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Friday, August 17, 2007
The Joy of Potty Training
I decided I'd had enough torture in the potty training venue, so when my second child came along, I figured I'd let her wear diapers until she went college. Luckily I didn't need to wait that long. She wanted princess underwear and that was that. Overnight ::poof:: she was trained. I personally like that method much, much better than sitting the child on the toilet every hour or so until they catch on. That's just my opinion. My other three trained at different ages, in their own time, but just as easily.
I'm just wondering how you've done/will do the potty training thing. Any funny stories about training? Leave me a comment and share your wisdom!
84 comments:
- No one said...
I'm probably one of the five hundred or so who have checked out your blog in the past few days (your ebay listing made it onto a couple of Australian parenting forums, how's that for global exposure!!!)... Anyhoo...
I was working on the leave them to do it in their time thing with my first, but when, by 4 years and 7 months, he hadn't shown any interest at all, I ended up saying to him in January that year, "Ok, on the first of February, no more nappies, if you have accidents, that's ok, we'll deal with them, but no more nappies..." The 1st came, and he put on his undies that had laid in his drawer for nearly two years, and went on his merry way with no accidents! However, he did refuse to do #2s without a nappy, so he wore one at night until he was 6 years and 7 months...
By that time his younger brother was 4 years and 7 months (their birthdays are close to one another!!!), and also not interested in using a toilet. So, we did the same thing for him, and at the same time told our older son no more night nappies, and we'd deal with any mess...
Surprise, surprise, neither had any accidents!!!
#3 son is now two... I wonder if he'll show any interest earlier than his brothers, I hope so! - August 21, 2007 at 9:31 AM
- Dawn said...
My three year old will not poop in the toilet either. So after 4 books of his "Bob the Builder" collection, still nothing. So I thought he didn't have to go. I put him back in his underwear and not more than 2 minutes later he went in them. So I asked him, "Son, we were just on the potty for 20 minutes, why didn't you go then?"
He replied, "Because I couldn't get it worked out."
I have decided to give up and have him ask for a diaper when he needs to go because he is not even motivated by Chuck E Cheese. - August 21, 2007 at 3:43 PM
- Kristine said...
I have trained 3 of my 5 so far. My first was a couple months shy of 4 years old, when we took the diapers away. I was tired of changing 3 kids diapers, and he was teasing me. Yep, he would come up to me & say, "I wear size 5s!" in a way that sounded a lot like "nah nah, nah, nah nah!" But we waited till then, figuring that floaties in the bath tub was not a sign of readiness . . . Anyway, he only had a couple accidents. Ok, I thought, this isn't so hard.
Son #2 wasn't so easy. We decided to not wait so long this time around - just after his 3rd birthday. Diapers, after all, are expensive. And we thought he showed the "sign of readiness" - he hid in another room to later emerge stinky, and he crossed his legs before relieving himself. Well, son #2 has ADD. He feels the need to do "just 1 more thing" before heading to the bathroom. Which means that after an hour of me watching him dance around with his legs crossed, I drag him to the restroom. Where, yes, he pees ON the toilet (that is sooo true!). He's 6 1/2 now, and we still have to redirect him 20 times, and then give up and drag him.
Son #3 has had few problems since he begged to wear underwear, and I complied. He was just a few months past his 4th birthday.
Child #4 is a girl who is only 19 months old. People tell me she will be much easier. Please let it be so.
Child #5 is yet another boy. I pray that he will actually potty train within a few months of starting, even if that means he frequently has to race to the bathroom because he "needs to go RIGHT NOW!" Our hallway bathroom is doomed to spend at least 18 more years covered in pee.
You'll have to excuse any typos, as most of this was done with 1 hand as I hold (& nurse) our 1 1/2 month old.
Oh, I'm remembering 1 fun outing while training son #2- Our first trip to Walmart with him in underwear. They joys of finding that there is water on the floor. Then realizing that it is coming from your cart. And that it's not water. I quickly paid for my purchases, praying that the cashier wouldn't notice, so that I could get to the pull-up waiting in the car. I don't know if there was an actual change of clothes or not. I can't remember how many times he has made the ride home in the car, wearing only a pull-up. - August 21, 2007 at 4:18 PM
- Jessiaremidorius said...
My son is odd about underwear...
He will wear underwear when we are out but wants diapers at home. In other words, he doesn't mind holding it for however long it takes to find a bathroom in some over-crowded department store, but he can't be bothered to take the 10 second trip to the bathroom at home. -_-
He's gotten better within the last 2 weeks though...only two to three pairs of training pants a day. - August 21, 2007 at 7:11 PM
- Unknown said...
My kids were all different. My oldest was a cake walk. At 18 months old, she wanted a pair of those skates that attached to her shoes. I explained that they were for big girls with big girl underpants. BOOM! Potty trained in one weekend. Never had an accident. Nothing. Piece of cake.
My stepson was a bit older, I think. Closer to 2 and a half. Anyway, he was a little more difficult, due to potty fears after he fell in. One or two accidents, here and there, but still pretty easy.
Then there's the baby of the family. She has been one tough nut to crack! She didn't cooperate until after her third birthday. She'll be four in January, and still needs her special potty seat. Church, the grocery store, you name it, the potty seat goes with. She will not go without it. I think she would just as soon let her bladder rupture than sit on a regular sized seat. So if you see a lady walking through Walmart with a Betty Boop beach bag holding a Looney Tunes toilet seat, please say hello! - August 21, 2007 at 7:24 PM
Ha ha, funny stories. I just got into scrapbooking, and of course, scrapbooked the potty experiences of my only kid. She and her bestest friend in the world were in preschool together, and were several months apart. I had tried to a long time to train either her or the potty, and neither was cooperating. I just KNRW she would be walking down the aisle in Depends! Then her world changed when her BFF turned 3 & "graduated" to the 3's class, and left Sara's behind behind! Sara was crushed potty trained overnight, and was ready to follow her littly "butty" to the 3's class!
- August 21, 2007 at 7:45 PM
My youngest was so excited about potty training that he got diarrea the first day! :)
- August 21, 2007 at 9:38 PM
- Misty said...
I loved your ebay post by the way - hilarious! I heard about it from a post on scrapinstyletv.com and immediately emailed all my friends to read it. So, potty training. I'm trying to train my 2 1/2 yr old boy now. He won't poop in the potty yet. Goes in his pants. In his pants with no undies. So you think it's no fun cleaning dirty underwear - really no fun cleaning up dirty pants, dirty legs, dirty floors. So why no undies you may ask? Well 2 reasons - #2 is that the 1st day we tried potty training I put undies on him and he messed up about 2 or 3 pair very quickly. Needless to say we waiting a week or so before trying again. Reason number 1 is that my older son - who is now 4 - would always pee with undies on when we first started training him so we let him go without undies and he had less accidents. - Funny story - one day we went to the mall and he had to go potty. Well he had overalls on and I accidentally made a mess when he was trying to go - it really was my fault. Well the pants I had with us were too big and I didn't realize it. So we're walking through the mall and all of a sudden his pants are around his ankles and he's flashing this old lady behind us. And yeah - I SO scrapbooked that! http://twopeasinabucket.kaboose.com/pg.asp?cmd=display&layout_id=986519
Wish me luck with my 2yr old. We're going to activly try again when my older boy goes back to pre-school next week. - August 21, 2007 at 9:43 PM
- Michelle said...
This makes me feel so much better! My son was a snap - fully trained in under a week just shy of his third birthday because he was about to start pre-school one day a week and they wouldn't accept him otherwise. My mother actually moved in with us for a week to help and we did the whole "aim for the Cheerios thrown in the toilet bowl" thing and it worked like a dream; he had hardly any accidents and has always had surprisingly good aim since then.
Serves me right for being smug and self-satisfied about it though because now Miss Diva (3) absolutely refuses flat out to be trained. We've tried on about 6 different occasions since she was 2.5 with the most success coming right around her 3rd birthday (she's now 3 and 2 months) when she was 100% day-trained for about 4 days, and then she reverted...! Even the Princess underwear she so adores isn't an incentive, it's driving me nuts. She'll sit on the potty or toilet (she doesn't mind which - she just won't USE either of them!) for an hour or more the stubborn little Madam, saying "nope, no more" and I won't get a drop out of her. She'll then stand up and within 30 seconds will have disappeared behind the couch, into the shower, even out onto our front doormat once (that was memorable) and pee there, fully clothed. &*$%#
Methinks the new baby (born 3 weeks before her birthday) isn't helping matters as she enjoys having her Slave (me) changing her hideous nappies alongside her much-more-tolerable sister's ones. Glad to know that having a 3 year old still untrained does not make me a Failed Mother as many would have had me believe ;o) - August 21, 2007 at 10:33 PM
This is gross and kind of mean, but desperate times...
My second son was almost 4 and would not (NOT!!) poop on the toilet. I snapped one summer afternoon when I got a whiff of the familiar stench and saw the familiar brown oozy stain. *Mindsnap
Took him way out in the back yard, made him strip and bend over, got the hose (oh yes) and blasted him clean. The look on his face? Priceless. Amazingly, he never messed in his pants again and he still hates the hose 5 years later. - August 21, 2007 at 10:52 PM
I too found you on ebay and I must say...I haven't laughed so hard in a long time. You are hilarious!!!!
