Potty Training Support Thread

[HangryHandful]

Is any one else in the depths of potty training and want to join me for some moral support? Due to opportune timing and a willing 2 year old I’m on day 2 of potty training. Mixed bag so far - a lot of successful wees but all with a prompt and none of his own free will.

but we’re in it now! so cracking on and hoping we see some progress over the weekend.

We are exactly the same! Day 2 with a 2 year old. Same as you, some successes but a lot of accidents and refusal to sit on the potty. Going slightly insane..! Definitely up for some moral support!

Yay! I feel instantly better for some reason just not being in it alone. What sort of method have you gone with? I’m really hoping something “clicks” soon…

I’ve been so unsure about whether he’s “ready” or not so obviously have been over thinking but I guess when you start you’re just locked in for a bit, so time will tell I suppose!

Me too! I think it feels quite isolating as you're stuck at home. So we're going with two days bare bum at home and will start pants on day 3 tomorrow. We're trying not to prompt too much and waiting for his cues which are really obvious now we're watching for them but he's just refusing sometimes to sit on/stay on the potty the gets off and wees on the floor. He's very active so sitting still doesn't come naturally to him!
What approach are you taking?
I've been doubting myself a bit about his readiness too but each success makes me feel like yay, he is ready! Then each accident makes me feel like omg what are we doing 😂

Ah that does sound like a good plan. He’s been casually using the toilet for a few months tbh - when his big brother goes or he’s trying to get out of getting a nappy back on after a change so we decided to just go straight to toilet and we’ve gone with pants on but all day I’ve been wondering whether we should have done bare bum and potty to start with.

you’re so right about feeling confident with successes and doubtful with the accidents! He’s never really told me when he needs a wee but he asks to go a fair amount and at least has the control to squeeze one out whenever he wants to sit on the toilet. Just trying to get him to link the need with an ask to go.

he can stop mid wee if I see one starting and can hold it if I see he’s about to go and I run him to the toilet though so I’m confident he physically can.

ah, we’ll get there. The hundreds of previous Mumsnet threads I have read has me holding out much hope for day 3. I may have set myself up here 😂

Oh that sounds like a really good starting point! No don't worry, I don't think there's any right or wrong way to start. If he's already been using the toilet it makes sense to carry on with that rather than start with a potty.

Sounds like he's doing great! Mine isn't asking at all, but we're picking up on his cues and intervening. Mine stops mid wee too, both when he's going on the floor and also he stops himself when going in the potty. So we're having loads and loads of little wees.

Haha yes me too, I'm waiting for the day 3 miracle when it all becomes much better! It can only get easier, right?!

Don't stay stuck in the house, the days can drag! Honestly, just take loads of spare clothes and it's no real issue when they have accidents.

We're only staying in for the first 2-3 days then will venture out!

Day 3 let’s go! We’ve had our first toilet poop this morning - though the first half of it was a pants poo too. I think it’s good though!

Brilliant! We had one poo on the potty yesterday then another one (half on the floor, half in the potty), I was amazed tbh! We've put pants on this morning which triggered a huge meltdown and he had an accident in them. The biggest problem is he's fighting against the potty, refusing to sit on it at times and then when he does won't do anything and waits till he gets off then goes. I have no idea what to do about that!

I feel like novelty is starting to wear off a bit and having a bit more toilet resistance than before. I’ve also run out of clean pants and it’s not even 9am.

will he take a toy or read a book on the potty at all? When we’ve had a bit of resistance I’ve managed to get him to take a toy to go first and then he holds it during his turn. The dinosaurs have done a lot of wees last couple of days!

Yes I agree, he's more resistant now than one day 1. He will sit with a LOT of encouragement with books and toys but then it's like he's too distracted to do anything and he's just sitting there for ages and still can't go. I have also tried getting his toy to go first which he did find very funny but it didn't help him to go unfortunately.
This really isn't for the faint hearted is it!

How’s your day gone @gentlemum - any improvement on potty refusal as the day has gone on?

We’ve had a good day overall but wow am I relieved to get the bedtime nappy on!!

This morning was disastrous, we had accident after accident in the pants! But by the afternoon he was used to them and he's taken himself to the potty a few times which I'm amazed at! Though he sits on it with his pants still up so we have to intervene to pull the pants down which he doesn't always like and then runs off without weeing! We're going out to his swimming lesson in the morning which will be the first time out the house so fingers crossed he wees before we go.
Glad to hear you had a good day! Did he make good progress?

Getting used to pants is a big step so that’s good!

Hope your excursion out the house goes well!

