potty training question!!

[LucyJones]

I wonder if they're is anyone around to help. We have just started training 2.9 ds. So far when we sit him on the potty he is quite happy there and has done both wees and poos and then got a sticker and lots of praise. How do we go from this to him telling us he needs to go or do we just keep sitting him on there. TIA

just keep sitting him on there, and wait for him to make the connection - this could take a little while, but it sounds like he's doing really well so far. Also, start to look for the signs when he needs to go - squirming etc, or if you catch him mid wee, put him on quickly. I also found that reading potty books helped - Letterbox and JoJo do good ones. Remeber that potty training unless you are really lucky tends to go in phases with the odd lapse - that is more normal than the parents who tell you it only took a week and they have never had any problem.

thanks for the reply It's not going too badly so far - a couple of accidetns a day but I think he's getting fed up of being nagged to go to the potty all the time. How log should I keep a potty in the lounge for? It would be nice to contain the whole thing in the bathroom

I kept it in the bathroom from the off...maybe just start spacing out when you ask him to go? Or give him the responsibility by asking him if he thinks he needs to go (my friend always says 'have you got that fimbly feeling') he will soon learn the feeling then after an accident...but still insist if he refuses to go for ages or is too absorbed in something. But then my dd seems to have a bladder of steel, sometimes we take her pull up pants off in the morning (sometimes wet, sometimes dry) and she doesn't go until the afternoon . It sounds like your ds is doing really well.

Hi Lucy. I had potties around the house for about a month - just until I was sure he had made the connection between the feeling of needing to go and the potty. I preferred to focus on that than endlessly wipe up accidents which would have made me stressed (my second chose the same week to start crawling....) and that worked well - sometimes I would go into the sitting room and find a potty with wee which showed he had made the connection alone. Then I made a big song and dance about 'what a clever boy' and we even had a special potty dance (it sounds mad, but it really helped). The I used to get him to come to the loo with me and flush it away and talk about how big boys (mentioning names) did all their wees on the toilet. I think you are absolutely right not to nag about going all the time - I think it can be counter productive - in more ways than one! I had an acquaintance who did that and it was not surprising her son switched off, as she must have asked every ten minutes all day. After about 6 weeks, he told me he was big enough to do all his wees on the toilet too, like 'big boy ben' (his hero) and we made a big thing about putting all the potties away and having a big celebration, ringing Granny etc. I know all children are different, but I have found if DS1 can see older children doing anything, he will want to copy them, and I try to harness that and really encourage even the smallest step in the right direction. I hope this helps.

oh brilliant, thanks for the replies that's so helpful. We've been doing the 'all the big boys' with names thing and that seems to work really well. i take him with me when I go to the loo and he asks to sit on the toilet!!