Anyways. My now 14 yr old was a snap to potty train. My 6 yr old though. Whew! We tried everything with her but she would not use the tolet. Toys, games, cash,... you name it. :) She would go hide behind something to pee or poo. Finally, after my MIL was giving me one of many child rearing "lectures" my little one(at age 4) came up and handed me some underware and said, "Im ready for big girl panties". I put them on and she never had any problems. - August 21, 2007 at 10:56 PM
- Hen Jen said...
I bribed them. With m&m's. not proud of it exactly, but it worked mostly. except with the boy...there's always an exception, isn't there??
- August 21, 2007 at 11:24 PM
i don't have any kids but I was 15 when my little brother started training so I remember it pretty well and I have a few stories.
I was my brothers favorite older sister so we did everything together. (10 difference). One year, he was 3ish, we when to VBS together. I got called out of my class for an "emergency". My little brother needed to go to the bathroom and wouldn't let anyone else help him... So I go down to his class, take him to the bathroom, take his pants off of him, and go to pick him up under the armpits so I could lift him up so he could aim at the hole in the toilet to water the fishies. As I go to pick him up what does he do? He starts peeing and being a boy it goes everywhere. I was so upset because the teachers waited so long to call me, it would have never happened!
We used the cheerios technique with him too. Another one that worked was turning the water colors. I don't remember how it worked exactly but I think it was the chemical was blue and after he peed in it the water turned green. or something like that. He also made bubbles... Bob-the builder underwear helped, but because he would wait to the last minute to go he often had accidents.
When we would swim in our pool Dad would tell my brother that if he wanted to he could pee outside, but not in the pool. This was a good idea at first, he would even talk my stepmom into letting him pee outside even if we weren't in the pool. However, I am not sure this is the best idea because at 4 1/2ish he was at a Burger King at one of their outside playgrounds... the family was asked to leave because he peed (and I think even pooed in the bushes - I wasn't there) and it turned out management wasn't to happy about it. lol - August 22, 2007 at 12:38 AM
I have three children. #1, boy, was most difficult. He was "pee trained" at age 3, but he absolutely refused to poo in the potty. He would get down on all fours, hiding somewhere, and poo. We tried treats, toys, special underwear, even talked to the doctor. He suggested mineral oil, which gave him the runs, which never occured in the toilet. --->Stupid doctor! Anyway... it wasn't until he went to Kindergarden that he kicked the habit. It was an all day program and he just couldn't hold it that long.
#2, girl, was about 2 months shy of three years old. I was pregnant with 3# and didn't want to deal with 2 kids in diapers again. I just told her that she was a big girl now and it was time to use the potty and wear underwear. She had one accident and she was fully trained. Piece of cake.
#3, boy. I knew he was my last baby, so I was terrible at encouraging behaviors that made him older. I was never in a hurry for him to reach the next new step in growth. I was in between sitters when one of my aunts stepped in to help. She had him trained in two days (he was about 3). Needless to say... I was a little disappointed, but that feeling disappeared rather quickly when I noticed extra spending money in my grocery budget (no more diapers!)
I really think it is impossible to place an age on when a child should be potty trained. They are each their own person and we just have to work within their abilities. Some make it easy, and some... well, we love them anyway! =) - August 22, 2007 at 12:11 PM
- Pisaster said...
I also read the ebay post and nearly died laughing. I have five kids and one on the way. And my youngest is potty training. I've now potty trained three kids in three years. My now 5 year old was 3 when he potty trained. I had read an email on a moms message board about her experience telling her son that a "potty fairy" was going to come and take his diapers away and bring him underwear. Well, no "potty fairy" was going to visit my son. I just told him I was going to take his diapers away and he was trained in about a week. The next year, I trained my now 4 year old when he was 2 1/2. We also had a new puppy who was being housebroken. How confusing for a little boy to see the dog being sent outside to go while he got sent down the hallway. The dog got in trouble for going inside and boy did my son get in trouble when he pooped outside in garden! Especially when the puppy ran off with the turd! Oh, it was terrible. Now I'm working on my 20 month old. She is easy. She started going on the potty about four months ago, before she could even talk! I didn't start seriously training her because I didn't believe any child this young could actually use the potty, but I'm wrong...happily wrong. My method for the three has been...take off the diaper and let them run around naked until they start going then put them on the potty. The most important thing is to not do anything else for a few days. No store trips, no cooking, no nothing. Just spending time with the child. It is almost like a vacation, especially when you can send the other kids away with dad to go visit the grandparents!
- August 22, 2007 at 12:50 PM
girl, u've become famous!!! heard about you on Cincymoms.com. crazy huh? coincidentally i have been trying to potty train my 15mth old. she loves to sit on her potty, but that is all she does...sit. Today though, she pooped in her diaper. I wasn't even aware of when she did, then went to her room and brought me and armload of diapers to change her with. Too funny. At least she knows that she pooped. Now to encourage her to actually do it in her potty.
- August 22, 2007 at 2:21 PM
I thought the book "Potty training in less than a day" or some title close to that worked like a charm with my older two, both potty trained before 3, but continued having sporadic accidents for some time. Our youngest boy came home at 3 and was a stubborn, manipulative stinker, but that's another huge, story. We waited a few months a tried "the book" with him. No go. A few months longer... no go... I gave up for a few more months. Was considering it again, when he decided on his own that he was done with diapers. 3 years later, he has only had 2 accidents and one of those was while he was groggy from anesthesia from his cleft palate nose surgery. Our youngest (so far) is 20 months-- think I'll wait and let her train herself... much less hassle.
- August 22, 2007 at 3:24 PM
- sociallyskilled said...
i start when they're babies. my 4 month old woke up at 5 this morning and cooed at me till i took off her diaper and let her pee in the sink (the baby potty was downstairs). then she went back to sleep very nicely.
i started my older daughter at 8 months and pretty much just let her try the potty out whenever we both felt like it. what really helped was taking her camping and letting her pee in the bushes. she loves that. sometimes she begs to pee in the backyard. and i guess if i let her little sister pee in the sink, i can't refuse to let her pee in the grass. - August 22, 2007 at 3:31 PM
Found your blog from your pokemon auction.
Re: ways to skin a cat. My father responded to this axiom by saying, "Yeah, but there's no damn point. The hide just falls apart. You can't tan it, stretch it, or make anything out of it. Plus they taste awful."
Just wanted to share, and thank you for making the world a little funnier. - August 22, 2007 at 3:50 PM
Wow and I was feeling stressed because my son Liam is almost 3. Phew! We are almost fully trained (not including nights). What worked for us (after much trial and mostly error and loads of frustration) was making him earn tv time or use of his playroom by using the potty. He could have a toy or two but not the run of the playroom. I swear he literally peed in the potty anytime there was a show he wanted to watch but it caught on and before long we moved the potty chair out of the living room (wanted to keep it visible to him at all times) and back into the bathroom. Now he tells us now when he has to go. Currently we are just working on telling us sooner than later.
- August 22, 2007 at 4:08 PM
I thought I was the only mom with a non-potty trained 4yr old, his pre-school teacher sure made me feel that way. I was told point blank to BRIBE him with candy or whatever it took.
I finally wound up letting him run naked for a week that summer. After 2 accidents, he trained.
His brother is still in the training stages at 3 1/2, and doing great...as long as he is bottomless or at least not wearing underwear. I think he'll be good by his birthday. - August 22, 2007 at 4:12 PM
- Unknown said...
When my youngest was being potty trained, I used EXCESSIVE praise as reinforcement for staying dry. One day we were at McDonalds and I turned my attention away for just a moment, he stood up in the highchair and pulled down his pants and peed on the floor. As I looked on in shock, he pulled his pants back up and rubbed his dry crotch and said happily, "Mommy, I dry!"
- August 22, 2007 at 4:29 PM
- Traci said...
I love your blog Dawn, very funny. I'm stressing out with one kid, and you have 6. You are a saint.
I didn't push my son to potty train. I just would leave the bathroom door open when I'd potty and tell him, "look at mommy, I'm putting my potty in the toilet again". That seemed to work for the pee part. The poop part came two months later when he climbed up on the toilet and started to go and said "Andrew at school goes poops on the potty". (That's a school mate) We haven't had any accidents since.
He too was a late trainer. He didn't officially train all the way until age 3.5. - August 22, 2007 at 6:11 PM
- Laura said...
I have 7 year old triplets and I subscribe to the denial method of potty training. I was in denial that I had to actually train them. In fact, anytime anyone asked I would break into a cold sweat, my heart would flutter and I would start to cry. Eventually they just sort of did it - I put out the potty chairs and they just did it themselves.
- August 22, 2007 at 6:27 PM
- robin said...
