Help - introduced pants and potty training gone back over!

[Mel2023]

Day 3 of potty training DS (2yrs 5months) and we’ve been doing really well. He wees and poos in the potty, and only had two accidents over the first 2 days. I’ve been heaping on the praise when he goes, and we have a sticker chart which he loves. He’s actually been excited to use the potty. However, DS has been naked from the waist down the whole time except for naps when I put a pull up on - although he’s been waking bone dry and immediately asking for the toilet. He’s been telling me when he needs to go, although I have reminded him as well.

Problem is, we have tried pants today and he’s just treating them like he’s got a pull up on (we’ve been using pull ups instead of nappies for a good year now so they’re not to aid with potty training). He’s gone completely back over. What do we do?

He goes back to preschool on Monday and is in there 5 days a week from 7:45am-5:45pm. He needs to wear pants! And I’d also like to be able to leave the house with him at some point this weekend. I tried the pants because I have to pop out for about 30 mins this afternoon and wanted to see how he does in them.

He’s been showing all the signs he’s ready
for a while, including telling us when he’s been and asking to use the toilet. I have a few days off this week at home with him and thought I’d try potty training as we have 5 full days till back to work/nursery. I’m not allowed to take any more time off at work due to staffing issues, so it was also a case of if I don’t do it now I can’t take time off to do it again until at least Feb/March next year. That being said I wouldn’t have tried if I didn’t think he’s ready. Nursery have said they’re happy to continue it but he has to have improvements and progress at home first. I guess treating his pants like a nappy isn’t what they meant by that!

Any advice really welcome - he’s doing so well without pants that I don’t want to stop training and confuse him. But he also can’t go around half naked. Help!

Oh you've done so well (and so has he) so far. I'm sure other people will be along with better suggestions soon, but when DD had an accident when we moved to clothes, I put a chocolate button (just one!) on the coffee table and told her that was her special reward for the first time she remembered to go in the potty.

Try baggy joggers, no underwear. If it’s loose enough it shouldn’t feel like a nappy. Once he’s cracked it wearing that introduce underwear but again I’d size up so they’re loose. Added benefit as well is that looser is easier for them to get up and down at nursery where they might not get as much help.

Thanks! We did think this but his nursery have said he has to wear pants and can’t go without with just loose trousers. We called them this afternoon to check. And he goes back in on Monday so we’re going to have to continue with pants unfortunately. I have ordered pants in a bigger size so they aren’t as tight.

My eldest we ended up having to buy boxer shorts for. I think H&M had small enough ones snd I went up a size

You are doing great for day 3!

Underpants are very similar feeling to nappies, so start with very loose boxershorts until it's all routine.

What are.you doing when he goes in his pants? And what's his reaction.ti having an accident?

So I just mop it up and say “never mind! Next time let’s go in the potty if you can” or along those lines. Try to keep it positive. And then I ask him which new pants he wants to put on (we have a selection in his favourite designs). If he tells me he’s had an accident (which he did when he wasn’t wearing pants and had the odd couple) I would say “well done for telling me”. First few times when he went in the pants it was like he was oblivious, which did make me nervous. If we hadn’t seen it he wouldn’t have told us. However later tonight when we were trying to get him to sit down for tea he suddenly announced he needed a wee and went and had one on the potty! We had to help him with his pants a little but it’s the first time he’s actually realised he needs to go while wearing them. Then 5 mins later when he was sat eating his tea he told me he’d weed “on the chair”. He’d just been so I wasn’t sure if he was right - but he had! So although he didn’t realise and go to the potty beforehand, he realised once he’d done it which is an improvement on the rest of the day!

Just keep the pants on for the next couple of days and keep going. You'll prob find he'll get the hang of it before Monday if he's as good as this without pants. Seems like he's got the general idea of it.

My son was only commando on Day 1 for the morning. I left all.his new pants on the table for him to look at and he watched Pirate Pete a thousand times too.

I took them off for a fee small intervals especially when I knew a wee was due. But he now wears them all the time no issue.