Potty Training Little Boys

Mommyof3 wrote: I have been struggling to get my 2 year old son Brody potty trained. My daughter was sooo much easier! I just kept her in panties for one weekend at home and she caught on and that was right when she turned two. He is now 6 months past the 2 year old mark and I feel like I'm failing him because he isn't trained yet.

At first, I thought I would leave it to my husband because he was extremely eager to get him trained, but lately his work has kept him too busy to help out. We talk about Brody being potty trained all of the time, but getting there is another story. My mother gave me some good advice yesterday saying that I should put him on the potty and pour some warm water "down there" and maybe he would go then. It worked today and he went on the potty for the first time and I am so happy for him, but can anyone give me any other tips? I would greatly appreciate them! Thanks so much!

My3LilMonkeys replied: Sorry, no tips here, I just wanted to say you shouldn't feel like a failure. All kids potty train in their own time and to not be trained at 2 1/2 is not a big deal.

paradisemommy replied: unless he is ready to be pt'd, you are wasting your time - boys are extremely stubborn and will learn on their own time but for me - i only got stressed the more i tried..my son waited until right when he turned 3 but once he did - there was no looking back and that included night training too. good luck!

lesliesmom replied: My son turned 3 in June and we just started working on potty training. Yes, girls seem to be easier to train (at least from my experience). My daughter pretty much trained herself, she just got to the point she didn't want to be in diapers or pull-ups anymore and that was that (she was about 2).

I'm sorry I really have no advise for you, we're playing a guessing game wiith trying to get Christopher trained. Our greatest asset is school. He wants to start preschool in the fall and can't unless he's potty trained so we just keep reminding him of that.

Good luck to you... this is our second attempt with Christopher, and as already stated, kids are different and just because your daughter trained earlier doesn't mean your a failure because your son won't... in time he'll get it. (I hope Christopher does too LOL)

DansMom replied: Potty books for kids and potty videos can generate interest, if you haven't tried that yet. It's all about getting him interested in trying. Daniel was almost three when he trained, and I agree with the others that if you're in a hurry to accomplish it, you might face some resistance and setbacks. I chose a week when I was on vacation, so I could really just be at home with him. I let him run around naked, or in big boy underwear, all the time we were at home. As you know, they have to have a few accidents to get the idea.

Also, if one of the accidents is #2, the messiness and unexpectedness of that can be traumatic for little people and set them back. That happened to us, and #2 training took a lot longer. If your child is regular, you might want to stick to the pullup for those expected times.

Good luck!

luvmykids replied: You aren't a failure. My son was actually the easiest of the three, but although I introduced the idea of potty around 2, he wasn't interested until much closer to 3. I would try it and let it go if he doesn't seem interested, then maybe talk about it some more in a few weeks.

Do you guys let him see you potty? I did that and we'd all go "What a big girl mommy is, she went pee pee in the potty" and clap,etc Also the sticker chart type thing helped. But only once he's ready and into it will he do it.

mysweetpeasWil&Wes replied: I have no idea! But I wanted to say welcome!

I have two boys...my oldest is about to turn two and he is not even close to being interested. Everyone keeps telling me that boys wait until they're three. So that's what I'm doing, unless of course he seems to take an interest before then.

Do you mind if I ask a question though...when did you all buy a potty? Or when did you start buying big boy undies?? I'm thinking of buying some Pull Ups, but not sure if it's even worth it right now.

AlexsPajamaMama replied: Dont rush him, all kids PT in their own time and I have heard that girls PT quicker/easier than boys.
My son turned 2 on April 5th, we started potty training May 1st and now 3 monthes later he wears underwear all the time except for when he is sleeping.
We stayed home alot in the begining and I let him just wear underwear around the house and told him it was time to try every so often depending on how much he was drinking. It does get very discouraging in the beginging...but you're not a bad mom.

Hang in there, his time will come and all of a sudden one day you will realize wow he is using the potty more than he pees his pants!

luvmykids replied:
I intro'd the potty around 2, just had it around, let them sit on it to watch TV
Then a few months after that is when I put it in the bathroom and when I'd go I'd say "Can you do what mama's doing?" and thats how we kind of started ...

I started pull ups when they were actually going potty semi-regularly, and big boy undies didn't come until a lot closer to 3.

Boo&BugsMom replied: The only sure fire way I've seen it done, including my own son (because he was stubborn), is just putting them in underwear and letting them have accidents while taking them to the potty every hour on the hour.

First, I would introduce the potty to him more though. If this was the first time actually going, he needs a little more exposure first, if you ask me. Expose him to it, take him every couple hours. Once he gets a little potty routine down, put him in underwear. If he has accidents, he'll soon learn that it doesn't feel very good. Plus, accidents are bound to happen anyway. Just don't give up, he'll get it. You can make up some sticker charts too to use if he does well with incentives. They have printable charts at [URL=http://www.preschoolprintables.com/URL].

I don't know, I'm more of the kind of parent who is strick about potty training and put my foot down about it, or else they sometimes just wont do it until you do. But that's just me.

You aren't a bad mom, he's still young yet. It can take some time. Just be consistant, that's the main thing.

Mommyof3 replied: Thanks for all of your help and suggestions! We have actually had him in Pull Ups for about two months now.
I have introduced him to the potty and he loves flushing the toilet and he'll say "bye bye dipe dipe" which is what he calls his diaper. It's weird though because when he went the other day he came to me and said I have to go potty and literally just hopped on and went. I was amazed. My husband is wanting to get him potty trained as soon as possible and I have been thinking that he will just do it when he's ready. It helps to hear that they take more of an interest when they get closer to three. It makes me not feel so bad. We are expecting #3 soon and I think my hubby is worried that we will be so busy with the baby that we'll put the potty training on the back burner, but I hope that's not the case!
Thanks again for all of your suggestions and someone had asked if we had let him see us go potty, and so far we haven't. My husband just told me when I was reading him the responses that his mother suggested that too...we'll give it a shot and see what happens! Thanks so much for helping us out or just giving us words of encouragement!!! It is soooo helpful!

luvmykids replied:

I had my third baby when the twins were almost 2, everyone kept telling me to get them trained before I had her for that same reason. But we ended up wasting a lot of time pushing it when they weren't ready, when they were it was actually pretty easy.

Good luck!