Well my older daughter is now almost 7. The day she turned 2, I went out & bought a potty. She loved sitting in it but that was it. We had it everywhere in our apartment at one time or another. I stressed myself out for over 6 months & then decided to wait. Then we wanted her to go to a pre-school, but she needed to be 3 & potty trained. So for 2 months we worked on it to no avail. her birthday came & i gave up on it. I figured she would be wearing diapers forever. The week after her third birthday she came up to me & said no more diapers Mommy & was potty trained in less than a week day & night. And any accidents she had were because she waited too long to go & were always next to the toliet while struggling to get her pants down quickly.
One night I did have a funny story though. She was about 5 & I heard her in her room late one night. Every once in awhile I would have to hurry her to the potty at night, because she was such a sound sleeper. Well I found her, pants around her ankles, in the closet, about to crouch down. She must have been sleep walking & needed to pee. I grabbed her & carried her to the bathroom. The next morning she did not remember it. My husband & I were laughing all night.
My little one will be 3 in 3 weeks. I have not been stressing much. She loves to sit on the potty, not the little one, but the big one with the little seat to put on it. So I even got a portable one. At her pre-school (of course I made sure to find her a pre-school where she didn't have to be potty trained) they do bring her to the potty, but to avail, she still hasn't gone yet. I am not stressing, she will be trained when she is ready. I am just so ready to have diapers gone from my home though. - August 22, 2007 at 6:43 PM
My first son decided about 3 that he didn't want to wear diapers any more, and so he decided to go potty where the doggie went....back behind the garage. My next one told me that she was tired of wearing diapers, and never did so again...it was great! My third, we won't discuss. He peed everywhere BUT the potty, and painted the bathroom with toothpaste too. He also liked to strip & shoot his "gun" as he ran around the house. My next one I barely remember there was so much going on, and the last one decided that big boys don't get their turtles dirty, so he decided to use the potty. (the joys of TMNT) Of course he's also the one that decided he was going to have about 5 girlfriends (he's just 6) because he wanted to have his "fun too!" I'm not so sure that big brothers were a good influence lol...
- August 22, 2007 at 8:36 PM
I admit now..my son was pretty easy....the first time...
A little background...
My husband is active duty USAF and we went to England in 2003 with our then 18 mth old son. Well my darling hubby worked his hiney off while we were there and we didn't get to travel even 1/2 as much as we would have liked, so out of sheer boredom in summer 2004 I got the brillant idea to go work for the base daycare center (CDC)...now I have an AA in early childhood Ed..I have subbed for every grade but 5th grade, worked in other daycare centers(just never on a military base), taught preschool & pre-K, and ran my own home daycare both in England and in Florida...so not a new concept for me and I USUALLY enjoy it....so back to the sheer boredom of summer 2004...I start working at the CDC and my son is about 2.5 at the time. In early Aug after about 6 weeks there they tell me that if I can get him potty trained they can move him up a month - 6 wks early ( Sept..his B-day is in Oct)and get him into the class I wanted him...ok so we go home and stop by the BX (like Wal-mart for military bases but without food, so old Wal-mart) and get big boy pants and plastic covers (required by the CDC). We already had the potty at home. I spend the whole weekend on potty training and he took right to. Pooped and peed in it on his first try and went the whole weekend with no daytime accidents (we used pull-ups at night). Go in MOnday in our big boy pants with cover and armed with lots of spares...I drop him off and head to the class I work in at the other end of the building (with 3-5yr olds). At the end of the day I got pick him up and ask how it went...they tell he refused to go on the potty...hmm sounds fishy to me...so I ask for details...turns out in all their brillant wisdom on their first attempt to take him potty they MAKE him stand up to go...
Remember this a 2.5 yr old whose father is gone ALOT...so little example at home on the standing up thing since I obviously can not pee standing up...
Well apparently standing up they had him lean over the toliet and hold the back...and it of course went EVERYWHERE but in the potty! Scared him half to death for a number of reasons, but a big one is my kid has never like messes..to this day doesn't and after being there over 2 mths they know this! And sure enough he refused to wear big boy pants or even try the potty at school or home again for over 6 mths...other circustances not related to this particular event had me quitting the job by the end of Aug...so we were at home...but still 6 mths...jumping ahead to March 05...I am doing home daycare and he is the oldest of the 6 I have in my care...one morning I say to him...let's put on big boy pants...he says ok and proceeds to do so....by the end of the first week no day time accidents anymore...by the end of that month no more night time ones!
We're having a girl this time....I pray it is that easy!
We're back in the USA now. On an assignment in Marietta, Ga. - August 22, 2007 at 9:01 PM
I have 6 children also: 4 boys,2 girls. All of my guys trained pretty much around 3 yrs., give or take. The difference is, the girls trained day and night all at once (my oldest, in just about a weekend), the boys were quite another story. Nighttime pull-ups for YEARS (my oldest boy). Accidents at night even after we got rid of the pull-ups. And NONE of them could hit the target if their life DEPENDED (no pun intended!) on it! Pee all over the toilet seat, all the time! I make it a practice to go all the way to the master bath when it's my turn so I don't have to deal with wetseat syndrome! And then they will be dry for a week at night in the pull-up, you take it away, they wet the bed! Actually the oldest boy was the hardest with the nighttime, the younger ones only had to stay in nighttime pullups a year or so. Best advice: no amount of training helps. When they are ready, they are ready. Plain and simple. We have never had problems with pooping on the toilet, because we just wait until they start heading in to the bathroom on their own. No potty, just a stool by the toilet. That is one of the beautiful parts of a big family, too: the younger ones always want to do everything the older ones do, so it gets fairly easy by the time you get to No.6! My youngest is three now, and I have not had a poopy diaper in quite some time. We may just be picking up big-boy underwear this week!
- August 22, 2007 at 11:37 PM
- Unknown said...
come check out www.themommyretreat.com
we could use you over there! - August 23, 2007 at 1:04 AM
- Mrs Awesome said...
my daughter like yours was over night wanted princess panties so we bought the pull ups the 1st pee ruined the hearts design on them. when informed the pee did that to them she was trained. never an accident yet she wasn't quite 2 and is now almost 5 (so 3 yrs) YAY for princess panties!
- August 23, 2007 at 2:56 AM
- Beth said...
Each of my children has been different - I am currenly working on the 2 year old - not sure if it is too early but she seems to be ready. The chore is getting her to go - she gets stage fright. With my son - I did the "lock-down" potty training - put him in undies - go to the toilet every hour until he goes - then slowly bring the timer to a longer time frame until we have an accident - then set the timer for the time period which will hopefully allow for the least amount of accidents!
- August 23, 2007 at 10:22 AM
When my twins had their 2nd birthday, we put the two potties out in the bathroom. Both boys wanted to try it out and actually sat down and in stereo both pooped in their potties! I did not start to "train" them for another 4 months when I had a break from college and could be there every day. I had them wear underwear exclusively (no training pants) and take a trip to the potty every 2 hours. They got a lot of praise if they could make even a little come out - they were trained in about a week. Never any accidents after that. I was just very matter-o-fact about it. I think it went so well because we were using cloth diapers and they were tired of them.
- August 23, 2007 at 10:33 AM
I also thought the magic age was two :) So we bought the potty and got him used to it. My mom was just aghast that he wasn't totally potty trained by the time he was two, but we knew it was ok! We just let him take the lead. We never forced him to sit on it or made it a huge issue. We'd gently suggest that he go potty. He is now 3.5 years old and he hasn't had an accident at home in probably 4-5 months. In the past two months we've been able to go out with no diapers for him and he hasn't had any accidents. Overnight is the only time he has accidents now and it's not every night, so we still use a diaper overnight with him. My youngest will be two next month and we are looking at getting a different potty for him since he has a hard time getting on the potty his brother uses. But he shows interest already, so we're holding out hope it will be just as easy with him :) I'm sure I'll be eating my words in another year LOL!
- August 23, 2007 at 10:38 AM
Okay by now you know you are the most famous mom in the whole wide world. I can think of no one who deserves it more (aside from me of course). Motherhood should come with a warning label. As far as the potty thing, my daughter (now almost 6) was a breeze, my son (3 years 9 months) is a nightmare. He will very willingly pee on the potty, cause he can do it standing up like daddy and it is "cool". However, after having been through every method I had ever heard of, we are now on the buck naked method. He runs around all day in his "all together" and when he has to go stinkies, as he calls it, he goes running at top speed to the potty. Now the trick will be to actually get clothes back on him and keep the potty habits intact.
Thanks a ton for all of the laughs... - August 23, 2007 at 11:11 AM
My first was at 3 years, my second at 3 as well and she had a few accidents. My last was a whopping 1 year old!! She never had an accident! I think I prayed more with the last. That or God felt he needed to have mercy on my soul.
- August 23, 2007 at 1:07 PM
- mamaof3girls said...
