I asked my cousin how she potty trained her boy and she said, "Well, all he did was take one look at how daddy did it and that was it!"

Aaaahhhh...where's the hubby when you need him? LOL

Do you have him sit or stand to pee? How do I know he's ready? He says "pee pee" and "poo" but he's the type of kid that never likes a change in routine of any sort. I want him to feel like he wants to do it. He does get all excited when I go potty.

Good books? Any ideas on how to approach all of it? My neighbor swears by putting her kids in underwear and going cold turkey.

I also have 2 levels that we are on a lot. Should I get a potty for both levels?

By Andi on Sunday, July 9, 2006 - 05:15 pm:

Well with Dylan we had him stand and sit. When he was first learning I think he sat most of the time unless we went out somewhere then I had him try standing.
For the longest time he sat backwards on the toilet (facing the wall) because that was more comfortable for him and I think he felt more secure. I taught him to push his Penis down a little when he would sit so it wouldn't shoot out everywhere.
I agree with the underwear and going cold turkey. We started Taylor this morning and even went to the gardening store with no accidents. She had two accidents while we were home and now she is napping. I put the diaper back on her while she is napping. When she wakes up I will put her panties back on her.
I have one of the potty inserts for the kids bathroom. Taylor sits on that when she "tries" to go pee. I have the Fisher Price Royal Potty in the family room so she can try every 20 - 30 minutes without having to go up or downstairs to the bathroom. When people asked me what to get Tay for her Birthday I told them Panties. She got about 6 packs so we are set and ready for potty training.
Sorry if this is all over the place, I am doing about 5 things at once and wanted to post on this before I forget.

By Reds9298 on Sunday, July 9, 2006 - 08:40 pm:

Don't have a boy but with my oldest nephew we did the same thing as Andi. He sat down first, and "pushed it down", then moved into standing up when he went. I know it worked really well with him. (I was around him a lot at that time, he was my first nephew and my pride and joy!)
Good luck!!

By Kaye on Monday, July 10, 2006 - 12:13 am:

One more word of advice, Andy pretty much head it on the nail. But with girls you will hear alot of people say let them go au natural and they learn quicker. This is NOT true for boys, no undies means no drips and easy access...LOL. Undies catch it and help them realize they missed!

On a funny note, when I was in college my parents neighbors taught their child to go outside on a tree. He thought it was the coolest thing, he was trained in a day. However football season came (daddy was the coach) and he ran out there during the game..LOL

By Crystal915 on Monday, July 10, 2006 - 12:19 pm:

We taught Shane to stand on the stool in front of the potty, and put his hands on the back of the toilet. This meant his penis was aimed directly into the bowl already. We tried teaching hihm sitting down, but he wouldn't do it, so we gave standing a shot, and it worked like a charm.

By Reds9298 on Monday, July 10, 2006 - 01:08 pm:

My sister has 2 boys and she swears by the "run around naked for 2 weeks" method. Swears by it. At least it worked well for her boys, but probably not everyone. I'm not sure what she did about sitting up/standing though.

By Reds9298 on Monday, July 10, 2006 - 01:09 pm:

Natalie peed on herself once by accident before a bath and that was her big cue. She HATED it, but I'm not sure if it's different for a boy?? Maybe you could let that happen and see what his reaction is?

By Mrsheidi on Monday, July 10, 2006 - 11:46 pm:

Thanks so much you guys...how do I know he's ready?

By Tonya on Tuesday, July 11, 2006 - 09:53 am:

Timmy would not train for nothing so my dad taught him in one day by seeing who could pee in the back yard the farthest. He stayed over their house for 2 days and everytime he had to go Timmy and Paw would run into the back yard and go. After that it was no problem.

By Breann on Tuesday, July 11, 2006 - 11:49 am:

My little boy is 4.5 and still sits down to pee at home. He trained when he was 2. When we are in public restrooms, he stands up. He does pretty goodo standing up, and once in awhile he'll stand up at home. But, I haven't pushed that because I don't want to clean up his misses He still has another year before kindergarten. So, before kindergarten we'll have him move on to standing up to pee.

By Reds9298 on Tuesday, July 11, 2006 - 01:00 pm:

I think the "ready" signs include 1-2 hr dry diapers, dryness at nap or bedtime, knowing terms (when he's wet/dry), telling you....that's all I can think of right now.

Natalie was having 2 hr dry diapers at least 3-4 x/week, and a dry nap every once in a while. She also knew the WHOLE procedure because we had practiced it for a few months.

By Tayjar on Tuesday, July 11, 2006 - 03:44 pm:

Don't be disappointed if he isn't really ready until he's closer to 3. My DS didn't want anything to do with it until he was almost 3. We tried when he was 2 and it was too much of a battle. We backed off and when he was really ready, it was a breeze.

By Momofmax on Tuesday, July 11, 2006 - 04:37 pm:

My ds was about three weeks from turning three when he decided he was ready. We had been practicing for about six months but he had no interest. All of a sudden he decided he didn't want to be the only little kid in a diaper (he was the youngest cousin) so he told me he wanted to wear the big boy underwear I had been using to entice him.

By Tripletmom on Tuesday, July 11, 2006 - 07:06 pm:

My SIL started my nephew at 2yrs3mths.When he just had to pee she put a few cheerios in the toilet and had him aim for them,he loved doing it and it made it easier for her to get down the peeing part.