What's the best way to start potty training a boy whose 17 months?
Answers:
every single boy in my family was potty trained by watching the father use the potty.
Worked in like 3 days.
Other Answers:
if he doesn't show the signs that he's ready for potty training you forcing him will only make everything frustrating for both of you with very little results. may be it's wiser to wait a little bit longer?
you just need to go for it, i dont think there is a best way , i just decided right no more nappys and went for it, you most def will have accidents the first few days, but your little boy will soon learn to make the association between needing the toilet and going to the potty. goodluck and just try.
this is one thing in your childs life you have to be very patient for. the dad thing does work but it will come. good luck
take the dyper away and every time he goes in the pottey give him alot of praise!! only use the dyper at night dont fore him encourage him that helped with my brother he was a terror when he was being trained
If he's not showing interest in the potty and clearly is uncomfortable, then it's probably too soon. Traumatizing him by making him sit on the potty is just going to make matters worse. You need to encourage him to tell you when his diaper's wet and then get him to let you know when he has to go potty. This probably won't happen until he's closer to 2.
Just have a potty there, make sure he knows it's his and what it's for. Reward him for using it.
It really sounds like he's not ready, he will let you know when he is ready. Let his dad show him how to go potty that may work
Get the book "Toilet Training in Less Than a Day" by Nathan Azrin.
The first thing to do is determine if HE is ready. I know you want him trained, but if he is not ready emtionally and physically, it will only lead to setbacks and irregularity.
I have 3 kids and I used it and it really really works!!!
Source(s):
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0671693808/qid=1143658489/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/103-7981014-8074243?s=books&v=glance&n=283155
Sounds like he is too young and not ready.
OH, I'm sorry to tell you that you are in the long run with this one, boys take sooooo long, mine did not get potty trained until he was 3 yrs old, and it wasn't because we didn't try everything that there is, books, videos, singing potties, feel n' learn diapers, the doll method by Dr. Phill, bribes and even spankings, and one day, after we gave up, he just did it, and now over 4 yrs old he even wakes up in the middle of the night to go, and puts down the seat flushes turns off the lights and closes the door, patience because he won;t go until he is ready, but try all what we try and see how it goes. Go to americanbaby.com and do some research there.
The previous answerer is exactly right. Observation is the BEST way... they will WANT to be a Big Boy just like Dad.
ALso, you do NOT want to make this into a battle. A battle of wills between you will only make the situation worse, and you can only lose it. Because all he has to do is simply go in his pants and there it is, you lost.
My sons are Autstic, and even though your son is not, we had a much longer time of diaper-use. My youngest became potty trained at about 8 years old, and my oldest at 11 still uses them at night and occassionally during the day.
What we did is simply NOT make it a battle. We provided incentives for using the potty. We gave a treat when they did their business. Your son will discover he hates the feel of soiled pants and that will be part of why he will become potty trained.
Everytime his father has to go to the bathroom, or when you want your son to go to the bathroom (say before you leave the house on errands), have the two of them adjourn to the bathroom to do their business. Praise your son strongly when he DOES go, make it an event.
Do not criticise accidents. "You will do better next time." That sort of thing.
I HAVE 4 KIDS.WHEN IT COMES DOWN TO POTTY TRAINING HONESTLY ALL I DID WAS PUT THEM ON THE POTTY AS SOON AS THEY WOKE UP,AFTER EVERY MEAL,AFTER DRINKING ANYTHING EVEN IF IT WASN'T MUCH.ALSO EVERYTIME AFTER I WENT I MADE THEM GO.IT WORKED OUT GREAT.
Most boys aren't ready to be fully potty trained until they're around 3 years old. That doesn't mean you can't start introducing him to the potty. Talk about it, read books about it, go to the library and check out some videos. The most important thing to realize is that it won't happen until he's ready, no matter how ready you might be. The biggest first-step is knowing that he realizes he needs to go BEFORE it happens - ie. going into a corner or hiding to make poopie. Before this, any efforts you make will be in vain.
I waited until my son was 2 1/2 and had had some successes in getting to the potty first. Then I switched from diapers to pull-ups. Any time he had an accident in his pull-up I wouldn't get upset at all, just tell him that he needed to take off the wet one, throw it away, put a clean one on and get his pants back on. All that work and mommy not doing everything for him was certainly a shock at first, but about 2 weeks into it he told me that the pull ups were too much work and he wanted underwear instead. He's 5 now and has had 2 accidents since.
