When did you start? (poll)

To delay initializing (aka introducing) the concept of PT til 24 months & later, sets your child up for issues. A study of 8,000 children shows starting to train at 2 yrs old & later causes persistent day wetting, delayed bladder control, and higher chances of day wetting relapses. ~~~ Take home message: Starting younger is better!

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Here is your one-stop locale for potty training info.

1. Encouragement
Is S/He Ready? A Checklist: And How To Start from the Mayo Clinic
Behavioral, Cognitive, & Physical Signs: How Ready is S/He?
What DOESN'T Work: Screw MIL's Timetable!!
Potty Training FAQ: Top 200 Questions Answered by Karen Deerwester
Got Twins? or Triplets? Or MORE?: Potty Training Mulitiples by Maria McCarthy
Stress Free PT: A Common Sense Guide by Sara Au

2. Discuss latest trends
Dr Phil Says: PT in LESS than 1 Day
Potty Train in ONE DAY: As seen in Parents Magazine (a role playing method)
Potty Train 90% in 2 Days: Out of Diapers Overnight
Trained in 3 Days!: A Nekkie Butt Approach for 15-28 Month Old Toddlers
Training Pants: Does your LO learn visually (sight) or kinestheticly (touch)?
Signing & Potty Training: PT Signing Starter Kit
KoKo Doll PT Package: Another role playing method by Vicki Lansky
Chair or Seat?: Stand Alone Chair vs Seat for Toliet
Stand Alone Urinal for Boys!: A Peter Potty
Clip on Urinal: Just hang over rim of toilet et viola! Cheaper than Peter Potty.

3. Children with Special Needs & Potty Training
Autism Spectrum Disorders and Others: by Deborah Bialer
Autism & Other Developmental Delays: by Maria Wheeler

4. Regression/Hurdles
Causes:
Specficially for those who've been trained for about a year
New baby? attention seeking? too busy playing?
Ready, Set...Not Yet!: "Just Cause" IS a reason (2nd from bottom of page)
Effects:
Constipation - from power struggle or fear of flushing a part of themselves
Toilet Training Resistance -- Miralax helps
D3 Cycle - discomfort, dread, & delay <-- can happen to toddlers & older kids
How to Get Past It:
Potty-Training-Answer-Book: Top 200 FAQ by Karen Deerwester

5. EC - Elimination Communication
BG's own guru: Blaire
A History
Tips, the Books, the Sites, the Swag, and Forums
Potty Training Infants: A Primeval Method by Laurie Bouke
Diaper Free Baby: Natural Training Alternative by Christine Gross-Loh

6. Books - Potty Themed
For KIDS
Potty Time with Elmo - an interactive book
It's Potty Time! for Girls or Boys by Chris Sharp covers come in white girl, white boy, and black boy. Haven't seen a black girl yet.
A Potty for Me! by Karen Katz
Dora's Potty Book by Melissa Torres
Everyone Poops (USA) same thing as Everybody Poos (UK) original is Minna Unchi (Japan) by Taro Gomi & translated by Amanda Meyer
It Hurts When I Poop by Dr. Howard Bennett

For ADULTS
The Everything Potty Training Book by Linda Sonna, PhD
Early Start Potty Book by Linda Sonna, PhD
Potty Train in 1 Day -- Book, DVD, & Doll -- by Narmin Parpia
The Idiot's Guide to Potty Training
Potty Training for Girls by Simone Cave
Potty Training for Boys by Caroline Fertleman
Diaper Free Before 3! by Jill Lekovic
Potty Training for Dummies by Diane Stafford
Stress Free Potty Training: Commonsense Approach by Sara Au and Dr. Peter Stavinoha
The No Cry Potty Training Solution by Elizabeth Pantley
POTTY BOOT CAMP: Training Toddlers by Dr. Suzanne Riffel
Potty-Training-Answer-Book: Top 200 FAQ by Karen Deerwester
Potty-Training-Sucks: When Diapers Make You Miserable by Joanne Kimes

7. Share tips
Muscles & Reminders: See posts #6 & #8
Positive Reinforcement Ideas: Sticker Chart - with optional rewards
Stickers/Rewards: For Boys & For Girls
The ABCs of Potty Training: A-J Tips
PT Myths: Find out the truth!
Instead of candy rewards for going potty, try healthy snacks &/or dollar tree stores where your LO can pick his/her own reward/toy! Thanks "Robin expecting #2" for that tip!
Did you know there are...: Cloth Diaper Training Pants as well as Training Pants with Plastic Shell and the ubiquitous Pull-ups <-- many moms complain about leaks & the cooling sensation not working, so buyer beware!

