Preparing to potty train - anything else I need to know or tips?

[OutNumberedByBlue2]

DS1 is 2yrs 7 months and I'm preparing for potty training. I've wanted to wait until he was really ready and we've got a stretch where we're not rushing about with lots going on so there's no pressure on either of us.

He's been showing signs he's ready for a while now such as understanding what the toilet and potty are and what they are used for, what a wee and a poo are and if his nappy is off will tell he needs a wee and ask for the potty (this is usually at bath time / bedtime) and has asked for the potty when this has happened and has done a wee and a poo on the potty! This and anytime he tells us he's done something in his nappy is always greeted with massive well done's, clever boy, good boy for telling mummy or daddy etc. It's also now really obvious when he does a poo in his nappy as he physically stops whatever he is doing while he goes.

I've got 2 pottys, 1 for upstairs & one for downstairs & have dh under strict instructions to also give lots of praise for anything going in the potty & an 'oh dear never mind, next time we'll get in the potty' response for any accidents.

I'm planning on taking him to choose some big boy pants himself in the hope he will be more keen to wear them (he hates pull ups and won't wear them). On day 1 of potty training am I best just leave him completely pant / lower body clothing free?

Also, might sound stupid, but do I still put a nappy on him for daytime naps? He's no where near being dry at night so do I treat naps in the same way? As he's a boy do I teach him to wee standing up or sitting down?

Is there anything else I should know or any tips?

[Jaffakake]

We're in week three of the second attempt at training & ds is just shy of 3.

I'd suggest that you keep him as pant-less as possible at first. They need to get used to the free feeling & away from the feeling of doing it in a nappy.

It will become apparent very quickly if he can do it or not. Last time we thought ds was ready but he had 7 accidents a day. This time we've had almost no accidents - only occurring when he's pooed.

This time we talked up the idea so much he was trying to put pants on out of his drawer over his trousers! We already had the pants & they were in his drawers so he definitely identified that they were his. So buying them us a good thing to do, but not the be all & end all.

Tbh it sounds like you're good to go. Good luck!

[NiceCupOfTeaAndASitDown]

Can't comment on all your points/questions because we haven't trained as such but DS 3.6 is still in nappies at bedtime and nap times too, I believe there is a hormone responsible for waking children to urinate and it often isn't developed until around age 7. DS gets quite distressed if he has an 'accident' at nap time - if I've forgotten to put a nappy on or he's fallen asleep unexpectedly so I would suggest you keep using them at nap time if your DS might be similar

the only other thing I was going to add was be prepared for a regression even if things are going well. DS was fully toilet trained (apart from when asleep) up until being unwell a couple of months ago but now almost always holds on to his wee until at home from nursery and will not/cannot poo in the potty any more. I don't know what the reason is but I'm trying to be patient with him. Some kids seem to get it very quickly and sail through but sometimes they take a while so it's probably best to prepare yourself for that just in case.

best of luck; hope it goes well

[Igggi]

I did: cold turkey except for naps, night-time and (long) car journeys, though tried to pick a time when we didn't need to do that. I downloaded a potty reward chart from internet, sticker every time used toilet (didn't use a potty, just toilet with a trainer seat). Started sitting rather than standing. First two or three days he just peed everywhere except the toilet. Then it just clicked (thank goodness!)
Six months later dropped the night nappies (you could tell the nappies were dry for a few weeks beforehand in the morning)

[HHH3]

My top tip for potty training a boy is to get him to sit on the potty backwards! Having the higher bit at the front means there's less chance of accidents

[Bumpsadaisie]

I've done potty training with my two. With my eldest I had "D Day" when we started.

With my second, because there were potties in the house, and he was watching his sister go to the loo (and because I kept putting off the moment when we went out of the house nappy free for as long as poss!), it was all much more casual and actually worked much better and my second trained like a dream! (four accidents in the first three days, then that was it.)

I used to take all his clothes off after supper while he was watching TV and waiting for his bath, and dot potties around. If he needed a wee he would often sit on one. Did this for a good couple of months before we went out in pants.

Could you try that?

[OutNumberedByBlue2]

Thanks for all your tips! I really want to make the whole thing as stress free as possible for him & am taking a no pressure approach with him. I'm hoping he gets the hang of it but if he's not ready he's not ready & we'll try again another time if that's the case. I don't want to make it a big deal for him in a negative way & end up causing him problems with it. Although we've got a 'd day' to start that's purely because we've had a couple of long (2hr plus!) car journeys in a short space of time so wanted to wait until we had as little to do as possible iyswim.