy wears his big boy pants all the time and that he would be just like daddy when he starts wearing his big boy pants also. Most boys look up to their father's so this can be helpful. I think the key is getting him comfortable in his underwear and then getting him comfortable with using the bathroom. I tried these tips and had my son trained by the time he was 2 and a half years old.Good luck and I hope some of these tips help.

Natalie said...

Lindsay you gorgeous girl! I can't believe how big your handsome boys are getting!! Potty training, my hats off to you my friend. I haven't yet attempted but I constantly thinking that I should. I hope you'll update on how things go!! I could use tips and inspiration!! xx Nat

Erika said...

Try not to sweat it, I always asked my daughter if she wanted to sit on the potty and she said no. Finally, when she was 3 months shy of her 3rd Birthday she said yes. I never forced the matter, didn't want to have that power struggle and I wasn't interested in cleaning up accidents. Funny thing is, she potty trained with pee first and then at age 3 she was trained with poop. Nighttime was a different story, around age 4 for that...Literally just stopped putting her in pullups for bed and she started getting up to pee. For some reason that didn't dawn on me until age 4. Ha! I have another little girl that just turned 2 in December and she has shown interest but only because she thinks it is fun. No habits forming, just watched some cartoons on her baby potty. I will probably start talking potty with her in about a month. Good luck! PS. I have nephews and I heard putting cheerios in the toilet helps, something to help them take aim! :)

Welcome said...

ella was just 3 -this sounds like ella, when we used reverse psychology on her and ignored the entire issue she showed interest immediately . sean literally said "ok, nevermind!!! its ok" and we walked away she turned and sat down and went...this was after many screaming bouts and we chalked it up to a control thing...it had to be Her idea and on Her timing! what a mind game but it worked letting her think she was in control...
boys were diff. they were also just turning 3 - wed be outside doing water play in undies in(August) and when they said i have to pee i let them go in a corner in the grass to start to learn and it worked for us. hope that helps;)

Laura said...

Ha! My oldest became potty trained fully barely in time for kindergarten! So Stubborn! My younger boy was completely trained by 2-1/2. I think I stressed too much with the oldest.

RachelWest86 said...

I don't have kids, so I can't sympathize with this battle, but Heather Armstrong's latest post about poop might make you feel a little better about the sitution:

http://dooce.com/2013/03/12/and-lo-the-house-was-christened/

Good luck!

jacksparrow said...

This one takes a bit of timing, and a lot of patience: as soon as you see the signs, get your child to the potty/toilet as quickly as you can (you might need to lift them up and run!), and put them on the toilet seat. Sit with him reading or with an iPad or whatever until he goes. Huge applause and reward. Repeat until the connection is made. I have found some good pottytrainingapp from searching google. You may try this apps for become a special potty trainer for your sons. Thanks.

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