Tips on starting potty training?

My son will be 3 in March, and I really want to start potty training him, but he is my first kid, so I never potty trained a toddler before and have no clue how to do it… I have pull-ups, and boy training underwear…he knows what the potty is and sat on it multiple times but won’t use it and says he’s done and wants off…help, please. Thank you!

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Just keep sitting him on the potty he will get the concept and just ask him if he has to go potty

My son will also be 3 in March. I’m in the same boat. We went on a streak where he peed in the potty and pooped in it once. But, since then we doesn’t seem interested anymore :weary: he’ll get on the toilet make pee notices or poop notices and then say done :weary:

His pedi told me that when he’s ready, he’s ready. But, I just get worried that he’s just not gonna be ready on his own.

My last resort is potty every 30 minutes.

My son knew what the potty was sat on it from time to time, he showed no interest in potty training until the day of his 3rd birthday. He got batman undies and wanted to wear them right away and ran straight to the potty to use it… everyday from that point on he used the potty… all kids will use it, on their own time and will when they are ready… what helped us was making a huge deal out of him using the potty… everytime he peed we danced, cheered and sang a potty song letting him know how proud we were… when he finally pooped we cheered, danced and gave him a prize now hes 100% potty trained

I know some might now agree with this but if you stay at home all day with your little one then just let him run around with a big t shirt and no diaper. I did it with my son and he quickly caught on to the fact that there was nothing on him to catch his pee/poop so he ultimately went to his potty! If you do try it I hope it helps! I tried the Cheerios trick and giving him a treat and all that but those weren’t as fast and effective as my own little method!

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My son was like that we tried everything we could think of including just putting him in underwear like our pediatrician suggested and eventually he would get it…:unamused: nothing work until he was ready he will be 4 in April and just two weeks ago he woke up and decided he wanted to wear underpants to preschool instead of a pull up.

I’m just starting w my son that will be 3 in may. We got him comfortable just sitting on it. Next I bought his favs dum dum suckers, he gets one every time he pees on potty. We make it a big deal! Going to change to stickers and sucker only for poop. Getting closer and not doing any power struggles, positive and praise only.

We use ipad or a phone. We play games or read. Gets rewards after going

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I sat my middle son for on the potty backwards and let him color on the seat with a dry erase marker. Once he went the first time he was okay with it. He will be 3 in April and is now 100% potty trained. Pull ups did not work at all for us. Training underwear is what worked because he didn’t like the feeling when he went potty in them. I also let him pick his favorite out plans told him is he went potty in them they went to the trash. After throwing 2 pair away (yes it waste money but worked) he had no more accidents

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I would have him try often and make it “fun”. Maybe every 45min- 1hr. You could read a book to him or sing a song while he’s sitting to get him to sit longer. If he does go on the potty make it a big deal and you could give him a small reward (such as a sticker, tattoo, m&m, sucker, etc) just don’t push him to much or it could set him back. Good luck!

Take him to the potty 20 minutes after eating or drinking. Consistency is key. Be patient and loving but be firm. Also, if you get off the 20 minute cycle of taking him to the bathroom after eating/drinking… then make sure to take him once an hour.

Like others have said keep sitting him on it but you could also try reading books to him whilst he is sat on it or do an activity that involves sitting down make it a fun game for him

Potty songs & special potty treats did the trick for us. Making it fun and exciting and lots of praise when they do go on the potty

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Should at least least have a potty training toilet. But you’re like waaaaay behind. My babies started potty training at 6 months and fully trained by 2. Gotta get to it.

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I did a few things when it came to my boy. My daughter was first so my son was a whole new ball game. Positive reinforcement worked the best for me. I went to the dollar store and got “prizes”. Any time he went on the potty he got to pick a prize, but if he went in the pull up he had to give it back. He learned quickly that he didn’t like having to give it back. I also kept a Tupperware bowl of fruit loops in the bathroom. Toss one in and tell him to try to “pee” in the hole. Teaches them aim and it was like a game!

Start asap. Typically around 18 months is a good time to start sitting them on it and getting them used to it. 3 is a bit late to start. Take him every 30 minutes or so and put him on the potty. When he goes make a big deal out of it and give him a reward such as a sticker or a piece of candy or a small prize. When he has an accident dont get mad or yell but calmly tell him he needs to go in the potty and not in his underwear and have him help clean it up.

You might get him somethin to stand up on. My son would never use the training potty and was weird about sitting on the big boy potty. He learned to pee standing up

I didn’t use pull ups as my son just thought it was a fun diaper but cherrios helped so much. Just put one or two in at a time tell him it’s a game to “shoot” them down

Is he showing signs he is ready? I tried when my daughter was 2 and she was not interested at all and eas hysterical when i sat her on her potty so I started playing potty time videos and songs from you tube amd she eventually came around on her own. She will be 3 in march and she is fully potty trained. It only took us a month. Good luck!

If there’s a Male around ask him to help out.

