I have a little potty (not an attachment to the regular toilet) for my ds. He is 18 mos old, and I decided to pull it out the past week and let him run around diaperless and try sitting on it, etc. I think he gets the idea of what is supposed to go in the potty already. A few questions...
do you think potty seats that attach to the regular toilet are better for potty training?
is this too early to start training?
any cool potty training tips that have worked for you?
thanks in advance!

By Brit8738 on Wednesday, April 30, 2003 - 01:58 pm:

did you see the doctor phil show on potty training?? i thought it was a great idea. use the little potty like you have and get one of those babies that go potty when you squeeze their tummy.
every couple of hours tell your son to take the baby in and see if it has to go potty. everytime the baby goes potty you throw a little party for the baby getting REALLY excited and then you start asking your son if he wants to try. when he does you throw a party right afterwards with you and keep showing him how excited you are.

By Semperspencer on Wednesday, April 30, 2003 - 02:39 pm:

Thats a great idea! I never saw the show, but I'm gonna have to try that. Where do I find dollies that actually have water come out when they are "pottying"?

By Dana on Wednesday, April 30, 2003 - 02:42 pm:

Well, this falls under the category of "the child will go at his/her own pace."

At this young age, I would not use the attachment ring for the real potty. That is just too dificult for the baby to get onto at this age.

Have the little one where all he has to do is sit. When DD was this young, I kept it in whatever room we happened to be in. Eventurally after she got the knack of it, I moved it into the bathroom all the time.

Some babies learn very very early and others much later than most.

We did a lot of the diaperless days w/ potty near by. We spent many days outside w/out diapers. I also never used pullups. When we really started working on the potty, I used training pants. When she went pee, she couldn't help but feel the wetness and connect the sensation of "needing to go" with the sensation of "going."

DD was not fast or slow on picking up the idea of potty training. But I will say, *I* had nothing to do w/ how long it took for her to learn. One day she was just ready to learn.

Also, we got all excited the first time she went in the potty, and it totally freaked her out. I would warn you against getting too excited over the first time. "Yeah" and some "good boy" is in order, but don't do the yippee dance and "WHOOOOHOOOO, YIPPE-TI-DO-DA" clap hands and dance a jig thing. That's what I did and it back fired. Later someone mentioned that some kids don't know what do with that reaction.

Just like feeding: Offer the opportunities, keep your eye out for signals but let the child lead the way.

By Semperspencer on Wednesday, April 30, 2003 - 03:16 pm:

Thanks Dana, I agree with you on letting the child set his own pace. That's what I am going to do with ds. I'm just going to have the potty available at all times, and sometimes let him go diaperless while talking to him occasionally about the potty and all that.

BTW, with my first DS...I got so excited and went overboard too when he went for the first time, and he bursted out into tears...I'll have to remember that the first time second ds goes!

By Palmbchprincess on Wednesday, April 30, 2003 - 04:53 pm:

Amy,
You can buy the potty dolls at Toys R Us. You didn't tell me you were working with Goose!!! I feel so left out of the loop!!!

By Semperspencer on Wednesday, April 30, 2003 - 05:12 pm:

I JUST pulled the potty out the other day...LOL!
And I'm not really "trying", sorta I guess, just leaving it out for him to explore, sit on, etc..
I leave him diaperless for an hour here and there. I'll keep you posted of course if anything comes of it. I'm assuming it'll be a little while, though...

By Kaseys on Thursday, May 1, 2003 - 01:49 am:

I also agree with letting them go at their own pace. My ds turned 3 in Feb. and still had NO interest in pottying in the potty... ( I thought he would start 1st grade in depends )LOL. But the first week in April he just walked up to dh and said "Daddy, I don't want to wear baby diapers anymore, I want to pee pee in the potty like a big boy) and he hasn't had any accidents since that day.. Most of the time he even wakes up dry in the morning.. I tried to push him, but like everyone told me until he was ready it wouldn't happen.. Good Luck to you..

By Brit8738 on Thursday, May 1, 2003 - 10:50 am:

Another cute idea I heard is to put froot loops in the toilet and have your son try to aim and hit them while going potty. It helps to keep his interest more and make it more of a fun thing.

By Semperspencer on Thursday, May 1, 2003 - 12:57 pm:

LOL at the fruit loop idea.....I will DEFINITELY have to try that!

By Mommyathome on Sunday, May 4, 2003 - 12:43 am:

We started out with the potty on the floor rather than attached to the big potty. It worked out good for us. Also, I've mentioned this video a few times : "Bear In The Big Blue House~Potty Time With Bear". It is really a cute video and my kids just loved it and thought it was the coolest thing to use the potty. My DD was about 18 months when we started her also. Good luck with you DS It definitely is a thing where the child has to be ready and willing!