About to start...any tips?

[dreamingofwineandcheese]

We are going to start potty training DS at the weekend. We have 2 days(3 if needed) where we can just be at home. I'm going to make a star chart with DS so he can have a star everytime he goes on to toilet/potty (he gets stickers at nursery for helping and reacts very positively so thought this might help). Also I have a timer for the first few days that we can set for every 30 mins to take him to the loo (recommended by a close friend who is a nursery teacher).

Anything else that I haven't thought of or any tips? DS is 2.4 he tells is when he is about to do a wee/poo so I'm pretty sure he's ready. I just feel so nervous!

Sounds like you're on the ball. We covered our floor with plastic sheets underneath blankets to try to catch accidents (DD plays on blankets anyway).

Also have wipes and kitchen roll nearby, and a box of tissues for wiping. We have a potty downstairs in case we can't make it to the loo, but this won't be downstairs for long.

We have training pants for going to Grannies/Tesco, and there were definitely more accidents on day 1 than today day 6! We had three days at home first, and spent most of day 1 in the garden, running around without knickers on!

Good luck, and don't forget to treat yourselves...it's a huge milestone!

Thank you Dudess, good tips there!

DS knows tomorrow is the day and is happily talking about wearing pamts not nappies anymore so I'm hoping that will help! We will see!

Tomorrow is the start day for us aswell! Good luck. (Im scared!)

How is it going Littlepink?

We haven't had any accidents so far, lots pf successful wee's. He sometimes takes a bit of bribery to get him on the potty but he's happily doing it. We have even had one where he said he needed to go before being asked which is good.

I know there will be accidents but it's not as scary as I thought!

We've had 3 accidents, 1 potty wee which was a tiny dribble but classed it as a success, just because all the no's we've had today have been utterly draining! Been asking her every 30 mins if she wants to go on the potty and every time it's a no. Have managed to get her on it twice and have built up a rather unmanageable pile of paraphernalia to accompany the potty such as a box of tissues, 2 potty books, a spare potty for her doll, 2 packs of stickers, a sticker chart, a piggy bank and a few pennies for her to deposit one each time she sits on it for more than a minute. She's earned 2 pence so far, she's going to be a rich girl at this rate! The pile is bordering on the ridiculous and I'm laughing to myself because if I don't I might cry!!!

We started DD (2y4m) today too - 4 accidents (including a poo!) and a LOT of emotion... Hoping tomorrow is better!

Yes day 2 tomorrow! After I posted last message we got 2 massive wees on the potty. Had to bribe her on to it, read her potty book to her and when she stood up I couldn't believe my eyes at how much was in there. Seems she prefers the potty the doll was sitting on, not the chair like one I had been trying to get her use. I should have given her the choice but didn't think to but whichever she wants is fine!

We ended up with one accident just before bath time so not too bad for day 1. It has been quite full on asking DS every 30 mins but I think it's helped. Fingers crossed tomorrow is as good. He did a poo as soon as he woke up this morning so before we had got his nappy off and pants on so still have that to conquer!

I hope you both have positive days tomorrow, it's a relief when they are in bed with a nappy on!

That's great LittlePink! So satisfying when they get off of the potty and you see a wee in there

All 3 of them on this thread are 2.4 years. Good luck for tomorrow. First challenge of the day is to get nappy off and see if she'll sit on the potty.

It has been full on asking every 30 mins. Im thinking we will continue to ask but then every 2 hours or so will convince her to actually sit on it, read her potty book to her and see what happens.

It is going to be a challenge if your ds does a poo first thing before he gets up. Hopefully it was just a one off this morning!

I noticed they are all 2.4 which is encouraging as a few people made me think I was doing it a bit early but I feel DS is ready.

I found today we were offering every 30mins but it was about every 2 hours he actually went. DS does normally go for a poo in the morning but not normally that early so fingers crossed tomorrow it's on the potty!

You all had much more successful first days than us! Nothing in the potty, 4 wees and a poo out of it
However, this morning she has already sat on the potty three times without any fuss, so hoping that we'll get one on target soon to get things going. The Peppa Pig & Cbeebies apps are coming into their own, and Cinderella has been recruited to help the cause too
We didn't stick rigidly to the every 30 mins thing yesterday, but it sounds like we should have done, reading above, so a new resolution today!
Nursery are positive she's ready for this and I'm happy to go with it if that's what they think, can't say I'll be sorry to hand her over to them tomorrow though!
Good luck for today everyone!

Good luck to you all. I highly recommend a Potette once you dare leave the house! You can improvise the liners with a carrier bag and a cut up nappy.

We were given a pottete & I was wondering if we could take it to the park with us this afternoon. Would we be frowned on a bit if we whip it out every 20mins in a corner of the playground do you think?!

I did. No one ever complained. Just be discreet.

I see people doing that at the swing park a lot. So I think that's fine. The thing I wouldn't be so willing to do was do what my sil did in sainsburys and let her dd do a poo in the pottete in the aisle! A woman told her off and said it was disgusting! Sil had more bottle than me to do that!

