Anyone had success with half hearted efforts?

[Asleeponasunbeam]

Or do you really have to go for it for success?

I have already forgotten the nightmare that was potty training DD. She took well over a year from CM and 'everyone' else telling me she was ready and was reliable from just over 3 when she started nursery. There were a lot of wet and soiled knickers in that year!

DS is a very different character although wants to be exactly like his big sister in every way (they're now 2 and almost 5). We've had a potty in the bathroom for ages and he's recently decided to sit on it before his bath while we're all pottering around. No success yet, but he likes to talk about it!

This morning he wore pants in the garden - pooed in them but wasn't bothered (not hard it miss!). Nappy for nap and then we had to go out.

I don't think he's interested enough for it to work. But it's summer, I'm off work for 6 weeks soon, I can't see when else will be any better (apart from next summer).

I can't see how it can do any harm to give it a try. My experience was that it was dead easy when DS decided he was ready. He pretty much did it himself, but they are all different.

He loved his exciting new 'training pants' this evening. And did a wee on the potty! (I'm pretty sure he didn't realise he'd done it, until DD and I noticed and gave him a cheer. Then he wanted to do it again...). We'll half heartedly carry on a while. Thanks.

Just wanted to be your buddy because we're in a similar situation and are going for the this summer. Good luck!

Yes we're just going half heatedly at it at the moment. I encourage ds to be nappy free when we're at home.... And that's all I'm doing! He is very good at weeing and pooing in the potty or toilet, but he often prefers to just have his nappy on, and for now I'm just going with flow. Have dc2 due at the end of sept though so would like to have it cracked by then, at the same time I really don't want to push it.

All the evidence shows he CAN do it though, so I figure when he's ready it should happen quite quickly (fingers crossed)

I can highly recommend doing two things if you're going to go with it over the 6 weeks holidays:

• a book talking about it, we got one off Amazon and it was great

• purchase some ladders for the toilet and let him go up there. Get his sister to show him.

hands up here. We're half arsed atm too after a failed cold turkey. We cut back to potty time to after dinner and it really helped. now he runs and sits on the potty to just do a wee, which he never ever did the week before when its was full time. now we're going to start leaving the nappy off unless we have to go somewhere until he 'gets' the whole pants thing. good luck!

Yes we're taking a similar approach too after a failed attempt a few months ago. Just been casually leaving the potty around and sitting dolly/teddy on it occasionally and this seems to be encouraging our daughter to do the same. We've had varying degrees of success, lots of wees, no poos yet though. We've found the least fuss we make, the more she is willing to sit on the potty. She shouted for me while I was in the kitchen the other day and when I went in, there she was sitting on the potty doing a wee!

All three of my sons were potty trained with a combination of waiting until they were ready and halfhearted efforts. No stress for me or them and they all got there very quickly. Ds3 just decided one day he would start going to the toilet rather than in his nappy and never looked back. Result.

Joining in as we are taking this approach too.

Good to see some more halfhearted (halfarsed?) efforts going on.

We're just doing no happy after tea at the moment - he's mostly doing a wee on the potty before his bath. He does seem quite a lot more awareness what's going on now, and likes the potty books we've got.

We've been doing more "freestyle" time - and we are having more potty wees.

After a failed cold turkey approach the last two days, I think we'll return to our half hearted strategy! The problem is ds just won't sit on the potty when asked. I think we'll try the wee before bath thing first.