Potty training a boy

Have you tried doing some on-the-potty activities that might calm him down? Sometimes reading a book or even coloring while on the potty will help get a child used to it. At first, it’s more about being ok with the potty and comfortable with sitting on it vs. actually having success with using it.

When a child is refusing to sit on the potty, especially a very young child, sometimes it’s best to take a few weeks off and then start over. He might just need a break. And sometimes, a break can help end that pattern of him refusing the potty. He’ll forget how much he doesn’t like it and you can get a fresh start.

As the mom of a 1.5 year old boy, I am getting excited about this topic. 🙂 I don’t yet have any experience potty training, but I’ve been watching other parents going through this. Recently I read an interesting e-Book that is available at http://www.3daypottytraining.com/. This isn’t necessarily an endorsement for this particular "boot camp" style approach, but I’ve heard good things about it!

I think before you start training, it’s good to have the potty out for a while in an area where he sees it often. I think this helps get kids comfortable. I have 2 pottys, one upstairs and one downstairs and they aren’t in the bathrooms; they’re in the rooms where my son plays most often. One has a cover and for a while before he started using the potty, he sat on it to put his shoes on. I think sitting on the potty like this has helped a lot in taking the "scary" factor away.

I never pressured my son to sit on the potty. One long 3-day weekend when I knew we’d be around, I just asked him if he wanted to try the potty. I took off his diaper and let him play naked (without bottoms) that day. Each time he knew he had to pee, he went straight to the potty, which was in the room where he was playing. He pretty much trained overnight.

Instead of pull-ups, we use cotton training pants, which I would swear by.

My son is now 3 yrs. old and is fully trained, even at night. He’s had a lot of success.