Toilet Training Systems

[meanmum]

I would like to start toilet training ds but haven't read any books on how to do it and couldn't find any at the library when I was there. Can you all give me your infinite wisdom as to what the books say, what has actually worked for you and so on.

Also, do I have to confine myself to the house to do it or can we still lead a normal life but just with loads and loads of changes of clothes with us. I don't want to stop going to playgroups, the park and so on if I don't have to while we do it.

Ds is 2.25 at the moment. If I don't respond to messages straight away please be patient as I find it hard to get time on the computer. Thanks in advance for your help and guidance.

Info on ds, he has always seen us go to the toilet, he will go on there himself sometimes if I ask him but not always and I think that's because he doesn't need to when I always ask. He loves putting toilet paper in the toilet and flushing it. He does have a potty and sometimes uses it but most of the time when I ask him if he wants to he says no. He has once told me he needed to do a poo (when I was on loo myself), so sat down on his potty and did one (once with nappy on and once without). I think he's ready.

ok - our ds 2.7, tried him a couple of months ago - hysteria - tried him a month ago - abject hysteria, tried him last Sunday in the afternoon - excellent!! We started off by putting him on the potty but he wanted to use his tooth cleaning step and stand at the toilet 'like a big boy'- he wanted big boys pants on - he has had about 10 accidents since but none for the last 6 days. We are having big trouble with number 2's though have had 2 successes on the toilet. My advide, for what it's worth, is be guided entirely by your child, let them do what they want (within reason!)We gave him a small present when he had done his first ten wees, we had a star chart and gave him a little toy car. When he does a pooh at the moment, we are rewarding him for each one, a fimbles magazine and a new toothbrush so far. I'd have a little bag of 'pressies' ready and be prepared to all have to stand round - look down the toilet and clap and cheer. I have not confined ourselves to the house but take spare clothes everywhere and put a pampers disposable change mat in the car seat for the first few journies. Start small and build up - good luck - it can be very VERY frustrating!!!

Meanmum - he sounds ready and the right age to me.

Go cold turkey - straight to pants. Don't use pull-ups - it confuses them, although I did use them for once ds2 when I took him to a soft play area a couple of days into it (on for 45 mins then off again, in case of embarrassing accidents)

Take a couple of days at home with plenty of dry pants and go for it.

Make sure you have plenty of carpet spot cleaner to hand!

If going to the park or town just take baby wipes a plastic bag and some spare clothes

Put him in washable canvas shoes...my ds2, 10 days into training suddenly did a wee in mothercare in his new trainers...and he'd been doing so well.

Keep your finger crossed that he is one of the easy ones - some are really awkward.

Okay. Books say different things, and he'll be out of nappies by secondary school whatever you do or don't do. FWIW, here's what I did.

Ds (unlike dd1) very reluctant to sit on potty and didn't seem to know what to do when he was there, so I went cold turkey at 2.25, like your ds. Took nappy off, put him in pants and old trackie bottoms. Wet himself four times in the course of a morning, and then started to get the hang of it. Was reasonably reliable within about 2 weeks.

I was inspired to do this by a friend who did it at the same age with her son (who had significant behavioural difficulties and language delay). Several friends have copied the system (such as it is) with their sons and it has worked for them at a similar age. In some ways it's easier at this age, as they're not yet really oppositional, and by the time they are, the potty thing should be in the bag.

Key things are: Lay in a stock of cheap jogging bottoms and pants. Don't wait for him to tell you he needs the loo, just put him on every hour on the hour. The interval between feeling the urge and doing the wee at this age is so short that 'Mummy, I need a wee' means 'I've just wet my pants'. I don't like pull-ups, as they're too absorbant -- I just lined the buggy with a folded terry and plastic underneath. You can go out, just take spare kit and plastic bags with you.

And lastly: you need to teach him to push his willy down while doing a wee, otherwise it goes everywhere. For my money the most boy-friendly potty was th Baby Bjorn (or something like that) from John Lewis.

Post crossed with iota -- great minds and all that..!

another vote for cold turkey (although I did it with a DD). Definitely go out still, just take him to the toilet regularly, I always found Gap and H&M good places (no queue). personally never understood portable potties, and it only took a few days for me to stop cartring the ordinary one round!

I have heard that with boys you could try putting a ping pong ball in the toilet for him to wee on.

I go with cold turkey too. It worked for my DD.

Good luck.