Potty training. Clueless.

The time has come. And my window of opportunity is not huge.  I have about 3 months left of warm weather.  It is either now, or next year. I would really, really like to be done this year.

 It is time for potty training.  And I have no idea where, what or how to do this.  I need your assvice / experience / hints / tips etc.

 I think my kids might be ready. They are starting to recognize the feeling when they are about to pee or poo.  They tell me and 0,5 seconds later they do it. Way too quick for me to run and get the potty.  They are also starting to complain if they have made a poo in the nappy. They will tell me “stinky poopy, nappy off”. Good signs. (They are fascinated by their poops. The other sibling gets hailed immediately to come and look and we have to have a big show and tell at the results.  Disposal of the poop is a serious and ceremonial affair).  Bad signs are that in spite of me telling them to WAIT FOR TWO SECONDS MOMMY IS GETTING THE POTTY they will pee immediately on the floor / carpet / parents’ expensive Persian carpet. Today Kate poo’ed on my parents’ newly-laid wooden pool deck.  Great. Adam pee’d twice on the floor. I am sure they can’t wait to have us over again. 

 The timing is right. We have the good weather, we have the equipment: 

We have had several training sessions, role playing and even some practical ‘look and learn’ demos done by the mother. 

 

 

And still, we have no clue how this whole thing works.

Help! I am tired of nappies!

(The problem is they sit for two seconds and then want to get off. I can't get them to sit long enough for anything to happen)

 

Comments

[Melanie]

I bought very cool undies with Dora on them, my daughter still peed in them, but got very upset when she got Dora all yucky and had to take them off. I also became queen of the potty treats! (We don't even have fruit snacks in our house, and I had the bathroom filled with candy!) One M&M for sitting and trying, 2 for pee and 3 for poo. We also did stickers, which helped once my daughter "got it", and figured out she could fill up a sticker chart, (and her shirt) with stickers if she kept using the potty. Honestly however, what worked the best was watching her like a hawk, and the SECOND she seemed like she need to poop, she was whisked off to the potty to get treats and read books. I am not kidding, if I took my eyes off her for a sec, that's when she would have an accident. I'm sure it will be easier with 2. ;) Good luck!

[Laura(southernxy)]

Can't help you much - my daughter was mostly potty-trained by her wonderful daycare teacher. But I understand that the treat thing works pretty well. And you may find that you have to put some auxiliary potties around in the living room and places where the kids hang out so they can get on them pretty quick.

Well, I know one thing the daycare did: they had me dress the kid in terrycloth panties with plastic pants over them. These were easy for her to push down, but unlike Pullups (which we didn't have yet anyway), they were uncomfortable when wet, which motivated her to go to the potty when she needed to.

[Aurelia]

Children control this part. We can try all we want, but really, it's their bodies and their bladders.

We bought potties for every floor of the house, multiples so I never had to chase after them. And cartoon character underwear. And a mop. And left it up to them...and one weekend, they did it, and never went back. But it was when they decided to, not when I attempted it.

And as for demonstrations, Marko may have to chip in here for Adam's sake. There are some things Moms CAN'T do, LOL.

[sharla]

My daughter is just now potty trained (for the most part) and here's what helped for her. Treats (chocolate), videos about going on the potty (she loves Elmo so we got the Elmo video), watching other kids go on the potty, we never used pull ups - my pediatrician actually told us not to.

Alot of patience...it sounds like they are ready. They'll get it!

[anon]

read a book with them on the throne. it worked for our kind and we've started him on his life long habit of reading in the wc.

[heatherg]

Firstly, good luck. Secondly, two is pretty young for a boy but sincerely hope it goes well. My son was good for poos (I plonked him on potty when he made poo type noises and fed him marshmallows until he did one) around 2 but has taken nearly a year to be ok with wees. Not that he's been in nappies but we've had accidents daily for months and months. Some have overnight success but I've no idea how.

[Jen W]

Are they just turned 2?? That is pretty young but not that it can't be done. My kids were 2 3/4 and over 3 when they did it (boy was younger!) and they were no where near ready at 2. I'd say try the potty videos, my daughter loved them, even tho it didn't really help her learn any faster, and I did treats for going on the potty. I'm all for bribery!

