Potty training in a week? Really??!!

[kelloo1]

I've been potty training my DS for the last week, he is 2 and a half. I'm pretty sure he's ready so last weekend we ditched the nappies and went for it. The first 2 days went really well, hardly any accidents. however for the rest of the week it seems to have gone downhill. He won't use his potty, he will just wet himself and ask for more pants. Some days though he has been holding it in, he went til tea time yesterday without going and ended up wetting his pants as he had held it so long. I know he is waiting til bed time when he is wearing a nappy as in a morning his nappy is full. Is it really possible to potty train in a week? I have been off work this week which is why I decided to do it so I had the time. He is back at nursery tomorrow and I'm not sure what to do. He seems happy enough in his pants and doesn't ask for a nappy on so I don't really want to take a back step. But I don't want him to make himself ill by holding his wees and poops in. Advice?

Try "A guide to potty training" from www.usborneonline.org/beautiful_books, hope it helps!

You say he holds it in when he does need to go so do that implies he does have some sort of control? I never made my DC's feel disgusting, I showed my disappointment if they wet their pants without telling me they needed the loo, nothing more. No mental scars. Each time they did use the loo we were over the top with praise! I chose a time to do the toilet training when I could spend a good period of time with the DC's. A week or two off with them around the house (or caravan with DD).

jojomom, I had a week off last week which is when i started it but with him been back at nursery this week he's not getting the full attention he got at home. He does have some control cos he seems to hold it a lot, he wears pants for his nap and is always dry when he wakes up so i suppose he does know what he's doing. We did have some success last night tho, he kept saying he needed to wee so we made trips to the potty but as always nothing happened. Then the 4th time he said 'mummy wee wee' I said you know what to do, go to your potty and off he went on his own, pants down and had a wee! Then he jumped up clapping and shouting hooray, we had a little dance and he got a sticker. He did this twice so the next time he shouted 'mummy wee wee' (he was in his room whilst I was running his bath) I said your potty is in your room you know what to do. When I went in he was sat on his potty but the wee was on the floor! So he is getting better, hopefully by the end of the week he will be weeing every time on the potty!

It seems like it is coming together then. It really does sound like he can do it when he wants too. Keep up with the incentives. I think it will get easier from now. Tell your nursery how fantastic he is doing at home (exaggerate a bit) then if he has accidents at nursery act shocked to them so they feel it's something to do with them and they make more of an effort. Sneaky I know but you need their support.

Ds1 was 2.9 and it took him 3 days to be dry and clean. He showed no signs but I reckoned he was old enough to train. It was full-on chasing him round the house with a potty, but it worked. I also used chocolate raisins as incentives. He was dry at night within 2 weeeks.

DS2 was trained at 2.2. He showed all the signs of being ready. Again it took less than a week, but then he got an anal fissure 2 months in and went back to pooing his pants for about 4 months. He got it eventually! He was dry at night in about 3 weeks of initial training.

Thanks for all your support and advice everyone, I don't feel as stressed anymore! And jojomom I will tell the nursery how amazing he is doing and hopefully they will keep it up with him whilst he is there.

Hi,
Just wanted to add in, can't really remember exactly when my girls were potty trained, but I do remember thinking they were ready and then a couple of days later deciding after numerous accidents they certainly weren't. But when they did evenutally make it I remember it being fairly quick.
I guess what I'm trying to say is he will get there in the end and for your own sanity don't worry too much about it, and more importantly don't feel pressurised!
For the record dds are now 12 and 7 and I'm sure it was somewhere between 2 and 3 for both, so it really doesn't matter when (he's done it once he'll do it again).

Had a really good day so far with the potty, although it didn't start too well. Took 20 minutes this morning to get his underpants on and he was crying for a nappy on (nnnoooooo!!!) BUT when i picked him up from nursery they said he had 2 wees on the potty and he went on his own! HOORAY! And when we came home he was playing in his room and I heard 'hooray mummy hooray' and when I went to him he was stood near a potty full of wee clapping his hands! So I think the penny has finally dropped with him and fingers crossed he will keep it up. I feel really proud of him today and definitely less stressed!

I think I can see a happy ending coming! Fab.

Ds1 announced he wanted big boy pants.was trained within a week. 1 accident. the next week he went dry at nigh, no nappiest. no accidents
Ds2 is now older than ds1 was, but he's nowhere near ready. I often think that people make a meal out of it, more thna they need to by doing it too early. whats the rush. ds1 was 2.5. ds1 is now 3 and I'm not even planning on starting him soon.