I think we’ve made progress? It still feels too early to tell.. I’m really struggling with not intervening and suggesting when it’s time to go to the toilet. I probably need to step back and let him start telling me more but I’m on edge the whole time!

I guess we’ve had a few toilet wees this morning and no accidents so hopefully that’s enough to jog his memory of the last couple days and I’ll try and leave him to tell me next time!

he did another poo in the toilet yesterday though and a couple outside which was good and he told me he needed to go about 3 times in a row. Every new day feels more stressful than the last though!

but day 4… woo? I’m tired lol.

Okay he’s now telling me when he needs a wee but then when we get to the toilet he says no and runs away. And a few minutes later tells me again. Still not another accident so I guess he’s just pushing himself to hold on a little bit longer because he wants to keep playing? But once he says it once I feel like I can’t relax until he’s gone. I think it’s still progress? Just needs practice!

We're having the same too! I still can't believe he's taking himself off to the potty independently, it's just the not pulling the pants down issue and then when we do it he says no and doesn't go. And like you say then we're on edge waiting for it! He had an accident in the car this morning and got quite upset but I gave him lots of reassurance.
I agree, each day seems more stressful! We're trying to dial back the prompting too. I was getting sick of hearing 'do you need a wee' so I'm sure he was too!

Day 5… still so mixed! I’m at work today so he’s with his Granny and I am feeling… have I been too intense? He’s sometimes getting pretty irate with me having him sit when I know he needs to go - he really does not rate the first thing in the morning wee and today seemed like he wanted a nappy back on, which I refused but it then took a while before he’d accept pants, and then he had an accident when I was in the shower after no accidents (but lots of prompting) yesterday.

He was Co-operative in going before we got in the car, and going again once we got to Granny’s house (a half hour drive and he’d fallen asleep on the way thanks to a 5.30am start).

i think he’s got all the tools now and just needs to practice so we’ll keep going but now just hoping he will start telling us more and then subsequently actually going. But yes after an enthusiastic start I’m worried I’ve ruined progress by being too controlling with it. Hopefully not. My gut instinct is telling me we’re close and to keep going but my self doubt is telling me I’m delusional. Standard!

@HangryHandful don't doubt yourself! I think he sounds like he's doing brilliantly (no accidents on day 4!!), definitely don't give up or go back to nappies! Mine's doing better than I expected but we're still only getting about 60% of wees on the potty but all poops on there at least! Pulling pants down continues to be an issue and, very similar to you, he's often refusing or getting very annoyed when I get him to sit on the potty when I can see he needs to go but he doesn't want to. We went out for a walk and he had an accident as soon as I closed the front door! It's still only day 5 so I'm not sure I can expect too much more at the moment.

Currently psyching myself up to try potty training again in a couple of weeks (for DC, not myself).

Last time was not fun. DC hated the potty and everything about it. When the association between drinking and weeing became apparent, DC refused to drink and didn't wee at all. When my normally non-violent DC bit me, then themselves, then tried to flush the potty down the toilet, I figured they weren't ready yet.

So, a couple of months later, round 2 is imminent.

We are going to be starting properly in September when Dad & I both have a week off work together so can stay home 4/5 days with him.

We currently get him to use potty with every nappy change and got Nanny/nursery doing the same when they have him but he is still in nappies all the time.

Have plenty of pants ready for when we try but not sure he is ‘ready’ but does say wee wee when on his potty. He will be 2 and half when we start so fingers crossed.

Welcome one and all!

had our first day at nursery today…. And she didn’t tell us it was terrible and to stop trying! That’s the win of today 😂

Hope you’re still going okay @gentlemum!

Hi @HangryHandful ! A couple of days ago was a turning point for us and we've had no accidents the last couple of days! He's much better at indicating when he needs to go, or if not we're better at noticing it ourselves. We've got a travel potty now and had a couple of successes with that and we've been able to get out the house more. And I can actually see a future where we can leave home without so much stress 😂
How's it going for you?

Oh good. I’m so glad it’s going well!

we are in pretty much the same place! Actually getting out the house has been surprisingly easy as he’s really liked trying different toilets and the occasional wild wee 😂 but yes we are also feeling like it’s much easier for us to notice he needs to go and/or he’s telling us so not pestering him as much and we’ve also had a couple days no accidents despite being really busy days.

still holding my breath and knocking on wood but feeling tentatively hopeful things continue!

Oh amazing, glad it's going well!

Yes I am also holding my breath and waiting for something to go wrong but hopefully we're on the up now! Though I'm sure there'll be ups and downs along the way!