Help! Am I doing the right thing?

[Havifus]

Hi everyone,

first time mum here to a 2.8 year old boy.

Started potty training 1.5 weeks ago and almost straight away he was taking himself to the potty for wees and poos and we were giving a smal treat. Dropped the treat two days in and still consistent. That is until we put pants/trousers on him. No matter how much we remind him/help him he will wee his trousers or pants. He also does not seem to care if he’s wet. We have tried prompting him but he can get quite upset about this. What would the next steps be? Shall I keep going? I try to give as much nappy off time as possible however between nursery, work and naps this averages at most 6 hours a day. He currently goes out for an hour in pants and just comes back wet. He goes to nursery 2 mornings a week in a nappy. Any advice would be much appreciated

I had four children, and like you I found there were often lots of stops and starts with the little ones learning independently toileting .

It’s stressful but very normal to have lots of accidents, but at least you can console yourself that he is dry without any problems when he only has his birthday suit on!

You can try to reinforce independently toileting by making into a repetitive game to music, if you want. Whatever you do when teaching, keep on being lighthearted about accidents as he’ll learn more quickly through natural consequences.

Keep telling the wee man 😀 “well done for staying dry when no pants on! - Now let’s play a game to music and use potty/toilet to wee in and keep pants dry too “. Put fun music on & practice putting pants on & off and pretend to wee in potty/ toilet with toddler friendly step & seat.

If he wets his underwear and trousers say “ Oh no wet pants, let’s change & use potty/toilet to keep dry “ - Then don’t fuss but if he agrees get him to sit on toilet , but if no wee still praise for using toilet , & then change to dry clothes

I’m sure you’ve already done plenty and no matter what , it’s just a matter of time- take breaks when you need to - and remember to reward yourself for doing a great job with your family as it’s not always easy. 💐💐