I have 2 girls, my older one is potty trained she will be 4 in November. After that experience I am with you! My second daughter can do it when she darn well pleases! I started last summer with my 3 1/2 year old who was 2 1/2 at the time. It did not bother her that all of her friends were not in diapers. I tried to bribe her with candy, new princess panties, dora panties, stickers, I got the Potty Power DVD and bought books on potty training. I was told just to let her run around in panties when we got I home (I work). One particular day around her 3rd birthday, we were eating dinner and I hear a trickling noise like a tiny fountain. My daughter was happily eating her macaroni while peeing all over herself and did not care one bit. I was trying not to get mad or yell. I know it is not her fault but really mine because she obviously wasn't ready but darn it with 2 kids 18 months apart, I wanted one of them out of diapers! So I clean up the mess, change her panties and now it is time for a bath...and she is walking real funny. We get to the bathroom and she passes me and I smell it. Yep she pooped in her new Princess Aurora panties. I took them off, threw them away and called my husband to tell him he needed to hurry up and get home b/c I needed a drink! That was November. By January she had decided on her own she was done with diapers. Had accidents for about a week and that was it! I don't think it was anything I did but she was just ready. My 2 year old wants to get on the potty but has not done anything as of yet!
- August 23, 2007 at 1:31 PM
- Ann Margaret Lewis said...
My boy is 3.5 years old, and we're at a stalemate right now. He actually wears undies and goes when I take him to pre-K twice a week for 1/2 day. He goes on the potty there. The moment he comes home...no dice. He fights tooth and nail and wants nothing to do with the potty. However, he doesn't want diapers either.
My next tactic will begin next week. At home, always in underwear. He goes in them, I'll be kind, gentle, reassuring and say "oh, well, you got pee on you, we need to rinse you off." Put him in the shower, with cold water--not forever--just for a short minute. He'll keep getting cold showers until he learns to avoid this, he must keep his pants dry. BF Skinner has nothing on me (he's the behaviorist that shocked people to get them do to what he wanted...I learned a think or two in my Comm Arts classes).
If that doesn't work, we'll go buck nekked. I'm doing this by degrees. He is a bright boy, but doggone sometimes I do wonder... (sigh). There's this thing call the Mother's Curse - "I hope you have a child just like you!" - well, I got one. Stubborn and intelligent. I can't wait until I can curse him the same way. :) - August 23, 2007 at 2:06 PM
My daughter will be 3 in October and Im hoping we made break through last nigh. People told me to put her on the potty every 30 minutes or so...yeah..right. I just dont have the patience and time to do that. Some ppl told me she will do it when shes ready..so I chosed that method. She def knows the concept and would volunteer to go in the bathroom herself and pull everything down, but nothing. Then, finally last night she told me she had to go pee pee on the potty. DH just figured it was gonna be another "no pee pee" incident, so I decided to follow her up the stairs. After about a minute, shes tells me "i think I went pee pee in the potty". Sure enough she did! We were so proud of her and she did it again two more times. Im sure she isnt accident free, but this is so huge!!! Who would think I would get so excited about seeing pee in a toilet!
- August 23, 2007 at 3:17 PM
- Shaylee said...
My mom has 7 kids (i am the oldest) and she has had many interesting experiences. :P I was potty-trained before i was 10 months old (i hated the scratchy diapers). My mom got crazy and thought that it would be easy for her and she started bragging to her sisters and friends about how she would never have to deal w/ the not-so-fun parts of potty-training. But then she had a boy and he wasn't ready til he was 3 and even thought that is sorta an early age she went through a lot of fun stuff to make up for my early/easy-as-pie training. She stopped thinking it was easy after that.
#3, 4, and 5 were about 2 and a half. We thought #5 was ready when he was 1 and a half and we got him the undies and seat and toys and stuff, but by the time we had cleaned of 2 of his meeses a day and we really weren't getting anywhere we decided to wait and see wha he would do o his own. Then one day he just did it and he has oly had 2 accidents since then (8 months ago). And now we have twin boys (oh great! We're in for it now!) and they are 14 months old, so i'm sure we have lots of fun times ahead of us! - August 23, 2007 at 3:21 PM
My daugher will be 3 in October. We were told to put her on the potty every 30 min or so. Ugh..I just dont have the patience and time to do that. Others have told me she will do it when shes ready, so I choosed that method. She definately had the concept. She would go in the bathroom on her own and would even pull her bottoms off. Heck...one time DH noticed the bathroom door was closed. When he opened it, her big stuff duck was sitting on her potty. DH asked her why was the door closed. She replied "Ducky had to be alone to go potty". LOL..so she def knows...just lazy...until now! Last night she told me she had to go. We kinda blew it off, but I decided to follow her up the steps. After about a minute later, she tells me "i think I went pee pee". Sure enough it was there and then she went again 2 more times. Im sure shes not accident free, but this is huge! Who would ever think I would get this excited over piss in the toilet!
- August 23, 2007 at 3:22 PM
- Shopping Cart Economist said...
Found your ebay auction posted on my website www.hotcouponworld.com. As a mom of 5 I can so relate to your experiances! Saw your blog submission on potty training and just had to check it out as I am currently trying to potty train 3 children at once. My oldest 2 children are girls and they both potty trained themselves shortly after they turned 2. My first son is 4 years 6 months and just does not seem to get it. I have tried everything I can think of to get him to go on the potty. Yes I will settle for it on the potty vs. in the potty for now! Nothing works with him. I let him run around nekid and he pees on the floor and goes about his buisness, doesn't even stop to pause in his day to note that he just peed on the floor. So while I am treking him to the bathroom a million times a day I figured I might as well let the 2 year old twins (will be 3 on halloween) have a sit on the potty as well and see if we can't get SOMEONE to pee or poop on the damn potty chair.
So it goes a little something like this:
Mom: Parker do you need to go to the potty?
Parker: YES! (runs to the downstairs half bath, only bathroom that is currently working toilet wise..Carly & Liam run in after him)
Parker gets his pull-ups off and puts the Dora the Expolorer potty seat on the toilet pushed over the old potty chair that the kids took the pot from out side that the dogs chewed up, so now the potty chair is just a step stool to get onto the toilet. He sits down, I hand him a book to read, magazine, bill, whatever is handy. In the meantime Carly is unrolling the toilet paper, Liam is taking everything out of the trash an inspecting it, incuding the used sanitary napkins, snotted tissue, and the very old chewed gum that has been stuck to the bottom of the trashcan for years...
So we sit there for 10 min or so and Parker delares that he is done, gets off, flushed the toilet (he did not go) and now its Carlys turn. We get her up there, I give her something to keep her there for a few while Parker proceeds to declare he needs to brush his teeth, then wash his face, his hands, and brush his hair, about 5 times each. In the meantime Liam has run downt the hall and is in the kitchen drinking hershey's syrup from the bottle.
Carly has pronounced that she is done...gets off, flushes, and snatches the bottle of Hershey's syrup from her brother, Parker is now upstairs in his sisters room, banging on the keyboard. So I run after Liam to get him on the potty. He takes off his diaper, he wont get up on the potty by himself so I have to put him up there and tuck in his penis. But he hates to sit anywhere no mater what so he is quick to hop off the potty and flush and run out of the bathroom.
In total I have just spend 20 min of my day, about 6 gallons of water on flushing an empty toilet, and now I need to clean up hershey syrup covered kid and kitchen, chase Parker down, put pulls ups back on all of them. We don't bother with clothes unless we are going somewhere...it saves on laundry.
And then of course once everyone is covered up and settled down and I am trying to get some work done...they all decide they will have a poop party and all 3 will poop at the same time!
And yes my kids paint the walls with poop at naptime about once a week...I am considering painting the walls poop brown. So you think if I take a sample in to Home Depot they will color match it? - August 23, 2007 at 3:30 PM
I can't offer potty training advice. My daughter, like yours, went to underwear and that was that, though we just now promoted to night-time dryness and no pull-up at bedtime. She'll be 4 in December.
My son, on the otherhand...he's 2 1/2. I'm not above bribery, so have held out the ultimate motivator...new Thomas and Friends choo-choo trains, available once he starts using his potty most of the time. No trains between now and then. Has had no impact right now. His friend (who is 6 weeks younger) went pee on the potty (in the potty, rather) yesterday. I told my son about it and, no lie, his response was "Yeah, so?" I told him that meant he could do it, too. His response? "No, I keep pee-peeing in my diaper. Thanks, though!" Should I be thankful that even now, at such a tender age, he refuses to bow to peer pressure? - August 23, 2007 at 4:19 PM
- RaisinCookies said...
My daughter was potty trained pretty easily, but my son was a different story. (isn't it always the boys?)
In actual fact, the real problem with potty training was an underlying medical issue -- he's lactose intolerant! He was having diarrhea and could never make it to the toilet in time. This went on for weeks and weeks until I finally figured out the problem. He's now dairy-free and doing great with the toilet.
Just when you think you have it all figured out, your kids throw you a curve ball. - August 23, 2007 at 4:47 PM
The way my daugther goes *lol*
http://laura-michelle2004.blogspot.com/2007/03/ess-gewohnheiten.html - August 23, 2007 at 6:28 PM
- Unknown said...
My aunt went and bought me an insane amount of little animal toys , becaue I've been an animal ativist from the time i was like...2! Toys or candy are GREAT and somehow stpid methods of doing things!
- August 23, 2007 at 7:44 PM
I suppose I am in the terrible to lucky range when it came to potty training. When I was pregnant with my second son, I was so sick ... diapers just didn't work for me anymore, so my then 15 month old son got underwear. Training him to pee was one thing, not so easy with the other. He was finally about 3 when he finally no longer went in his pants. I was patient, I read, I bribed, I did everything .. really, I did everything. Until one day .... I had a baby in winter stuff, him in winter stuff and me in winter stuff...man it was hot ... he told me he pooped his pants....then I got mad. I told him .. you wanna poop you poop in the toilet. He did.
