How do you actually begin?

[FoulsomeAndMaggotwise]

Apologies for the very dim question - I've never done this before.

DS is nearly 22 months and seems ready. He's very interested in the toilet and the potty, will sit on it quite happily and tells us when he's done a wee in his nappy (or on the floor) and will occasionally tell us when he's done a poo.

But how do I actually start the training? Just leave him pant-less constantly? Do you begin only doing it at home it go cold turkey on nappies until they get it?

Thank you!

Watching with interest

I've only done it with one so am no expert at all but yes, we just woke up one day and put her in pants and stayed at home for a few days!

The first day she peed everywhere and only managed to pee in the potty when I sat her there in front of the telly. The second day she managed a few. The third and fourth days it got a lot better. Huge singing and dancing praise when she managed to pee in the potty, chocolate as well. She never asked for the toilet though, I think that was my biggest misconception before starting. You need to take them every half hour or so and get them to sit so they can start connecting it all in their head. We're several months in and while it's gone well, she still doesn't always ask and has to be prompted.

We used pull ups when out and about but I guess that would depend on your child and whether you think that would confuse them. DD was a lot older so had the language skills to understand "magic pants" that can catch an accident and that she still needed to ask for a toilet when wearing them.

Why not start off with no nappy/pants/trousers for an hour in the morning and evening with the potty strategically to hand, and effusively praise if he uses it. Then maybe offer the potty when you are going to the loo and work from there.

Once the weather is nicer and they can be out in the garden bottomless you get a lot more time for success.

Thanks for the replies.

I've tried he odd but of time with no nappy but I think he might need more consistency to get it. But that's a good idea about taking him when I go to the toilet - he always says "mummy wee wee" so he knows what's happening.

Once you do properly start do you think it's advisable to not go back to nappies at all? We have a wedding at the end of the month so can't risk an accident in his little suit. Maybe I should wait until June. The the whether will be better too.

Weather*

Personally I'd say he is very young, so if you can hold out until the summer and the better weather then that might be a good idea.

Ok, so come June what should I do?

Buy a potty for upstairs aswell as downstairs.

Buy some proper pants.

Just let him run free and wild in the garden and ask him every 15 minutes or so if he'd like a wee wee and to try to sit on the potty? Then big praise if he does one. And if we need to go out, put pull-ups on him but keep doing the "do you need a weewee?" thing. Should I take a potty out with me? Anything I havent thought of?

Potties can be really cheap, so it might not hurt to have one in the house. The first few days I found a potty in the living room easier than trekking DD to the toilet, as that was where we were most of the time. Sometimes they start peeing and you have to whip them on to their potty quickly!

If you go back through the potty training board I started a thread a few months ago as I was utterly clueless too, there was loads of good advice on it. And it really wasn't as difficult or as bad as we thought it would be!

Great - I'll look for it.

Thanks for all your help Thurlow! Good luck with the continued training, sounds like you've cracked it though.

Definitely ask rather than wait to be told, that was our mistake with DD. We had DS accident-free within 3 days two weeks ago by nagging him endlessly and bribing him with chocolate buttons

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