Source(s):
Stay-at-home-mom for 4 1/2 years
17 months is just too early to potty train a boy! It's not worth the frustration. What's the hurry? If I were you I'd wait until he's at LEAST 2 1/2 or 3. Then it should be a cinch! P.S. Always carry an empty water bottle in the car for those emergencies. It beats having to stop driving to find a restroom . . . boys are so easy.
He's not ready! Boys typically become ready around 2 1/2 to 3 years old. It's a developmental thing, be patient or you will traumatize him. Potty training when the child is ready is usually fun for them. If he's crying, he's not ready.
Also, their developement comes in stages, usually they learn to control their bowels first, then their bladder later. Overnight control (while sleeping) comes last.
Cloth diapers help when the time is right, because they can "feel" the wet diaper, helps them learn cause & effect.
I own a diaper service, so I've heard from thousands of potty training parents, and truly, boys usually aren't there until AT LEAST 2 years old, but usually closer to 3.
Hang in there, mom!
Source(s):
Lots of personal experience, motherhood, diaper service owner.
Why do you want to potty train so young??
You didn't say why.
Most people don't even try until they are at least 2.
If you force it, they will get the terrible 2's and not want to do it.
Have you tried putting Cheerios in the toilet? It worked for my son and he has been potty trained since he was 18 months.
The best way to get kids (boys and girls) out of diapers at an early age is to introduce the potty at BIRTH, before they are diaper-trained. Your son was trained since birth to use a diaper, and so he has no clue why in the world he should sit and pee on a potty. He also is not used to using his pee/poo muscles (as he pees whenever since he is wearing a diaper), so they are probably not very well developed.
My son is also 17 months old, and he stays dry during the day fairly reliably because he's been using the potty since he was very small (and I did the same thing with my daughter, she was day/night continent at 16 mos old, and only had rare accidents after 23 mos old).
That said, this is why people want you to wait until they show the readiness signs. You're asking a lot for a kid who does not know what you want, and why you want it, and why he should change his ingrained ways of peeing in a diaper.
At 17 mos old, they do not respond to bribes with big boy underwear and sticker charts. You might be able to get some interest going by watching Daddy, since they do like to mimic adults. If you can get him interested (which, honestly, is the big key), take him regularly during the day to the potty. (upon waking from night/naps, after eating, after you arrive somewhere (I keep a potty in the car), and otherwise about every hour or so.
Also, once he gets interested and starts using the potty more, then if you want to keep his interest, you should accept accidents as a way of life, and take the diapers away. If you don't do that he will lose interest and you'll end up potty training at 3 instead of 2. When he pees his pants, just say "uh oh! you're all wet, you went pee pee in your pants! Let's go to the potty!!" If he is agreeable to sitting, then pull his wet pants off and put the dry ones on. It reinforces the potty as the place to go, even if they're already wet.
Don't have him sit on the potty for too long. 1-2 mins is sufficient. If he WANTS to sit longer, that is fine, but don't encourage long potty sitting.
Honestly, if it were me, I'd probably get frustrated with starting at that age. I find starting as babies to be sooooo easy because my son reflexively pees when he sits on the potty and can tell me beforehand when he has to go. If I missed the baby window, I'd probably wait until at least 2 before starting, and hitting all the "toilet training readiness" milestones.
I just wanted to pipe in that I'm thinking Diana Gregory has a great answer, and it's marvelous that she could communicate so effectively with her babies!!!
I agree with some of the earlier answers. He's too young to be potty trained. My son was almost 3 before he was ready. Boys just seem to take longer. Just be patient, when the time is right, you'll both know.
If he's staying dry all night and for long periods throughout the day, you're halfway there. It sounds like he's not quite ready yet. When he's closer to 2 he'll be more pliable. Then start by putting him on the potty chair when he first wakes up. Then set a timer for 15 min. When it goes off, put him on again for about 5 min. Gradually increase timer by 5-10 minutes until he goes dry you're up to an hour. Then remind him every hour until he gets it himself. While you're out shopping and running errands make a pitstop. After about a week of mostly dry time take him to buy his favorite character underwear and remind him to keep them dry. At night time, only a few sips of water within last hour before bed and on the potty before bed.