Son #2 at 15 months ..said..and yes, he said, all while pointing at the toilet .. I wanna pee there. That was the end of that, no more diapers.
My DD...trained herself .. literally. We would go upstairs to the bathroom, her diaper would be on the floor, her business in the toilet. Again .. a done deal.
Good luck!! - August 23, 2007 at 8:10 PM
- Unknown said...
During potty training her boy my friend made the mistake of taking her son to Lowes ... you know where they have toilets out in the middle of the floor. I guess he saw the potty and had to go - he whipped it out right in the middle of the plumbing section and peed in front of everyone. :D
- August 23, 2007 at 8:34 PM
- Mystique said...
I had a year long (or so) trek with my son. I came to discover that after all the money spent on pull ups and diapers, all I really had to do was buy two $4 3 packs of underwear and let him pee in them for a week. I think he got sick of being wet and having to change not only his underwear, but his pants, socks and shoes too. Fortunately, after that week and several messy encounters later, he had very few accidents and those were mostly when he decided in the middle of no where on a highway with no rest stops or gas stations anywhere in sight, he had to use the restroom. Good luck with future potty training expeditions. I, personally, am not looking forward to another one of those journeys anytime soon.
- August 23, 2007 at 9:09 PM
speaking of crazy cat women.....
you GOTTA see this one!
it's one of the funniest stories
about crazy cat women i've seen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afpTHe91KFc - August 23, 2007 at 10:46 PM
I have 2 girls 5 and 3 1/2. My oldest potty trained right after she turned 3 and moved to the 3's class, hardly any accidents. My youngest (hell on wheels A.K.A tornado) daughter sarah is 3 1/2 now, she knows that she is suppose to pee pee and poo poo in the potty, I'll ask her "where do you go pee at, she'll say in the potty" but she won't do it. It is a total strike and she thinks it is funny. I actually have to chase her around the house to removed the soaked pull-ups in the morning. AND she wonders why she is always red and it hurts to wipe her. I don't know what to do and since she is a colorful and creative child I just let it be and pick my battles wisely. I keep telling myself the same quote every time I have a dirty pull-up to change " she will get it and go off strike someday " Until then I have a blank smile on my face and pray for patience and humor. We all need more humor in our lives, it keeps the blood going.
- August 24, 2007 at 12:27 AM
You're my hero. I am just another leming follower amongst the masses. Another who received a link to your eBay auction (from my sis-in-law). Unlike what appears to be everybody, though, I'm not a parent (yet). I'm a preschool teacher. "Potty training" is a dreaded phrase here since we actually do accept children who are not yet trained in the art of cheerio sinking and Tinkerbell talking. By my calculations, I have played a key part in the toilet training of approximately 30 munchkins in the past 2 years. Dear Lord, grant me patience. I'm a particular fan of the kids who stand in the corner and 'do their business' with much grunting and wall pushing. And let's not forget those who are still playing in the gains from all that effort.
Your *ahem* humor (read: sarcasm) is refreshing and reminds me of me. I teach my students the art and worry the parents on a regular basis (in a good way). Amazingly, I still want children. Despite poo slinging, automatic sprinklers and four year olds who obviously don't have a sense of smell, I can't wait. You're an inspiration to parents (and yes, teachers) everywhere.
Hmm...maybe I should start a classroom blog. - August 24, 2007 at 12:39 AM
my eldest son is nearly 5. when i was trying to potty train him i was pregnant with number 2. so i used the your going to be a big brother soon.... and only babies have dummies and wear nappies.... trick. (he was just over 2 at the time).
well he put all his dummies in the babies cot and we went and got him som thomas the tank and bob the builder pants so he could be a big boy.
we had pants during the day and a nappy at night for while (even after the baby was born.)
we had many accidents in the first week but that to be expected.
if i was going on a longer than 5min trip i would put 1 of the papers bed sheet things in the car seat and a sanitary towel in his pants (just incase) - it also stopped an embarressing trail around the supermarket if an accident did happen.
and a well as that, i had the travel potty in my handbag. toilet before we left, as soon as we stopped out came the travel potty in the car park, then when we got into the shop it was the toilets 1st stop, halfway round the store we would go to the loos again, when shopping done it was the travel potty before we got into the car, then it was potty as soon as we got home.
seems abit long etc but it worked.
son 2 is just 2 and he hates nappies, he takes them off but he doesnt know when he needs to go etc and just does it wherever he is, i have given him his potty and he does sit on it (to play with his cars on the floor!!!).
i cant follow him 24/7 or i would never get anything done, i will continue as i am until the eldest starts school then i will have the days to get him sorted.
he will be dry by xmas i tell you. - August 24, 2007 at 5:33 AM
I'm another fan that followed a link to your eBay auction...
I have a son and a daughter. My son is older and was potty trained about the time my daughter was one, so she would toddle down the hall after him and check out what was going on. But, when we thought she was ready for potty training she would.not.go. After much discussion, we finally got out of her that her, ahem, "anatomy" hadn't grown yet, so she couldn't pee in the toilet... We had to explain to her that she was never going to get one!
The oddest thing is that we talk to them frankly about bodies and the bodily functions, so I don't know where she got the idea that she was going to get one! - August 24, 2007 at 8:26 AM
Best way to potty train? Bribery. Yep, I'm not too proud to admit it. Go to the Dollar Store and buy $30-$40 of junk and wrap each thing in tissue paper. Put it in a basket or box and show to the little darling and explain that each time they poop in the potty, they get to pick a prize. Then (and this is really important) put the prize basket WAY high so the little darling can't dig through and unwrap all the prizes. (Did you hear the voice of experience there?) I did this with both my boys and it worked like a charm. We weren't accident free, but it did seem to motivate them. Plus, getting them the character underwear and asking "Would you want Spiderman to poop on you?" helped.
- August 24, 2007 at 10:48 AM
- Unknown said...
I've also gone through potty training with 5 of 6 of my children....I found that my girls were easier to train than my boys, and my boys didn't train until they were at least 4...my girls trained shortly after they turned 3. So I'm assuming with my now 2 year old that shortly after she turns 3 I can start encouraging her to use the potty(and we don't do the separate potty chair thing, we have the cushioned Dora the Explorer toilet seat that props up on top of the regular toilet seat). I don't pressure them to use it, just encourage them every so often to try, and when they DO make it in the potty, there are a lot of high fives and praise(almost a mini party is given)every time they accomplish it. When they have accidents(which do happen), we just let them know it's ok, and try again. Usually that works. My 4 year old was trained within two weeks after she started, and NO ACCIDENTS. Good luck!
- August 24, 2007 at 3:16 PM
Like many who have come to your blog because of your ebay auction. Very funny. Going back through your many entries I found this one. I just had to share.
My daughter was about 2yrs old when I started the potty training. Diapers at nap time and bed time. She seemed to catch on to that pretty darn well. We didn't have to many accidents, just a few now and then.
For some reason though, she was afraid to go #2 on the big potty and even her little trainer potty. My mom watched her during the day while I was at work and my two younger brothers were a big help. I come to pick her up and my mom says she's a big girl and went #2 several times that day on the big potty. Yeah! happy dance then a fit of convulsing laughter as my mother explained that both my younger brothers, crawling on hands and knees in the bathroom had gotten her to go #2.
How I ask? They told my daughter that the potty was hungry for butt nuggets and that only our butt nuggets would make it happy. So for a long time after she'd run to the bathroom point at the potty then her butt and try to say hungry butt nugget monster. LOL!
Ahh but now my brothers both have children and I tease them over this.. hehe!
Melissa - August 24, 2007 at 4:29 PM
I have a 3 year old that I have been trying to potty train for a year now... NOT WORKING!!! I've tried cheerio's in the toilet (friends told me to), I've tried "superman" underwear, I tried the sticker thing, nothing seems to work with this boy. I'm running out of ideas...
- August 24, 2007 at 6:50 PM
We just finished up with the 3-day method. It worked very well for my son, who will be 3 this August. It worked for poop and pee - he wakes up dry, and has no problem telling me when he needs to go! You can find the method at www.easypottytraining.com or you can E-mail me (email@example.com). It's basically trial by fire. It's messy, but of the numerous moms I have heard that have tried it, only 1 didn't have a success story. She later found out her child had a UTI and that was impeding her progress. I'd recommend a steam cleaner with this method, though! AND LOTS OF UNDERWEAR!!!
- August 24, 2007 at 8:08 PM
We're in the midst of training right now. My son is almost 3 and a half - moms of girls will give me a "sympathetic" aka smug look when I tell them we're still in pull ups and I have to suppress the urge to wipe it off their faces with a dirty wet one! I digress... SO, the other day my son is at my parents' and he decided he would go poop in the toilet (my mom keeps me up dated on all things potty). After he is done he hops down to flush the toilet and anounces to anyone in earshot: THE GREEN IS MY YOGURT!
