Potty training advice please

[Charlee]

Hi, i havent been on mumsnet in ages but im back for a chat, i would like some advice or tips if possible.
Im not sure weather or not to try and potty train ds or not hes 22 months.

I dont mind him being in nappies at all and its not a fact of me wanting to potty train him now, im not fussed either way but he WONT keep a naay on, he just takes it off, especially now its summer and he doesnt ofter ware clothes.

He does have a potty which he had in the past done 2 poo's on when i have sat him on there, but nothing since that was about 2 weeks ago. He sits on it for about 30 seconds then gets up and points at it. He does ask to go on it but never does anything productive. Hes facinated with people going on the toilet and always follows us in when he can. He knows when he need to go for a wee and says 'mummy wee' and grabs at his bits.

To be honest i have no idea how to potty train a toddler as hes my first.

any experiences or advice much appreciated.

anyone?

I would say go for it. Just stop using nappies (except at night and for naps). Explain to him that the potty is where he now wees and poos. Expect lots of accidents initially but stick with it and don't turn back. He's at the perfect age and given that it's summer, it's a great time to start. I posted this advice in a different post but it might help you too:

• taking your son shopping for big boy pants - let you choose them and get really excited about them

• make a star/sticker chart and get your smarties or whatever in a nice little dispenser (we have a winnie the poo dispenser) - it all just heightens the excitement for them. Be prepared to change rewards half way through when the novelty value wears out. So maybe start with stickers and then move onto smarties or whatever

• for at least 4 days but ideally a week, try not to go anywhere. Resign yourself to staying at home and wiping up wee. it's not fun but it's just a week of your life in return for getting rid of nappies.

• it will be monumentally frustrating. Just when you think he gets it, he'll regress. Or it will seem that he's deliberately trying to annoy you buy weeing on the carpet. Just remember that he's having to unlearn a habit that he's had for 2.5 years now and having to learn a new habit at the same time. It's hard (imagine someone told you to stop speaking english and learn spanish in a week!)

• don't shout if he makes a mistake. Just clear it up and say: next time, let's try and do it in the potty.

• if he gets it right, be completely over the top with praise. If he does a poo, be sure to praise how lovely the poo is (lots of kids of scared of poo) so you can't say anything about it being yukky or smelly. Just - oh how clever to do such a big poo etc.

• don't give in. It sends mixed signals. Once you've decided to do it, stick with it. It will happen. At the time I did it I thought it would never end but truly it was only about 2 weeks of really difficult frustration and now it's fine for the most part.

Good luck!!