Toilet training advice please

[midivydale]

Sorry, I feel like I am asking things every week now. It is just that I did not plan to do potty training for a while yet so havent got a clue what I am doing.

Out of nowhere my son who will be two in March has started to insist to "wee wee toilet". I was pretty shocked by this but took him to the toilet and we were both proud beyond belief when he did his thing.

A couple of hours later same little voice goes "mummy toilet now". Same thing happend he did his thing to lots of praise from us.

So where do I go from here? Should I build on his current fascination and just go for it? Or follow my plan and wait? He is starting nursery soon, have just stoped his dummy etc and I didnt want him to have too many major changes for him at once. There truly is no rush at all for me to get him potty trained. But sine he is clearly really enjoying this, feel really proud and pleased with himself would it be wrong to delay it.

Does anyone have any potty training advice? I am clueless

[EmilyPie]

I'd go for it. You can always stop and try again later if it is a disaster. I potty trained my son at 2 1/3 because he had seen his cousin do it and was really keen. I was a bit reluctant to be honest as had just had no 2 but in the end just went with it and it was really smooth. I explained what we were doing and that he wasn't going to be wearing nappies any more as he was a big boy so he had to tell me when he needed a wee or poo etc. We went together to choose him some big boy pants. They have a little car on the front so he knows which way round to put them on -easier than plain. We did a sticker chart which he enjoyed, although we forgot about it quite quickly. Also at first I still put a nappy on him when we went out, which made it less stressful for me. Also for the first couple of days I just let him run around with a bare bum as I found he was more likely to forget if he was wearing pants. Good luck! And if it is a nightmare don't be afraid to give up and come back to it later.

[Beagle]

I would go with it. Be child led. If he is expressing an interest that is preferable to later trying to interest a reluctant potty trainee in my book.

Our daughter was 2.8, at least, when we began in earnest. She had a new sibling so likewise I was reluctant to introduce a new thing on top of big changes, but due to positive peer pressure at child minders she asked to wear knickers so we went with it. Some may consider that old, I figured we'd sort it out before she started school so wasn't going to sweat it.

He may change his mind, he may not, but if he sticks with it that saves a fortune in nappies. If he changes his mind you still have a foundation to build on in the future. I would be really proud of him for trying at this age.

[srisky]

Go for it! It sounds like he is making light work of it :) and there's no shame in stopping for a while if it is not going well.

[etta166]

Yes, go for it. My daughter was similarly keen, and out of nappies very quickly. However I did have a long phase of having to be on high alert as she couldn't hold it when there was no toilet nearby. And you can get training pants so accidents don't necessitate a full change.

[Mens]

Definitely go for it. You might regret it later if you miss this window. They do learn to hold it after a few months but in the meantime there are travel potties that are quite useful.

[Grotty]

Like people have said above - definitely go for it, especially as it wasn't a one off and he actually did a wee in the toilet both times. Little kids can show interest in toilets having seen adults/older kids do it, but it can take a while to make the connection between brain and bladder to wee in it too. He's already crossed a major hurdle. You now need to decide which way to do it, which will probably be more based on circumstance than anything:

1) cold turkey - take daytime nappies off and never look back, literally don't put a nappy on again unless they are going to nap/sleep - plan to have a few days/a week at home and then slowly venture out with travel potty's etc after that with lots of changes of clothes - we did this with no.1 and first couple of days had her on the potty/toilet once or twice and hour, then slowly through the week spaced this out. By the end of the week I could tell when she was needing to go so we would rush to the toilet, then about another 2-3 weeks for her to confidently be able to tell me most of the time when she needed to go.

2) The way most nurseries do it - keep nappies on, but do the same as above --> take them to the potty/toilet often initially and then space it out, and then once they are showing signs of needing the toilet/knowing when they want to go, the nappies can come off.

3) a mix of both, which is useful if you can't have a week off work when potty training begins (which is what we are doing now with no.2) - have nappies off at home when you're there, but at nursery they will do the keep the nappy on but regular toilet trips thing, until the time is right to get them off permananetly.

It can be a gruelling process initially but always a relief when you come out the other side.

We used lots of praise/chocolate buttons as rewards and the first couple of days with the cold turkey style, we employed the services of Pingu (whilst she sat on the potty!).

Good luck xxxx

[Grotty]

p.s. with no.1 we did cold turkey style when she first showed signs of being interested in the toilet, but after 3 days, there was still obviously no connection about what was needed and we were heading towards battles so we stopped, put nappies on and didn't talk about toilets again for a while. We tried again in exactly the same way 2 months later and it was a completely different process. So there is no harm in trying and having to give up for now if necessary. Just keep the process stress-free

[Cheryl_M]

So glad I came across this thread full of invaluable advice! My 2 year old daughter is fascinated with the loo also at the moment and always tells me when she's done a wee or poo, so I'm gonna be on lockdown at home this week in the hope that we can do it all with minimal stress. Its also good to know that I shouldn't panic if it doesn't work and go back to it in a couple of months!

[Terresa]

As he wants it, I would give it a go. If after a couple of weeks you realise he wasn?t ready after all, you can still give it more time and leave it for a while.

[Natalie Doula]

Hi Midivydale,

It sounds like your little man is telling you he is ready or at least ready to start leaving nappies behind. Keep on praising him and go for it! if he has a few accidents (and he will:) that's OK it is all part of him learning and as others have said if it doesn't work out right now you can always leave it and try again in a few weeks/months

good luck

x

[esme]

Just go with it, our son took a while to fully potty train when 2.5 but not stressing about it meant it happened without us really noticing :)