Lovely. - August 24, 2007 at 9:10 PM
- Keri said...
I have two boys and due to the emotional scarring leveled by DS1, I haven't tried DS2 yet (however, he is only a bit over 2). My oldest DS wa immovable. He could not be bribed, tricked, cajoled - begging fell on deaf ears. He is so stubborn and was just not ready to potty train. His daycare lady, who has close to 30 years experience w/ daycare and small ones and has trained tons of kids while in her care, she said that he was absolutely the most stubborn child she had ever come across. We even tried the "big boy" praise - "big boys get Thomas underwear", "big boys get candy when they use the potty", "don't you want to be a big boy?" His response was basically the 3 year old equivalent of giving his name, rank and serial number to his captors - "I"m not a big boy, I'm Sam, I'm not a big boy, I'm Sam" repeated until I thought that maybe that was what I had named him. Now, he goes potty, but at 4 and a few months wants pull-ups at night and has started waiting until almost the last minute to go because he is involved in some other activity. Sure, he goes now, but he has developed an unconscious and frequent crotch grab - so I find myself hissing at him quite a lot to let himself go. Ugh!
- August 24, 2007 at 11:24 PM
- Unknown said...
Okay, I can sooo relate! My oldest son did NOT want to use the potty. We tried everything. We had some success when we bought him a wading pool for the summer. We told him he could NOT wear a diaper in it and if he EVER did #1 or #2 in it he would never be allowed in the pool again. Since he loved the pool, he never went in the pool. Unfortunately, since he was a boy and the pool was (of course) outside, my husband let him go pee in the grass at the corner of our deck in semi-privacy. He consistently did this all summer...still refusing to go in the potty. Finally, my husband suggested we put a square of sod in the bathroom. At least then, he reasoned, we'd get him to go in the room with the potty in it!
- August 24, 2007 at 11:25 PM
I can't add anything to all the other posts about potty training- tried them all at one time or another. But I DO have a funny story. Six kids, first three are boys, then a girl, boy, girl.
the oldest girl peed backwards on the toilet for over two years, trying to "pee like the boys". It was as close as she could get without a mess! - August 25, 2007 at 1:09 AM
- Unknown said...
Oh my - what a great blog! I've found my way here from wahm.com to ebay - and finally to this post.
I think I'm trying to potty train my daughter...lol My son was easy - I just let him run around naked all summer, and he got the idea that it's better to pee on the potty then to have wet legs :-)
My daughter though, she's being a tough one. But it's ok, I'm also house training a puppy - I think the puppy is winning the race to being trained though. Thank goodness for that Kids n Pets carpet cleaner! (and my husband was worried about the house smelling like pee because of the puppy!!)
Funny story about my son though. I let him run around all summer naked when he was 1 1/2, and he was going potty, no problem. Come winter, I had to put clothes on the kid, and quickly realized that somehow clothes reverse the effects of potty training. So I waited until the following summer to try the naked thing again.
It worked! I was still having an issue with getting him to poop on the potty though, so I used the dog as an example. "Doggy pees AND poops outside, that's where he's supposed to go potty. Now, you can go pee and poop on your potty too!" Bad idea.
Picture this: Beautiful sunny day, we're all outside enjoying the weather; the neighbors are out on their porch enjoying the weather... And my son decided that he'll take mommy's advice to be like the doggy and drops down beside our fence (right beside our neighbors porch) and poops....
Luckily though, he did come to realize the joy of pooping on a potty. Now, if I could just get my daughter to stop using the potty chair as a toy box, I'd be happy :-) - August 25, 2007 at 4:36 AM
One of my most memorable experiences happened in a port-a-potty at a tractor pull in Hendersonville, NC. My middle son had just been potty-trained and couldn't decide whether he had to pee or poop.
After trying our luck in the weeds behind the truck, my son decided he needed to do more and QUICK! So I picked him up and ran to a port-a-potty 100 yards away. It was 120 degrees inside that port-a-potty and it seemed like we were there for an hour. Sweat was pouring off of me and my son wouldn't stop touching dirty stuff. I had to keep switching him from the standing to the sitting position because he couldn't decide what was coming out. Everything finally came out at the right time and in the right order, and as I was taking my turn on the potty, he proceeded to open the door. Of course, a line of anxious, staring, people had formed outside! Needless to say, I scrubbed his hands with a baby wipe until they were as red as my face. - August 25, 2007 at 12:47 PM
I too have 6 kids and potty training has been different for all. My first was not cooperating with me at all with this training business. we had been working for months to no avail. She then decided that while on vaca to Ct she should start using the potty. Fine......until we decided to go for family pics at a studio. I mean all of the family Grandparents aunts uncles the whole shebang. Caitlin is trying to inform any who would listen amongst all of the chaos that she really needs to go potty. Well, of course no one is listening. Before long someone realizes that she is not around...we then find her, she is sitting in the emptied out toy bin doing her business. the next was no charm either. Finally we decided that she would probably be at the alter, and turn around and inform me that she has pooped in her diaper. She did finally come through at about 3yr 2 mos. The others aren't as memorable( partly because you loose more and more brain cells with each pregnancy). Until you come to my son....AHHHH the longed for male amongst the five females. We have nicknamed him genius! I felt at a loss with this one. I read everything that I could get my hands on... Did I mention that we use the "run-around-Naked" method of training? Well we do and that works in some cases but not all. You inevitable find loads of surprises around and in every corner!!. I had decided to try another method... The take him outside when he poops in is underwear and hose him off. It is supposed to humiliate him into submission....WRONG. It only taught him how do clean up after the crime! He became quite comfortable taking care of things himself. I would often find him in the back yard conversing with the dog as he cleaned himself up with the hose! We are on the last one now. She is on hiatus while her diarrhea clears up...DO NOT TRY THE NAKED METHOD WHILE THEY HAVE THE RUNS!!!
- August 26, 2007 at 12:23 AM
my daughter was trained right before her 3rd birthday. what worked was big girl panties and candy rewards.She had only 1 or 2 accidents total. problem now is getting her to stop using " i used the potty" as an excuse to get candy.
- August 26, 2007 at 2:09 PM
- myfamilyinterests said...
After reading the comments I don't feel so bad! my daughter was 4yrs 1mth when I took the diapers away. I had been trying to train her but she refused. She could do everything but just refused. Stubborn. no method worked. A few accidents and back sliding but dry though the night with in a couple of months. Her preschool accepts kids with pullups. Now we will see with my son! 3 next mth. love your blog. just discovered it :)
- August 27, 2007 at 1:03 AM
The power of M&M's had my now 2.5 year old daughter potty trained just after her second birthday. That and an episode of "The Wonder Pets", where they save the puppy that is stuck in the house and has to go pee-pee. After we watched that episode, talked about "big dogs" and "big girls", she started pooing in the potty without any problems. A few accidents, but all in all very happy to not have diapers after only 2 years. I figure child number two will be an utter nightmare!
- August 27, 2007 at 10:35 AM
One book is all you need: Toilet Training In Less Than a Day. Okay, so it's more like a week, but the principles in this book really work! I've trained 4 out of my 5, and this is my theory: I think you have a very short window of opportunity from the time your child is physically ready and the time that they mentally understand what's going on. (With my kids, that window was right around 2 to 2 1/2 yrs. of age.) If you miss that window, then you have a battle of the wills. The first 3 of mine, I trained using this book. The 4th one I did a little differently. He was the 4th boy, so I just set the timer for every 20-30 minutes, then had all 3 of my older boys line up & go potty, while my 4th watched. :) Then I'd say, "Okay, it's Gage's turn to go potty!" It was just a matter of him figuring out how to make himself go, then he was trained. It took 2 days for him! He was definitely the easiest! But the book is fantastic! All of my kids were completely trained by age 2 1/2.
Love your blog-
Kim - August 27, 2007 at 11:02 AM
I had thought that my daughter would be easy to train. They do say girls are easier, and she is very quick about picking up on everything else. I even bought the potty chair when she was about 1 1/2, and was thrilled that she used it the first weekend we had it! But, that was a major fluke!
She didn't show any interest in it at all for at least a year! She liked the big girl panties, but every time I asked if she needed to go, she told me no. I started giving her candy for each time she went, and that seemed to make a little difference. It was difficult for me to implement any major plan, because she is not with me all the time. She goes to my mom's 3 days a week, daycare twice a week, and then is with me on the weekends.
So, around her 3rd birthday, I decided to try an incentive plan, of sorts. She loves to swim. I told her that if she filled in a sticker chart with 36 stickers, we'd go swimming. I started it a few weeks before a planned trip to an indoor waterpark (Feb), and I thought that if she didn't quite make it, I'd tweak the chart a little. (I knew we already had plans to go to Kalahari Indoor Waterpark, even though I didn't tell her this.) Sure enough, that little stinker filled in the chart! I about cried when she got the last sticker the night before we left! I put a sticker on there for every time she went on the potty, no matter whether she was with me or not.
I think seeing that chart above her potty made her think a little. She got to pick out the stickers too. I went ahead and made a new chart when we got back from our mini-vacation. When she filled that chart, I took her to see "Charlotte's Web" in the theater (her first time in the theater). After that, I didn't use a chart anymore.