How will we know when our child is ready for toilet training?
The main signs a child is ready for toilet training are:
• She can wait several hours before urinating, and, when she pees, she empties her bladder instead of urinating only a small amount at a time, which is typical of younger children.
• She knows the words that your family uses in connection with toileting, such as "pee" and "poop."
• She can get on and off of the toilet or the potty chair by herself and can raise and lower her pants unassisted.
• She generally understands and goes along with your verbal instructions. If your child typically won't follow most of your instructions, you should work on that for now and wait to start toilet training.
For BabyCenter's readiness checklist, click here.
If you're afraid your child will still be in diapers by the time he or she gets married, you'll take comfort in these suggestions from BabyCenter parents, who've found creative and original ways to make potty training easier — and more fun.
Try a tune
We used the Once Upon a Potty video for our daughter. We sang the tune from the video all the time, especially when she went to the potty. She loved it. — Dianne, California
Sing their praises
We made up a little song that we sang every time our daughter sat on the potty. She loved it. When she finished, we would sing a different song identifying what she had done and telling her how proud we were of her. We also included several rounds of applause. It wasn't too long before she used the potty every time! — Christie, North Carolina
Read together
Lucy and I went to the bookstore and she picked out five books she really liked. We called these the potty books, and she could read them only when she sat on the potty. — Amy, Michigan
Use a special potty
My second child caught on in two weeks. Her potty had a square in the bowl, which turned into a star every time fluid hit it. That was her big challenge, to make a star, and it became a game for her. — Angela, California
We found a wonderful training aid called Tinkletoonz. It plays happy music when hit with number one or number two. We had a lot of difficulty for several months, but this method worked like a dream. It is available at www.tinkletoonz.com. — Marion
Try a timer
My biggest help was to be consistent. We used a timer to help us both remember to go potty. We started with every 20 minutes, and as I could see he was needing to go less, gradually increased the time. Eventually, he would tell me he needed to go before the timer went off, or say he didn't need to when it did. Then we'd set the timer for five or 10 more minutes and try again. — Amy, Utah
Set up target practice
We put a flushable item, such as Cheerios or Fruit Loops, in the toilet. (You can also use shaving cream or colored ice cubes.) The game for our son was to aim and shoot. Rewards were based on accuracy and number of downed Cheerios (Fruit Loops added the extra challenge of shooting a particular color). It was fun and challenging, and did wonders for his accuracy! With BMs, we told him the game was to send in the backup troops (no pun intended) to finish the job with torpedoes. I doubt this would work with girls, but Alex took less than a week to be fully day-trained. — Roxann, Massachusetts
The colored water trick
We dyed the toilet water with red or blue food coloring; it changes to orange or green and they love knowing that they did this. — Amy, Texas
Make them feel proud
With my daughter, I tried to focus on verbal praise: "What a big girl thing to do!" "You must be so proud of yourself." "Do you want to call Grandma to tell her?" "Give me a high five!" — Kirsten, Washington
With our son, the best and most motivational reward was calling in the dog to look at what he'd done in the potty! — Sharon, Missouri
Use treats and surprises
Our daughter wasn't very consistent with toilet training until we introduced the surprise bag. We got a bunch of inexpensive toys and stickers and put them in a colorful gift bag. Every time she used the toilet, we would clap and tell her what a great job she did and let her pick one surprise out of the bag. We kept it up for about a week and a half, and when the surprises ran out she just kept on using the potty. We continued to praise her and she quickly forgot the surprise bag. I can honestly say that toilet training was painless and quick with this method, and I plan to use it again with my next child. — Jamie, Washington D.C.
