Potty training tips

Kynthia

sulphate wrote: »

I don't think is a generational thing or even a nappy thing - I'm 29 and I wasn't out of nappies until I was over 3. It wasn't considered hideously late then.

Potty training isn't a competition, in most cases it can't be done until the child is ready, that means when they have enough language to communicate they need to go but also some degree (albeit small) of bladder control.

You wouldn't have been in Terry cloth nappies would you? 29 years ago disposable nappies were available but I don't think there were a few years eariler and many believe cloth teaches children quicker because they actual feel wet after a wee. Can't say for sure though.

DigForVictory

Three things from three lots of potty training that stick with me are (a) this is ideally a summer sport, (b) nice pants with interesting fun cared about characters on help & (c) rampant blackmail/bribery/rewards only works when the *body* is ready.

The first child is always more difficult, your expected one will doubtless be loads easier as you'll have more confidence!

All the very best!

thriftylass

teddysmum wrote: »

Potty training seems much harder in these days of comfortable nappies. My sons, now in their thirties were clean and dry by 18 months and that was considered late, as children had an incentive to be rid of bulky uncomfortable terries.


A real boost (and I notice the same with my toddler grandchildren) was pants with their favourite characters on them. They wouldn't want to wee on Thomas, Bob or the Paw Patrol gang.

I agree. My mum's generation in Germany (1970/80s) had their kids potty trained between 1 and 2. I think bulky cloth nappies played a role but also being able to stay at home on maternity leave till that time (3 yrs in Germany). Nowadays who has 10 days at home with a 1,2 or three year old?

Good luck, just to add another unhelpful saying: none of them will be going to school in nappies, when his body and mind are ready it will happen

onlyroz

thriftylass wrote: »

Good luck, just to add another unhelpful saying: none of them will be going to school in nappies, when his body and mind are ready it will happen

Not sure about this - my 4.5 year-old niece, who has just started reception class, still wears a nappy at night.

dcoke

I suppose i dont have any magical tips as such but i just wanted to say please dont become stressed about it, it WILL happen when the child is ready. My son never "got it" until he was 3.5 yrs old. I had tried about 3/4 time previous to this and it was a total disaster, he just was not aware at all of the urge to go. I was so stressed as he was about to start nursey and had to be potty trained. By this time he was 3.5 it was great because he was tall enough to stand and pee. He only used the potty for number 2s. We had a few accidents with the number 2's, but this stopped after a week or so. i recommend buying lots of cheap pants as u may go through a lot (the character ones didnt make a difference and had to be thrown away as they were ruined) i also stopped putting pull ups on him at night as he was dry every morning, i think he has had about 2 accidents at night. I really wish i hadnt of got myself so stressed about it, as when he was ready it really was an easy transition for him. i know 3.5 is probably really late. but if i had another child i really wouldnt worry about it taking so long again.

thriftylass

onlyroz wrote: »

Not sure about this - my 4.5 year-old niece, who has just started reception class, still wears a nappy at night.

I think night time bed wetting is a wee bit different. Or I always saw it that way. 1 in 12 kids under 5 do it and the NHS doesn't consider it a problem also as it's caused by different things to someone wetting themselves during the day. I guess your niece is fine during the day? A colleague's son just slept too deeply till he was 7 and wouldn't wake up when his body told him to. Whereas mine never get up during the night anyway. All in the normal range.

Mrshaworth2b

I potty trained my eldest at the beginning of the year, I wrote a thread on here last year asking for tips because I wanted to potty train before my youngest arrived.

I tried 3 times and had no success, the difference in 3 months between the last attempt was that my son was telling me he was doing a wee and he actually wanted to do it.

We started on the Saturday and because he doesn't like getting his clothes wet I let him wear undies and pants and he wet them pretty quick and every other undie I had bought (it was like a game of how many times he could wee on a avenger) then when I said on the last pair "if you wet these youll have to stay in them because I have none left" he didn't do it again. And we only had one accident after that a couple of days later. So I am definitely in the camp of, they will do it when they are ready not when you are.

I think the toilet can be scary, my son only started using it after a few weeks of the potty at nursery and he wanted to be like the other boys and girls. But again that was in his own time.

Try again in a couple of weeks if it's not happening, but also I repeat what other's have said, don't get stressed, it'll happen

CathA

We've just trained our grandson who's nearly 3. My daughter was home through the school holidays so it was an ideal time to do it. She had a long chat with him about it previously, bought him special big boys pants and then from day one said no more nappies (unless it was night time).

The first few days/weeks were very hit and miss, sometimes he'd sit on the potty, sometimes he wouldn't. We had a success early on with the weeing, but the pooing was a bit of an issue. He went out every time in pants, as pull ups confuse children as they feel like nappies, IYSWIM.

In the end, we went for a reward system that suited him-if he pooed on the potty he got to watch one of his special films. If he pooed here in the right place, he got an ice-cream to eat as well whilst watching his favourite film!! I used to have wee races with him; when we went out he has to have a wee before we go, so he sat on the potty and I sat on the downstairs loo. First one to wee gets a chocolate button-result! A few times he just wouldn't sit on the potty so I went for a wee and I got the chocolate button. He didn't like it that I was eating his buttons but after 2 times of me eating his buttons he soon got the hang of it.

He's amazing now, got himself clean and dry at night on his own, has better bladder control than me now! You just have to persevere. They get it in the end.

GwylimT

onlyroz wrote: »

Not sure about this - my 4.5 year-old niece, who has just started reception class, still wears a nappy at night.

So you've confirmed she doesn't go to school in nappies.

Night time dryness is purely based on when your body starts producing ADH, typically this is from 18 months to 8 years.

REEN

My boys found Grandma's big, loud, Victorian loo scary. Maybe let your child leave the bathroom before flushing if they have been frightened by one of these?