She is 3 1/2 now, and is pretty good about going on the potty. She has had some night accidents, so now we limit what she drinks after a certain time. She has had some accidents during the day, but those have been cuz she held it too long or couldn't take off her clothes. But, as Elmo says in Elmo Potty Time, "Accidents happen and that's ok!" :) - August 27, 2007 at 2:16 PM
- Beth & Rob Bailey said...
My first was difficult (I also thought a few months after he turned two would be the 'right age'.)...Mistake, it took him 9 months to get it, and another two years on stool softener medication. He's taken care of now, but every since a trip to a grandparents (who have a 'soft squishy toilet seat) a month ago, he now will only sit on the actual bowl to poop. Great...as if that part wasn't dirty enough.
The second (almost three) will sit every once in a while, but has never actually used the toilet. She prefers diapers, and will tell you. She usually runs away laughing when she needs it changed, or just climbs up on the changing table for me if she's in a good mood. I guess "she's just not ready."
The third and fourth are only 6.5 months old. Maybe I'll just wait and potty train all three girls at once in a few years. ha! - August 27, 2007 at 2:19 PM
- Unknown said...
If you have a boy and you want him to be potty trained, use cheerios. Put a handful in the toliet and tell him that he has to sink as many as he can when he pees.
Good luck getting him out of the bathroom after that.
As for further than peeing...I guess the same method could apply.. - August 28, 2007 at 12:08 AM
Okay, so here's the story. At just after 3 my darling girl looked at me and said, "I did a poop in my diaper." Right. At that moment I decided that I was no longer changing her diaper. I was done. She was actually enjoying my changing her diaper!! I, however, was only enduring it.
There is a new form of potty training...It is called Potty Training Intervention. The child refuses to use the potty, so guess what, I refuse to change the diaper.
When I told her exactly that I would no longer change her she was quite indignant. "But, what if I do a poop in my diaper?" Well, I guess you'll change it, won't you? "I'll get poop on me!" Welcome to my world. The issue wasn't that she didn't know how, it was that she was being lazy. Working at changing her own diaper sure was incentive to use the potty!!
It took the two week Christmas vacation but, in the end, my child was potty trained. Happy Momma...Happy Child!
My youngest just finished potty training. She just turned three. Nearly trained herself. A small set back here and there but, generally, it went very well. Although, last night when getting into her jammies she was very upset at skiddies in her panties. Came to tears over it!! ha ha!
Now, if anyone has any suggestions with night-time? Darling girl #1 sleeps too deeply and has a bladder the size of a walnut. Even getting her up every 3 hours isn't enough. However, darling girl #2 hasn't had an accident in over two weeks and she's 21 months younger than #1. We do not make a big deal of it with #2 because #1 really struggles. Any suggestions?? - August 28, 2007 at 2:00 PM
- Kelly said...
One of my friends sent me the Ebay listing, and I thought it was hilarious...I'm at work, and trying not to crack up laughing!
We're just starting to potty train my oldest (he turned 2 in May), and the daycare is working with him as well. He loves to go pee-pee in the toilet, and he really likes it when we go too (he'll be on his little chair, and we'll be on the regular toilet).
One day this past weekend, he was on his little 'donut' on the regular toilet, and he told me he wanted to use his little chair. OK, no problem. I got him off, and he went and sat down. Then he points at the toilet, and says 'Mommy pee-pee now'. I figure that I do have to go, so I sit down, and start. His eyes get really big, and his mouth forms a giat 'O', and he starts clapping. He says 'Yay! Mommy pee-pee now!'. I told him it was the most praise I'd get all week.
We just started using pull-ups yesterday, and he was dry all yesterday at daycare. He's so motivated...he should be easy. In the daycare, he can't move up to the 3-year old classroom until he is in underwear, with the occasional accident. They say they've never had a problem with someone not being able to move up. - August 29, 2007 at 1:53 PM
I had all three of mine trained just after their 2nd birthdays. They were March & April babies and I told them that if they want to go into the big pool this summer at the swim club they couldn't be still in diapers. They all LOVED the water and didn't want to be left behind in the baby pool so it only took them a few weeks. I must admit that night time took a bit longer.
- August 30, 2007 at 11:40 AM
My youngest daughter was about 18 mo when we finally decided to take the long-dreaded trip to see my parents in Russia for the first time in oh...10 years??? And since every baby in that part of the world is apparently trained by the time they reach their first BDay, all of our NA 3 yo wearing diapers are very much frowned upon, to say the least...So....not to be frowned upon, I've decided to get with it (the potty training, that is) right then and there....My preffered method up until then (worked for my boys) was removing all of the clothing from waist down and shaming them into using the toilet instead of the table, couch, carpet, stairs. etc...i.e."Ai-yai-yai, would you look at that??? you peed on the stairs, made them slippery and your daddy almost broke his neck coming home...don't you love your daddy?" and so on...
So, after about a month of running around butt-naked ( and I mean just that, with her butt naked) and teaching my boys some invaluable lessons in female anatomy, we weren't going anywhere. Those feminine charms (who knew she'd be so skilled in those at her tender age???) worked miracles on us and she continued with her business on any surface imaginable. The school was over, and my oldest son's friends started peeking through the front doors and coming over and that's when I realized some of them just weren't ready for anatomy lessons just yet so I marched my behind to Walmart and got a 9pack of Disney Princess undies...the cutest little things, I'd wear them myself if my butt looked as good in those as hers did. The first time she put those on, they promptly got wet, and I was so upset! "Look at the poor little princess!! She's all wet and stinky now! I think she's gonna cry..." I was just trying to exprees my upset feelings so that my daughter would understand...Guess what? it moved her so much she almost began to cry herself!!!! Us women, ready to cry out of pity for the little princess out of Disney fairytale!!
Needless to say, she never peed on the princess again and we were since able to move onto flowers, snoflakes and all those other things they put on little girls' underwear.... - August 30, 2007 at 6:34 PM
Alright- seriously. Who are you people who have thier kids trained at 18 months? I was still breastfeeding at 18 months! I have 3 boys- the first two were potty trained by age 3, I have decided to dedicate this fine Labor Day weekend to the care and peeing of Potty Training #3, who is just turned 3.
And it has been my experience that the only way to potty train a kid is let him be naked naked naked. - August 30, 2007 at 6:57 PM
- Mystii said...
Do you think maybe the reason so many of us think that potty training our first one was so easy is that we blank it out? Something similar to the birth process... it's so awful that we can't let ourselves remember. Then we think how easy our first child was to pottytrain!
- August 30, 2007 at 8:05 PM
My son just turned 3 earlier this month and I have been "trying" to potty train him for about 6 months now. I've tried the stickers, M&M's, cool "big boy" underwear with his favorite characters--my friend even found Superman (his absolute favorite!!) underwear and he still won't wear them. When I ask if he'll sit on the potty, he usually says "No," or "Tomorrow," or my personal favorite, "Maybe on a holiday." He's been on the potty a couple of times, having sat there for the longest time and not being able to hold it anymore. I've also let him go without pants and he pees on the carpet, not realizing he has to go until its too late. Fun. I've been told not to worry, that boys take longer, he's only 3, blah, blah, blah. Reading everyone's comments did help make me feel better, I must say. My mom saw on Dr. Phil about using a doll that wets to potty train, so last night we shopped everywhere for a "pee-pee doll" and we're going to try this method this holiday weekend. If this doesn't work, I give up. He can get married in diapers for all I care then! Thanks for letting me vent!
P.S. Love your blog!! - August 31, 2007 at 3:56 PM
Love the stories. They make me feel like I am not alone. Mine go like this...
#1 boy--I decided that 2 years old was good enough a time as any to start training. Did all the tricks; cherrios, food coloring, bribes, prizes, little flushable fishies you throw in the bowl. Well time went and he didn't. The summer after his 5th birthday comes along. He was looking forward to Kindergarden but I kept telling him he couldn't go to school til he pottied in the tiolet. Still not working. Finally in the beginning of August I had enough and told him "I give up, you want to go to school but won't use the potty, you're not going. I am done trying to teach you this and will not spend anymore of my time. That is all." He went to bed and the next day he went first thing in the morning and never had a problem pottying again.
#2 girl--She is only 14 months behind her brother in age, so she followed the monkey see monkey do. But with her she was trained at 4 years old. She refused to use the potty. But then as winter was rolling through I started going to Walmart often just to walk. She got into a habit that when ever we got to Walmart sometime during the walk she would have to potty. So she learned how to potty on her own at Walmart and finally transfered the knowledge to use the toilet at home.
#3 boy--Still working on this one. He is 3 years old now and still not inclined in the least. Again with the cherrios and fishies and bribes and threats of not going to school (he is looking forward to school as well). I just hope he doesn't wait til 3 weeks before he is able to go to school to train. Bah - September 11, 2007 at 3:15 PM
- JPdawn said...