8. Share stories - to laugh & learn. These are for entertainment only.
Lydia's Story - pt 1, third post from top & then pt 2, first post
Mikey & Andy's Story - 3/4 down
Isabella's nighttime story - post #10
Darwin's peeing while sitting incident - post #5
Nika's PT saga from 8 months & up - 2nd to last post
Ethan's PT success - post #11
Kain's Story - post #9
Help! My kid won't poop on the potty! - see post #11 for a creative tip

She has gone in her potty a couple of times but still doesnt know not to go on the floor so Im thinking about 2-2.5 we will get it down a lot better when she can understand better. (She is 20 months right now)

Quoting texas/born and raised:“ She has gone in her potty a couple of times but still doesnt know not to go on the floor so Im thinking ... [snip!] ... floor so Im thinking about 2-2.5 we will get it down a lot better when she can understand better. (She is 20 months right now)”

That's a good start so far!!

What made you try at 20 months?

My lil guy is 19.5 months and we just got him 2 seats -- the kind that sit on top of the big potty. So far he has farted twice.    

Quoting Animal Guardian:“ That's a good start so far!! What made you try at 20 months? My lil guy is 19.5 months and we just ... [snip!] ... 19.5 months and we just got him 2 seats -- the kind that sit on top of the big potty. So far he has farted twice.    ”

We started about 19.5 months because when she goes to the restroom she sometimes comes and ask to be taken out of her diaper because she doesnt like to feel wet or dirty. But thats not everyday, sometimes if she is preoccupied she wont say anything but I just noticed the older shes getting the more shes becoming alert to her body.

My son is 25 months and has been pooping on the potty for about 4 months..Though he has no interest in peeing. We started buying the pull ups with the cold sensation and that has had no effect so far lol We started entertaining the idea of the potty when he was around 19 months because he would tell you "pee pees" when he would go in the diaper. He has zero interest in peeing on the potty though. He will only poop and then he wants to put a sticker on the sticker chart lol

Quoting texas/born and raised:“ We started about 19.5 months because when she goes to the restroom she sometimes comes and ask to be ... [snip!] ... if she is preoccupied she wont say anything but I just noticed the older shes getting the more shes becoming alert to her body.”

We're pretty much at the same level!

Darwin will grab/pat his penis and say diaper. So he tells us after the fact -- but he tells us! 

We got the seats to start building an association. He already knows that you wipe with TP while on the toilet. He even wipes me! LOL

my daughter is 2 and i dont know where to start. ive tried potty training pullups and ive tried letting her run around with nothing on and she peed on the floor. everytime i put her on the potty she tries to get off of it and runs around.

Quoting Sheena Mac:“ My son is 25 months and has been pooping on the potty for about 4 months..Though he has no interest in ... [snip!] ... has zero interest in peeing on the potty though. He will only poop and then he wants to put a sticker on the sticker chart lol”

Oh, a sticker chart?!

How does that work?

Darwin loooooooves stickers -- but he loves to put them all over his body. Then he takes them off one by one, and of course a couple end up in his mouth.  

Quoting Mama Bird of 2:“ my daughter is 2 and i dont know where to start. ive tried potty training pullups and ive tried letting ... [snip!] ... around with nothing on and she peed on the floor. everytime i put her on the potty she tries to get off of it and runs around.”

I have a 3 yr old niece (well, she'll be 3 at the end of this month). My SIL is a fan of the nekkie butt method.

However, I do not know if SIL makes Emma clean up her pee "oopsies" or if SIL just cleans it up herself. Have you tried making your LO clean up her own mess?

