Potty Training a Boy - Part 1 of 3

I will share my potty training experience in three blogs. This is the first. My son turned 2 in September and I quickly brought out the potty chair so that he could connect with it. LOL. He thought it was a toy. He wanted to carry it around and play with it. We put the potty chair away and planned on potty training him after our trip in a few weeks. When we got back from our trip I waited a couple of weeks for him to acclimate to our new home and being back from our trip. I read lots of books and read up on potty training online. Really how difficult could it be? Charlie gave up his bottle without trouble. His pacifier was gone right before his second birthday. Well I really thought potty training would be a breeze. Our first attempt included pull-ups. I really thought he would understand the transition from a diaper to a pull-up. Well he didn’t. I quickly understood that he wasn’t ready to potty train. He wasn’t interested at all. He just wanted to play with the seat. He cried when I explained that he wasn’t supposed to go potty in his new pull-up. I didn’t want to traumatize him so we put the potty seat away.

When you decide to potty train your child make sure that you can dedicate at least 2 full days to potty training. You CANNOT leave the house with your child. If you decide to leave your child with someone make sure you are both using the same potty training methods. I set a timer to beep every 15 minutes. Each child is different so you may need to adjust the time for a longer or shorter amount of time. Be ready to order take out or have a freezer meal ready for dinner. You have to stay around the potty seat or chair. Have a lot of clean underwear ready because there will be accidents. Make sure not to yell at your child. This is all new to him/her. You don’t want to scare them. Reward them for going potty. We used chocolate chips and fruit snacks. I bought a bag of chocolate chips and would give him like 4 chips every time he went potty. I divided the fruit snacks too. Make the experience exciting. Dance and clap but don’t get out of control. Potty training requires a very controlled atmosphere. Be prepared that your child may not be ready to go number 2 in the potty. This may take a little more time. On day 2 remember your timer but give your child an opportunity to go on his/her own. You will catch on when your child no longer needs the timer.

I really hope this helps. Please remember each child is a unique individual and they may learn at a different pace. What worked for us may not work with your child. It’s not a race to potty train your child. Patience and persistence are the keys to potty training. Please submit any questions you have and I will attempt to answer them all.