Whenever I hit a fast food drive-through, I would get a kids' meal even if the kids weren't with me, then I collected all the toys in a dark pillowcase (so it wouldn't be see-through). When it came time to toilet train my 3-year-old son (an idea he was extremely resistant to), I would let him take one item from the pillowcase every time he went poop on the potty. This worked so quickly that within three weeks he was completely trained. Needless to say, this concept is not working for my daughter who just turned 3. Why not? I don't get it. — Merita, Pennsylvania
We kept a container of our daughter Morgan's favorite treat (M&Ms) on her dresser. If she successfully used the potty, she would receive three M&Ms (we'd let her pick the colors as well). Within a month she was using the potty regularly, with few accidents, and by age 2 1/2 she was trained. — Lisa, Pennsylvania
My 28-month-old really loved my nail polish. I found some at the grocery store that would come right off when she washed her hands, so I let my toddler paint her fingernails every time she peed in the potty. I told her that when she pooed she could have some of Mommy's polish, which wouldn't wash off, on one finger. Ten days later, she was completely potty trained. — Lisa, California
Celebrate with stickers
To encourage our son Alexander to use the potty, we put a drawing of a racetrack on the wall (an approach suggested by his preschool). Every time he used the potty he got to place a sticker on the racetrack. When the racetrack was filled with stickers, he got to pick a toy at the store as a reward. — Cheryl, Massachusetts
Put your child in charge
When my 18-month-old started going into the bathroom and closing the door, I knew she was about ready to toilet train. I would let her go in and use her potty, dump it into the big toilet, and put it up in the sink for me to rinse out. — Katherine, North Carolina
Make flushing fun
I began potty training my first child at about 20 months and am now in the process of training our second. One easy and excellent incentive is letting them flush the potty if they go. You need to establish a rule that this is the only time they get to flush. This is a simple and easy reward, and develops a needed habit. — Deanna, Iowa
Sitting solution
We put our son Nick on the big potty backwards. The potty-chair was too hard for him to use (without the little guard, he would pee on the floor, and with it, he had trouble sitting down because his legs were so chubby). My mother came up with the idea of putting him backwards. That way he automatically aimed in the right place, and he had the back of the toilet to hold on to. If he had to go poopy he just scooted his bottom up a little more toward the tank. He thought it was so funny he wanted to do it all the time. It took about a month, and he never had an accident after that. — Melissa, New York
Throw out the diapers
As a preschool teacher and mom, one of the best toilet training tips I can offer is to resist the temptation of using disposable "underwear," such as Pull-Ups, all the time. The children don't get uncomfortable when they are wet, and I've noticed that it severely prolongs potty training. Of course every child is different, but this is definitely a trend I've noticed while working with a gaggle of 20 2 1/2-year-olds! — Jenny, Kansas
I put painter's plastic down on the carpets, then took off my 16-month-old's diaper. There were a number of accidents, but the cleanups were quick and easy because of the plastic. She soon caught on and was happy not to be in uncomfortable diapers! — Carmen, Texas
I had my son pick out underwear with his favorite character, Thomas the Tank Engine, on them. Then I told him not to get Thomas wet. It worked immediately! — Mania, Michigan
My son was fully toilet trained at 3, except he wouldn't go poo in the toilet. I tried everything, and asked everyone. Finally one day we were shopping and he asked for boxers. I told him that if we got these he would have to use the toilet or it would get all over the place. That seemed to be the magic thing because ever since then he has had no more accidents. — Maile, California
I let my daughter wear undies every day until naptime, but I put plastic pants over them to prevent messes. In the beginning she wet several times a day and didn't like the feeling. I also gave her a nickel for her piggy every time she sat on the potty. She was trained by 20 months. — Rose, Pennsylvania
My daughter tortured me for months, using the potty successfully one day, then demanding diapers the next. Finally I told her that the pack of diapers we had just bought was the last, and I wasn't buying any more. We then picked out training pants. When we got down to the last few diapers, I again emphasized that they were the last and when they were gone there wouldn't be any more. We then went to training pants and to Drypers "sleeping undies" at night. She had a few accidents the first week and has been trained ever since! — Margaret, Massachusetts
Dress her in dresses
A little trick with girls: I put my girl in dresses for about three weeks while we were training. It was easier for her to get ready for the potty and allowed for quick decisions when she was in the middle of playing. — Lisa, Colorado
Give up to get results
Our daughter was 2 1/2 when we finally got her trained. We tried everything in the book. She wanted to wear underwear but not go to the potty. Finally we said, "Go ahead and do what you want." Two days later, she started using the potty on her own, with no encouragement from us! — Tasha, Indiana
Source(s):
http://www.babycenter.com/refcap/toddler/toilettraining/12599.html
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