I've heard randomly from other moms that having to clean up your mess (when your mentally capable of understanding why you shouldn't mess on the floor) is the ticket to making something click in the kids' heads that "ohhh, geez. I don't want to do this." And then they start using the potty better.


My SIL is also a fan of bribery. You get 1 candy for a pee and 2 candies for a poo. <-- Truthfully, I don't like the sounds of this.   It seems to be setting yourself up for a pattern of bribery to get the kid to do anything in the future. Or maybe I'll change my mind!

Quoting Animal Guardian:“ Oh, a sticker chart?! How does that work? Darwin loooooooves stickers -- but he loves to put them ... [snip!] ... but he loves to put them all over his body. Then he takes them off one by one, and of course a couple end up in his mouth.  ”

We actually bought ours with re usable stickers, but you can make one easy enough. This is the reference I was going to use before I bought mine. http://www.ehow.com/how_4586085_making-potty-training-sticker-chart.html
Basically it's like a calender. Ours is labeled with "go fast" for peeing "go potty" for pooping, "wash hands" and "dry day"

I've made other charts for everyday things like from brushing teeth to helping clean his room. The charts def. encourage him to want to do it, because he wants to put that sticker on the chart lol

 Hi I am Merideth...got a link in my january mom thread to come here.   My daughter is Adison born January 21 08.
She can sit on the potty and knows all the terminology and the order you are supposed to do it all...she will tell me when she poops AFTER lol. But she has NEVER gone on the potty. I'm not pushing it.  If I (or anyone) says I am giong to the bathroom she says "go potty bafroom bafroom bafroom" and follows, she goes in and says "I go potty" but to her that just means to sit down on hers, or lift the lid on the big toilet.  Then she says "I get toilet paper" and she gets that off the roll and hands it to you, then says "wush" sometimes, always says "bye bye toilet paper" and then says "pants up" and "I wash your hands."
So...yeah she knows what you do in there and all that, but she doesn't do it. Oh well...lol.  How is everyone else doing with it?

Quoting Sheena Mac:“ We actually bought ours with re usable stickers, but you can make one easy enough. This is the reference ... [snip!] ... helping clean his room. The charts def. encourage him to want to do it, because he wants to put that sticker on the chart lol”

Interesting read. I agree with positive reinforcement. And I completely agree with the articles "warning" at the bottom: "Your child may get bored with the sticker rewards. If so, mix it up a bit. Say for every three stickers she also gets a book read to her. For every six stickers, she gets to go the playground or the park."

I have to admit, I'm not convinced about the rewards suggested. A book? The park? I mean -- aren't we in theory already doing these things?

Sheena, what are you doing for rewards? What have you found works/doesn't work?

Quoting Mer is a Mean Girl:“ Hi I am Merideth...got a link in my january mom thread to come here. My daughter is Adison born January ... [snip!] ... she knows what you do in there and all that, but she doesn't do it. Oh well...lol. How is everyone else doing with it?”

Holy cow!! She's got an AWESOME vocab and sentence building skill set there! Congrats!!

I have a 19.5 month old. The only verbage he has in relation to potty time is "bye bye" when we wave at whatever is being flushed.

However, he too knows the jist of the routine -- something comes outta you, you wipe with TP, throw it in the toilet, flush, wave, wash hands.



Have you thought about the nekkie butt method?

Quoting Animal Guardian:“ Interesting read. I agree with positive reinforcement. And I completely agree with the articles "warning" ... [snip!] ... we in theory already doing these things? Sheena, what are you doing for rewards? What have you found works/doesn't work?”

I don't agree with their rewards either. Those are things we do on a regular basis, just because. I haven't really needed to use a reward other then the stickers yet. He's still very interested in being able to put the stickers on the chart. If he were to get bored with the stickers, my first idea would be a trip to the library to get a book of his choice.

Quoting Sheena Mac:“ I don't agree with their rewards either. Those are things we do on a regular basis, just because. I ... [snip!] ... the chart. If he were to get bored with the stickers, my first idea would be a trip to the library to get a book of his choice.”

So your LO is okay with putting just one sticker on the chart?

Darwin can't stop with just one (it's like a bad Lay's chips commercial! lol)