My sister got her son a stool and would put Cheerios in the toilet. He loved trying to sink the Cheerios then he would get a few m&ms for using the restroom

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We put Cheerios in stool and had our boys aim for them

I’m super lucky I had my boys done be 21/2 at the latest, but would a pull up on long trips. Now my daughter in law has my 6 month old grandson go potty in toilet I’m still amazed. On how he gets fussy to let her know

I have a boy he will be 3 at the end of March and he is almost potty trained 100% but the best advice I can give is when they are ready they will go, by all means encourage them and ask them but try not to get frustrated when they have accidents I feel like this has been a year long process but he finally has taken interest and is just now to the point where he tells me he has to go! Btw we started in June of 2019 and here we are almost March of 2020!

Make a treasure box and put fun stuff in it. Candy small toys etc. He only gets to go to the treasure box if he does something in the toilet.

They have boy urinal potties that make it fun by giving him something to aim at and when he hits it it spins I think.
Otherwise consistency is key and a lot of praise.
I have a daughter who just turned 2 who is mostly potty trained, my other was fairly good around 18 months.

My son was very difficult, I tried everything. Then one day I just told him that they stopped making diapers in his size and that the box we had was it and that he would have to start using the toilet. Every night we would count down the diapers until we had none left and surprisingly that was it, he started using the toilet.
I’d get rid of the pull-ups if I were you.

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In my 76 years I’ve seen that when they are ready it will happen , just keep telling them so they don’t forget.

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I got a potty and had it available to my kids starting at age 18 months, they usually used it not long after! Other than making it available and asking if they need to go every half hour or so, theres not much to do, they do it when they are ready! If they go celebrate it!!! :slightly_smiling_face:
All 4 of my boys have been fully potty trained by 2.5 years old!

I potty trained my niece using Jelly beans lol i told her if she felt like she was gonna use her diaper to let us know and we’d take her to the potty and if she was successful… Jellybean

My daughter will be two in may and she has been fully potty trained for the last four months. I don’t have any advice because you know what you have to do.

Potty trained before 2. Consistency is key.

I put cheerios into the toilet and let my daycare boys sink the battleship. Also I set a timer on my phone with a song they love. They hear the song go off and we try to go pee. Works fabulous!
Best advice though…patience is key! They can smell frustration and if you are frustrated they become frustrated and it isnt worth it. Just over the top positive (about every single thing) and they just thrive.

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Pull ups are no different than a diaper. I only used them at nights and long car trips. When you can only have him in underwear. I transitioned mine out of pull-ups and strictly underwear only. They will have their accidents and you’ll have to have a ton of patience. But after those accidents and then sitting in it awhile they will never have another accident. Or at least not to have one. Remember boys tend to get distracted easier and refuse to stop playing when they have to go potty. Make a chart and give treats when he goes in the potty. Boys love games so make it fun. When he wants to use the big potty put a few Cheerios in the bowl of the toilet and that will help him aim. :wink:

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Don’t think any further than this “3 day potty training-by Lora Jensen” its litterally a two hour read at most! You goto her page, buy it $2-$5? It’s totally worth it and the absolute best way to potty train! Used it for all 7 kids and get this, our spontaneous triplet boys too! You can do it!!!

Best trick: potty training boot camp. No diapers. Just undue. Regular ones. Be prepared for messes but after a few days, that’s it.

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Get one of those little potties, put it in the room he’s in, living room whatever, get him using it and move it closer to the bathroom til he’s going in the bathroom to potty.

Breanna Nicole Zealer
Don’t think any further than this “3 day potty training-by Lora Jensen” its litterally a two hour read at most! You goto her page, buy it $2-$5? It’s totally worth it and the absolute best way to potty train! Used it for all 7 kids and our spontaneous triplet boys too! You can do it!!! - Momof7/2005-2014.

With my son we just put him in undies and he will have some accidents but will learn quick that it’s uncomfortable.

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I have done the bottomless methid

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Ok first off you to wait until HE is ready not when you are ready or potty training won’t work and you both will just end up frustrated and stressed out. So watch out for signs like if he pulls the diaper off by himself a lot, if he’s interested in the potty, he says potty, he likes to sit on the potty when you were in there, he doesn’t like it when he has pee or poo in his diaper. Also I would skip the Pull UPS because to they Pull UPS feel like diapers so it may take potty training longer I would just use potty training underwear or regular underwear. To start off put him on the potty every 20-30 min then as time goes on you can space out when you make him sit on the potty.

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Big boy underwear with his favorite character or color. And a TON of patience. It’s going to get messy mom but it’s the fastest way IF he is ready. Good luck!!

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If he is going in the pull ups on purpose then u just shouldn’t bother using them. They are too much like diapers. Go straight to underwear and have a good absorbent pad for his bed.

Cold turkey… straight to underwear… take to the bathroom 20-30 min after meals and limit fluids before bed.

I have 8 boys. I usually see all the signs of them being ready at about 1 1/2, but it’s never been a real good success until my boys are about 3- 3 1/2. Potty training is a lot of work. My last is 3 in April, I feel your pain. Be nice to get it over with though! Good luck.

I used fruit loops in the water to shoot at an he also learned aim an colors

Wait till summer play in the backyard with no diaper on and bring his baby potty outside.