Today hasn't started great. She's had 2 wee accidents already and is refusing point blank to sit on the potty. I'm hoping as the day goes on she will become a bit more cooperative. It was 5pm yesterday before she agreed to sitting on it so maybe today is like yesterday. I Just need to be patient! Dh seems to have endless patience and is the calming influence but he'll be at work tomorrow so it will just be me without his moral support agh!

Oh the frustration! (And not being able to show it!). Just a couple of minutes after potty time she ran into the kitchen & did a wee on the floor...! She helped clean it up at least
She's being so good about sitting on the potty today - much better than yesterday - and knows that the wee needs to go in the potty not on the floor... I do think once we have that first one in, it's going to make all the difference.

Reward every time they sit on the loo or potty. This is not about the wee or poo, but installing a habit.

We sidestepped the potty and went straight for the loo. I just felt that the dcs were able to go for it, and sometimes the transition from potty to loo can be unexpectedly problematic and we wanted to avoid that.

It is a long process and it's all about the process, so be sure to reward every time they sit on the loo and not for results in the loo.

Walk with them from every place in your house to the loo, so that they know where to go.

Set a timer for every half hour and walk with them to the loo, and get them to sit on it. Reward them every time with a sticker. 10 stickers gets a small toy treat. Don't associate reward with sweets. Don't associate the reward with a wee or a poo. It's all about the process of going to the loo, taking down pants and sitting on the loo at this stage.

Be sure to have plenty of fibre in their diets, (or half a spoon of syrup of figs) as sometimes doing a tough poo in the potty / loo can be traumatic and you do not want constipation as it can lead to holding in poo which is a nightmare with its own personalised level of hell.

You need patience, consistency, good humour and a sense of perspective, and a sticker / toy reward system.

Get plenty of gin.

GOOD LUCK!

Eeeew to using Potette in Sainsbury's!

Thanks venus. Helpful information. We've got a timer going every 30 mins and a sticker reward chart.

This morning has been a disaster. Numerous misses. Told her 1 magic star for sitting on potty, 2 for a wee and 3 for a poo. But all shes done is hassle us for 2 stars even though we explain every time 2 stars are for a wee. Several melt downs and refusals to go on potty. Think with the hour going back, shes really tired so not good a good recipe for success whilst tired and grumpy.

Cant wait to get her nappy on and get her down for nap!

Hows everyone else getting on?

Oh dear Pink, hang in there! Venus is spot on about all this being about establishing a habit. We've all done it with bedtime, teeth brushing, hand washing etc., this is just another thing....
DD is definitely better today at doing the potty time (found a free app called Potty Baby that buzzes at potty time), it's a little bit of progress at least, even if nothing has actually gone in yet - proves she does have bladder and bowl control if nothing else!

Afternoon ladies, we had a bit of a bad start with a couple of accidents but I think it was because DH and FIL were here and DS was distracted whereas yesterday we were on our own. Went back to bribing him on every 30 mins rather than just offering and we seem to be back on track. He actually said he needed a wee at one point and produced a huge wee. Once again he had a poo as soon as he woke up before I had a chance to put pants on him so still have that to do.

We have even managed a trip to Costa and Tesco today having a wee in their loos and that went well.

I hope you are both having better days today, it definitely gets tedious asking them all the time and having to have a bit of a battle at times to get them on the potty. I would be having a large glass of wine tonight if I wasnt feeding DD I feel like I need it!

You sound like you're doing really well Dreaming!
Today we are up to Accidents 2: Wee in potty 1
She's been better at sitting on the potty today (aka the bribes we're offering today are working ) and we made a huge fuss of her when she proudly announced she'd done a wee in her potty - she was so proud of herself!
It really is boring though, isn't it - we were getting cabin fever so took the pottete to the playground for her (and saw someone else there with one!) but she still had an accident...
I'm actually looking forward to going to work tomorrow and leaving it to nursery to deal with

We've had a really bad day with it. She's become far too upset each time she's been asked if she needs the potty and trying to sit her on it has been pretty awful so I know we've given up early but we're thinking she's still not quite ready and needs a bit more time. I feel very disappointed but I can't force her if she won't sit on the potty and the amount of accidents she had today was distressing her a lot. She seems very emotional today and just not in the mood to cooperate so what can you do. Shes much happier mood wise now the nappy is back on. She's obviously not as ready as we thought. Good luck to you both though, sounds like things are progressing well. Hope the dc's keep up the good work!

That's a shame Pink, but probably the right thing to do. You don't want to give her a complex about it. At DD's nursery there was a girl who didn't get it at all at the first attempt in July, but got it almost immediately at a second attempt in Sept.
DD is totally over it for today - no accidents since 4.30pm, but no sitting on the potty either. She's shattered with a short nap & the hour change, so it's early bath & bed for her!
Nursery can pick it up tomorrow - DH reckons she'll come home tomorrow completely potty trained!