Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Potty Training Part 1

Hunter is now 2 years and almost 3 months old and while we have been working on potty training since before his 2nd birthday he is still not fully potty trained. This really doesn't bother or stress me out very much because I know that boys can often times take longer than girls to potty train and I know that eventually he will be potty trained. I've yet to meet someone who went off to college still wearing diapers. Since this is basically my journal and keepsake of the main events in our lives I wanted to write a little about the potty training journey so far.

A couple of months before Hunter turned 2 they started putting him on the potty at daycare. They would sit him on the little toilet in the room throughout the day but he very rarely went. We had bought both a small potty to sit on the floor and a seat adapter to go on the big toilet for our house so that he could try both options and we would occasionally sit him on both. I didn't want to really even push it at home until he started going more consistently at daycare. I will say that one of the benefits of daycare is having them help with potty training and makes it even more worth all the money we are paying them. I figured if he got used to going there during the day than it shouldn't be that hard to get him to go at home. I was wrong.

After he turned 2 and moved into the Preschool 1A class he had to start wearing pull ups instead of diapers and they were more consistent with making all the kids sit on the potty every hour unless they showed signs of needing to go even sooner. Not long after he turned 2 and moved to the new class he started going more often while at daycare. Typically he will go pee in the potty between 1-4 times a day while at daycare. He has only pooped a few times and that was just because they were able to catch him and get him to the potty in time. He no longer cries or gets upset when he goes at school. He has even gone while standing up "like daddy". They give the boys the option to either stand up or sit down since some do better with one way vs. the other.

Now when he's at home he will NOT pee or poop on the potty. We've tried using the small one on the floor and sitting him on the big toilet. He will sit for a few minutes then say "All done" and ask for his diaper. We've tried giving him books to read and the iPad while he sits there but he will only sit for a few minutes before insisting he gets off. I don't want to force him to stay on it and make it a traumatic experience so I don't fight him too much if he asks to get off. He will even tell us he needs to use the potty but he will hold it until he has his diaper back on. So at least we know he has the ability to hold it. And he will tell us before and after if he needs to or has already gone. But for some reason he just won't do it at home.

We've tried bribing with candy and toys but that hasn't worked either. I know part of the problem is that we aren't as consistent with sitting him on it every hour the way they do at daycare so that's definitely our fault. I really think if he can just go even once or twice in the potty at home that will get him over whatever fear or hang up that he's having with it and he will start going more consistently. I think this based on other "fears" he's had with things. Once he does something once and sees that it's not scary or a big deal he's totally fine.

So I finally went out and bought him some underwear and I'm hoping if we start putting him in that after he has a few accidents it may help inspire him to go in the potty because he won't like being wet and he will get upset if he ends up peeing on the floor or couch. I'm also going to try a reward chart to see if having something physical to look at to track his progress will also help him. It's much harder to do this when we aren't home with him all day everyday but I'm hoping maybe after even doing it a couple days over the weekend we will get some improvement at home. I would like to have him fully (daytime) trained by the summer but if that doesn't happen I'm not going to stress it too much. To be honest I'm a little nervous to give up the convenience of diapers and not having to worry about rushing to find a bathroom if we're out in public or driving in the car.

9 comments:

princessapr said...

You can get protective carseat covers for accidents. Always have a change of clothes. It is easier to potty train when the weather is nice, too.

Laura used the potty before her second birthday and then occasionally, but she didn't go again until the day before school started. She had an accident the first day of preschool and once a year in preschool because she was so busy, but you have to wait until the child is ready.

That said, long after she only used the toilet, she would not poo. She'd put it off for as long as possible to the point of stomach cramping. She wouldn't go in her pants or want a diaper, but she just wouldn't go. We used every amount of bribing. We finally used a sticker chart. After 10 stickers, she got to pick a prize. Plus, it was a good routine. It was kind of cool because she picked a $7 puzzle as her prize at Toys R Us, but it was a rough couple of months.

I'm wondering how potty training a boy will be different because it really happened kind of organically with Laura. I'm hoping she'll teach her brother for me.

Kathy@MoreCoffeeLessTalky said...

my nephew was the most stubborn potty trainer ever! he REFUSED to go and it took my sister almost TWO YEARS then she gave up. he potty trained himself at 4.5yrs old - he just said: NO MORE and that was it.

-kathy | Vodka and Soda

Shannon said...

good luck!!

the one thing that really worked for us was the reward chart. we bought pretty cool stamps from melissa & doug and the only time Taylor could use them was after she used the potty. No other time. But again, every kid is different and I've heard boys take a lot longer too!

Nat said...

Good luck! My SIL didn't get my niece potty trained until she was about 3 months shy of her 3rd birthday- I think all kids are different but sounds like you're on the right track. She said little rewards combined with a big end of week treat worked for them

Venassa said...

We're kind of at a stand still on potty training too. They don't enforce it as much at daycares around here - they want you to start and then they will. I'll admit that I'm just too lazy to put much effort into it right now, which is sad. But I'm also scared because the few times we did try, there were lots of accidents and we live in an apartment that's almost all carpet.

Stephanie said...

Thanks for posting this. I too am fine with dipes or Pull Ups. Carter's been in Pull Ups a while bc they worked better than dipes for us. He's just beginning to let us know he's gone and will sit on his potty and try but usually ends up straining himself to go which we don't want. As we finally get warmer weather I think Im going to buckle down and try a couple days of potty boot camp (naked or in underwear and lots of liquid) and see how it goes. I read Potty Training for Boys and it suggested sessions over time to help. I think you're on the right track though. Get him over his fear and consistency. All easier said than done! Another trick I've been told is letting them go and pick out their own underwear to help them with ownership too. Looking forward to an update soon!

Fiona said...

There are so many different ideas out there for potty training.. and so many different ones that seem to work for different people, so it is hard to know what will be the best route for your child. Like others, we had alot of luck with the reward chart.. and also reading books about kids using the potty and even looking up photos of potties online and talked about how 'cool' potties are!! haha We also had a lot of luck going pantless for a few days but we have no carpets so there wasn't the worry of big messes to clean up. The main thing I have heard is not to push too hard or worry, because like you said, he will get there! :) Good luck!! It sounds like he is doing a great job at school so far at least!

Sarah said...

Fingers crossed my friend!! He's a smart cookie and it will just click soon!

Unknown said...

I don’t normally comment on articles, but I have an experience I’d

like to share that will hopefully help others in a similar position as

myself. I know how it feels to buy and try all these different things.

It can get really annoying! We recently started to potty train my

daughter (Emily) any

time my husband and I tried to "potty train" my daughter it seemed

like nothing was working! I did A LOT (let me tell you) lol of

searching and found this site

called PottyTraining101.cf which allowed me to potty train my daughter

quickly and calmly. As it turns out, me and my husband were not using

the correct techniques. But I can now happily say that I no longer

worry about her, she is now fully potty trained. I have even

recommended it to family members and friends. If anyone is in a

similar position, I recommend using PottyTraining101.