Toilet Training Twins - any tips?

[MrsMulward]

My DTSs are coming up to 2.5 and I'm getting mighty fed up of nappies. Does anyone have any top tips for coping with training two at the same time? Do it at the same time or one at a time (if one is readier?). Any help gratefully received!

[booksrock]

Two potties, named or decorated so you know them apart. Plan not to leave the house for a few days. Lots of telly time while sitting on potties after meals and rewards after producing anything. We used raisens. We used the terry pants instead of pull ups as they feel like pants. One got it straight away, one took a bit longer but got there a week or two later. Expect to have a lot of washing. Each twin had two pairs of terry pants, one to wear and one to wash

Good luck. We moved to using a seat over the toilet when they were happy with potties but having only one loo in the house and small DT the potties made it happen

[neversleepagain]

We had potties around from the age of 2 but apart from sitting on them nothing happened.

When they are ready they will toilet train easily. Mine decided at 2.8 that they no longer wanted to wear nappies and between them encouraged each other to use the toilet.

We were abroad on holiday when mine decided to toilet train and we flew back 2 weeks later with them in pants! If they are needing to be put on the potty regularly and having accidents they are not ready.

Good luck!

[DancingDuck]

I did mine one after the other but only when they were ready. One seemed ready first and a couple of days later the other one got interested. (They got a chocolate star every time they used the potty properly so big incentive!)
TBH I didn't push it at all and they both got the hang of it in a couple of days. We used pull up nappies for a while and then bought big boy pants once the pull ups had been unused for a while.

[DancingDuck]

We put a padded mini seat over the loo seat, with a step up to it. They seemed to like that better than potties.

[chutneypig]

We did separately, based purely on when they were ready. DD came home from nursery at 2.9 and announced she was now using the toilet (with a training seat). Only one accident since.

We thought DS would show an interest at this stage but not at all, he needed a bit of a push a year later as school was looming. He wasn't as straightforward but it was sorted in a couple of weeks, I think it would have been a nightmare if we'd pushed him any earlier. DD triggered the main push by stashing his pants in his nursery bag and the staff thought we wanted them to help. They'd only just moved there so thought we'd leave it a few more weeks for the staff and DS sake but it all worked out.

It did mean we'd completely separated out dashing to the toilet, I think it would have been a struggle with both needing that, just logistically.

[Cornwall73]

Our two are nearly 2.5 but not ready yet. We have had potties in the bathroom since they were 2 and encourage them to sit just before going for a bath. DD has been successful in doing a pee several times but DS hasn't. It has been more toilet timing than toilet training up to now. Having the potties around has been good for them to start building the thought process and associations with what happens in a potty.

I suspect DD will be ready before her brother but I plan to take the lead from them and leave it as late as possible and close to when they turn 3 in the summer.

[Cornwall73]

Chutney, my thoughts exactly. If I do one at a time when they are ready it means that logistically it will be easier to handle. DS knows what potties are but that's it. DD will be the trailblazer, I know it. But like yours she will be the one that pushes her brother in action eventually!

[chutneypig]

What was interesting with my two was that DS was dry at night within weeks of being dry during the day, DD was several years later. Again that was something that happened when the time was right. I was starting to get twitchy with that but fell back on the earlier years and knowing what a battle it would have been to push her when she wasn't ready.

[MrsMulward]

Thanks everyone - good to hear everyone survived and it wasn't too traumatic for anyone! Sounds like the key is to wait until they're ready. One nearly is and I reckon the other will want to do what his brother is doing

[slebmum1]

Mine were 3 and dry in the day in couple of days - it was a lot less stressful than I thought it was going to be! We didnt bother with pull ups - went straight to pants.

Frustratingly one of them still isn't dry at night (4.5) so she is in pull ups for night time.

[Paddypaws3]

We tried them both at 2.9 and dtd got it within a couple of days. Dts....well, we're still waiting 6 months later .

Potty training is easy if they're ready.

[Cornwall73]

Picked my two from from nursery on Wednesday and the staff said that apparently DD is saying 'toilet' every time she has her nappy changed. Their changing area is just besides the toddler toilet cubicles. I said that I suspected she would be ready soon but I wanted to leave it a little longer. Then when I ran a bath for them I forgot to put their potties out. I stripped DD but didn't put her in the bath whilst I was undressing her brother. She went straight to the potty, pulled it out, sat on it and immediately did a pee!! She was soooo proud of herself! I still want to wait until spring/summer but this is really positive behaviour!

[Varya]

I showed my twins what to do by performing in the potty. They soon 'cottoned on', but I 'lifted' them late at night and never had a wet bed.