I lied, plain and simple. My daughter was 2 1/2 and wanted Disney Princess panties. I told her that if she peed on them, the princesses wouldn't like it and would go away. Thats all it took, she was potty trained. I have an almost 2 year old, and I don't think I'm going to have as easy a time with him. I can almost picture this... (substituting Spiderman or Sponge Bob for Disney Princess of course) he's the type that will pee on them on purpose to see if it would really happen.
- September 23, 2007 at 10:50 AM
I have twins, a boy and a girl. They're 18 months old and potty trained... well, actually they use the toilet. I just have a small stepladder leading up to our regular toilet seat. I'm half-German and this is the most common method where my Dad's from.
Strangely enough, it was no problem getting the Twin Terrors trained. Both started talking in complete sentences really early (and by really early I mean 13mo). When they were 15mo I explained to them that diapers were expensive and that Mommy would like it if they used the toilet like Mom and Dad. Twenty minutes later my girl said she had to go, her brother tagged along.
We used pull-ups for the night for about two months, and now they're completely dry- no accidents.
Strangely enough, we never made any big fuss about going to the toilet. We just always behaved around the kids as normal, telling them we needed a toilet break when we did, and they seem to copy us. I didn't need to bribe them- is that so strange? Our doctor tells us we should not demand so much of them, but we don't! They decide for themselves what they want to do and what not. The only thing that's absolutely not going to happen is for them to watch TV for quite a few years to come. We play the piano and sing to the kids, and we read a lot. They like their picture books and we've graduated to "real storybooks" (kids' lingo) this week. Maybe that's too much? The kids demand their bedtime story, though.
They're starting to repeat their favorite books back at me and climbing bookshelves (our apartment is one huge bookshelf, to be honest), too... I'm getting scared. It's like they're growing up faster than I can bear.
So... I can't really relate to the stories of kids refusing to use the toilet- maybe it's because they're twins and won't be outdone by the other?
I do have a funny story revolving around potty training, though... it happened when we went to the supermarket. As usual, the twins sat in the cart because I didn't want them fighting about who got the "high seat". We were just browsing the fruit and veggies (my kids eat veggies! I'm dumbfounded. They eat spinach. They eat brussel sprouts. They refuse to eat tomatoes. Talk about weird!) when one of the Moms from our neighborhood came from the cereals aisle with her 3yo who's still wearing diapers (she was really disappointed that her latest potty training venture was another failure- it was trying to bribe her son with big boy pants).
"Look, Mommy, there's ****! He's bigger than us and still needs a diaper!" my girl screamed loud enough for the entire town to hear (My kids refuse to use "I". They're a "we"). I was mortified.
"He's a baby," my son commented and stuck his nose up in the air. I prayed for the ground to swallow me.
"We won't play with babies!" Daughter.
"So he can't come over!" Son.
I was unsuccessfully trying to hide behind the bananas.
My friend and I just nodded at each other while she pulled her son (he loves walking) past as fast as possible. My kids rode in the cart like royalty, snickering all the way.
Well, the one good thing about that episode was that my friend called me two days later and said her son had finally decided diapers were not his thing and had asked to come over to play. Yay for kids and their insensitivity!
I admire you for having six kids! I have my hands full with the Twin Terrors, rescuing them from
bookshelves, trees, porches, fences, cars, bikes... anything that's higher than ground level and toddler-accessible needs to be climbed on. I think that'll be potty training for me- in this they don't listen to reason. "Yes, Mommy, we won't climb XYZ anymore," in perfect unison, two seconds later I'm plucking them off the dining table.
Good luck to all of you!
Conny - November 17, 2007 at 8:39 PM
Suckers. If you go in the potty you get a sucker.
Step one: take the diapers away, never give in and give them back.
Step two: Set the kitchen timer for 10, 20 or 30 min, when it dings he sits.
Step three: He's trained at 2 1/2!!
Honestly it was that easy. I know everykid was different, but I think taking a direct approach is the best.
Get ready to be in the house for a week, but I was so happy to have him out of diapers before the baby came and I had to start all over.
I also think pull ups are a waste. To me it's like saying here is underware you can pee in.
Hope it helps someone! - November 18, 2007 at 3:24 PM
After another ... why wont he potty... breakdown, I decided yet again to surf the net for the magic potty trick. My little man is 3 years 2 months and when asked if he needs to potty answers " No thanks" with a smile. Of course he is my first. When asked if he is potty trained yet, my answer always being well we are working on it. I usually get the following question "Is he your only child?", answering again "yes", an " Oh, well thats why" is usually what follows. Feeling shamed and like a giant failure as a mother. I was very comforted by all the posts on this blog . Knowing maybe I am not the only mother in the world with a child over 3 that is yet to use the potty is nice. I am so tired of most of the people I know continually telling me that children should be fully trained by 3 and that
"Well you just need to work with him more." is driving me crazy. Yes i have tried bribery and just about everything else. I am a stay at home mom, so I do have the time to concentrate on potty, but my son refuses to go. We sit on the potty every 30 minutes sitting for a little while. I have tried reading a book to him during , turning on water, everything I have read. Alas, no more then 5 to 10 minutes after standing and going on he pees. I feel at my wits ends. I have been trying not to push him, hearing from the same people that tell me he should be trained that he will go when he is ready. How confusing for me and him both.
I guess I will continue to buy my diapers in shame.
Losing my mind in the process.
Thank you all for being honest and open.
I walked, or clicked, away from this blog feeling a little better. - April 13, 2009 at 11:44 AM


text:
Laura Sullivan
Laura Sullivan is an NPR News investigative correspondent whose work has cast a light on some of the country's most disadvantaged people.
Sullivan is one of NPR's most decorated journalists, with three Peabody Awards and two Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Silver Batons. She joined NPR in 2004 as a correspondent on the National Desk. For six years she covered crime and punishment issues, with reports airing regularly on Morning Edition, All Things Considered and other NPR programs before joining NPR's investigations unit.
She is also an on-air correspondent for the PBS television show FRONTLINE. Her investigations have examined the Blackout in Puerto Ricoin 2018, the crisis in affordable housing in 2017, and the Business of Disaster in May 2016, which examined who profits when disaster strikes. The film and radio pieces grew out of a series of investigations examining the American Red Cross in the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake and Superstorm Sandy. The pieces were honored with her second award from Harvard University's Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press and her third from Investigative Reporters and Editors.
Her unflinching series "Native Foster Care," which aired in three parts on All Things Considered in October 2011, examined how lack of knowledge about Native culture and traditions and federal financial funding all influence the decision to remove so many Native-American children from homes in South Dakota. Through more than 150 interviews with state and federal officials, tribal representatives and families from eight South Dakota tribes, plus a review of thousands of records, Sullivan and NPR producers pieced together a narrative of inequality in the foster care system across the state. In addition to her third Peabody, the series also won Sullivan her second Robert F. Kennedy Award.
"Bonding for Profit" – a three-part investigative series that aired on Morning Edition and All ThingsConsidered in 2010 – earned Sullivan her second duPont and Peabody, as well as awards from the Scripps Howard Foundation, Harvard University's Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy, and the American Bar Association. Working with editor Steve Drummond, Sullivan's stories in this series revealed deep and costly flaws in one of the most common – and commonly misunderstood – elements of the US criminal justice system.
Also in 2011, Sullivan was honored for the second time by Investigative Reporters and Editors for her two part series examining the origins of Arizona's controversial immigration law SB 1070.
For the three-part series, "36 Years of Solitary: Murder, Death and Justice on Angola," she was honored with a 2008 George Foster Peabody Award, a 2008 Investigative Reporters and Editors Award, and her first Robert F. Kennedy Award.
In 2007, Sullivan exposed the epidemic of rape on Native American reservations, which are committed largely by non-Native men, and examined how tribal and federal authorities have failed to investigate those crimes. In addition to a duPont, this two-part series earned Sullivan a DART Award for outstanding reporting, an Edward R. Murrow and her second Gracie Award from the Alliance for Women in Media.
Her first Gracie was for a three-part series examining of the state of solitary confinement in this country. She was also awarded the 2007 Daniel Schorr Journalism Prize for this series.
Before coming to NPR, Sullivan was a Washington correspondent for The Baltimore Sun, where she covered the Justice Department, the FBI and terrorism.
As a student at Northwestern University in 1996, Sullivan worked with two fellow students on a project that ultimately freed four men, including two death-row inmates, who had been wrongfully convicted of an 18-year-old murder on the south side of Chicago. The case led to a review of Illinois' death row and a moratorium on capital punishment in the state, and received several awards.
Outside of her career as a reporter, Sullivan once spent a summer gutting fish in Alaska, and another summer cutting trails outside Yosemite National Park. She says these experiences gave her "a sense of adventure" that comes through in her reporting. Sullivan, who was born and raised in San Francisco, loves traveling the country to report radio stories that "come to life in a way that was never possible in print."
NPR and ProPublica investigated the charity's response to Superstorm Sandy and other disasters as well as its finances.
Newly published research finds that common texting posture can put as much as 60 pounds of force on the cervical spine.
The results of an internal survey of more than 14,000 employees found that 4 out of 10 employees have doubts about the charity's commitment to ethical conduct.
An investigation by NPR and ProPublica reveals how the Red Cross increased its focus on public relations while it struggled to meet basic needs of storm victims.

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