All three of my kids, boy and two girls were potty trained before they were 2 years old. Best thing is to throw out the pull-ups and do straight undies. It will be a mess but he won’t like having a wet butt

I took a weekend to do nothing but potty train. I used regular underwear and I also used the timer on the stove. I set it for every 30 minutes and I put him on the potty. It worked for us.

Have fun and need lot of patience

My son will also be 3 in March! Maybe let him decorate it? Play pretend with him like his stuffed animals use it? That’s how I got my son into it. At first I used candy or something as a reward, bad idea for us haha. I’ve heard of the sticker star chart everytime he uses it he can put a sticker on the chart.
My son doesn’t always use it but when he does I praise him lots of encouragement. I let him round around naked sometimes but say as long as you use the potty, when he’s done being “big boy” he’ll ask for his diaper and I’ll let him know what a good boy he is. Every boy is different

Let him pee in a bucket outside…

I know I got super lucky with my daughter, and I know boys and girls are different, so please dont expect the same results for your son that I got with my first born.
I potty trained my daughter in a weekend when she was 16 months by putting her in regular toddler underwear. She only wore pull ups to bed and we didn’t even have training underwear. The regular underwear is thin and feels different from pull ups or the thick underwear, so she caught on quickly. I sat her on the toilet every 30 minutes and gave her an m&m every time she went pee, and 3 m&ms every time she went poop. We had about 2 accidents a day over the course of 3 days, and then nothing more. Night time training took until she was 21 months, so she wore pullups to bed every night, but it was super easy. I knew she was ready because

  1. She came in the bathroom with me regularly and watched me go.
  2. Asked one day to sit on the potty, and went pee when I sat her up there.

Pull ups will be ur demise… It feels too much like a diaper… So u are defeating the purpose…
I had to remember what goes in… Must come out … like pets… Feed/ water them… wait about 15min put them on the potty… REWARD FOR PRODUCTION… 1 FOR PEE & 2 FOR POO…once my lil one realized “Ms” were involved she always wants in… It takes time and patience, all kids are different… But we had it in about a week.

I say put him in undies, although don’t buy the thick trainer ones otherwise they can’t feel the wetness and won’t give much of an reaction. Say I will give you a skittle if you go on the potty. I would sit him every hour until he gets the idea of the potty. Sometimes it takes awhile but if you really want him to be potty trained it can happen. Currently I have had three daycare kids in undies and they go wonderful on the potty just from practicing and making sure they go

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I just introduced him to the potty and I would let him go whenever he wanted. Then he ran around nude for a couple days and would go without being told. Then I did underwear. There was a slight regression bc he misunderstood the safety of the underwear. I reward when he goes and encourage when he has accidents - never punish it doesn’t work. Also. Don’t push it. If he shows interest then yes but if it’s a huge fuss then wait a bit longer. Mine is not 3 and 1 month old and he’s still half and half but getting there very easily

No pull ups. A sticker on bottom of potty gives him something to aim for. Get waterproof liner for bed. I found that having a potty down stairs or basement is helpful if he’s out playing in the beginning some can’t make it upstairs. I used praise or stickers, high five and let him see dad to it helps.

Use bribery, give him an award for going in potty, my daycare uses skittles or m &m’s, let run naked worked the fastest for us when at home, if has accident put on potty and talk to him about it, regular intervals like right after meals, let him watch dad, if having pooping issues put backward on toilet right after meal( should naturally have to go within 10 minutes after eating) and backwards prevents them from holding it…definitely skip pullups they just give them excuse to still go in pants

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First of all your floor will be peed on. Sucks but it’s going to happen. Hydrogen peroxide gets the smell out of carpet but test a small patch first. Second have him pick out his undies. It’s a big deal let him get the fun character. My son did cars and I told him he couldn’t get McQueen wet so he had to use the potty. Next set a timer start at 15 min. Have him go sit on the potty ever 15 doesn’t matter how long. Also he goes potty give him a small treat a m&m or something. It’s a process we had a potty chair in the bathroom and do to a large house in the kitchen

Get a stool for him to stand on throw a cheerio in the toilet and have him aim. Works like a charm! And when Dad is home have him go with him. But the cheerios is the Best way!

Let him wear regular underwear, when he pees it gets cold. He won’t like it. Take him to pottie every hour at the same time. Worked on both my boys. No drinks after 6 pm

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Dont use pull ups.

Straight into pants then when they r wet he will recognise its wet and uncomfy and he will soon learn not to wet then and to use toilet/potty.

Dont use them for ease on trips out. As soon as u put him in pants. Keep him in them except for bedtime xx

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I found just putting them right in the underwear worked the best, that’s what I did with my son. Only a few accidents they don’t like feeling that wet with underwear on.

My mom used to put dish detergent in the potty and she would tell my son that the dodo needed to make bubbles so when he seen he could make bubbles he wanted to go more often!

M&Ms make great reward for completing the job correctly.

Thow away pull up put on big boy under wear let him go to bath room with daddy

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Have his daddy or Grandpa help