[em]

Ugh - potty training is my least favorite task of parenting (so far!) My son was 2 years, 11 months when he trained (literally overnight). My daughter was 4 years, 1 month and it took over a year to get her there. The best advice I ever got was "try not to make everything about potty training" (because I was getting so uptight with my daughter) and remember, how ever long it takes, they WILL get there.

PS you can train in winter too :)

[Nicole]

Just want to second that you can train in winter. Both of my girls potty-trained then. My biggest recommendation is whatever you do, don't pressure them.

Personally I'm super lazy about this whole deal. My attitude is that I want the kid to be old enough to recognize the urge, get to the potty, undress as needed and pee/poo w/out assistance (I did help w/wiping for about a yr though). For both my girls they did this around 2 3/4 to 3 yrs. My second needed a bit more urging (had to let her poo in regular underwear two or three times before it all clicked for her.) I've known many people that spent countless hours trying to potty-train their kids, but that's just not my bag. Plus the reality is they'll do it all by themselves when they're ready; all you can do is give them the opportunity, education, and encouragement. Best of luck to you all.

[Rachel]

I think this is the first time I have ever given assvice on a blog! I would assvice you to wait a little bit longer, 2 is pretty young and I think you'll find it much less frustrating if you hang in there for another 6 months or so.
As someone else said, hey you never know though, a mother knows best!

:)

[cath]

omg tertia. i just fob this off onto the wonderful daymom I have. thank f**k for her.

[Franay]

I bribed my son with candy. I also got my daycare provider to bribe him with candy. The candy worked and we haven't found any cavities so I guess all's well that ends well.

[Jen3 @ amazing trips]

I'd wait. We're most definitely waiting. When they're good and ready I figure it will be a piece of cake. If that means they are riding on a school bus to kindergarten in Pampers ... so be it.

I'm hoping to try when summer rolls around and they can run free in the backyard while I chase them with the garden hose. By then, I should be about nine months pregnant and the model of patience.

[margalit]

It doesn't sound to me like they are at all ready. They're still very young and they don't seen to have enough control over their bodily functions yet. People do train kids earlier, but with twins, I would think that's probably impossible unless they are really ready.

As for the weather, I've never heard of anyone only wanting to potty train in the summer. Is this a South African thing? Why does it have to be warm out? I don't think I understand the correlation. All I know is, my twins were both potty training in the dead of winter in a very cold, snowy climate and weather never crossed my mind. I'm so curious about this!

[Rhonda]

What precious pictures! I'm guessing that you're not really that hung up on toilet-training right now; you're just looking for an excuse to show off your latest adorable snapshots.

but in case you were serious at all, here's my assvice:

If they know it's imminently about to happen, then that's a sign that they're ready to start thinking about potty-training. With us, we had my daughter attempt a sit on the potty right before bathtime...but that stage lasted a good year or so before we were ready to move on to actual potty-training.

If they can't tell that it's going to happen soon-but-not-RIGHT-NOW, hold it in until they get to the potty, and stay seated until they've finished putting the pee/poops into the potty, then I'm going to join the chorus of voices saying that they're probably not ready to actually potty-train yet. and that there's no harm in waiting another while.

But while you're introducing the concept, I just remembered something that might help. At the daycare where my daughter went, they convinced impatient kids to stay on the toilet this way: They hung a wind-up crib mobile from the ceiling and the kid had to sit on the potty until the music stopped and the puppy-dogs stopped twirling. This gave the kid a concrete time limit *and* something to look at while they were waiting for their body to finish business.

[Jodie]

Have to agree with everyone else that they are pretty young to be starting this. Most people I know didn't have success until nearly 3, no matter when they started. Some could sit their kids on the potty until they went, but the true "I know I need to go and now I'm going to get to the potty" didn't happen until they were a fair bit older. I started my daughter at 2 and a few months, and it was stress and grief until finally I gave up, went back to nappies and my daughter was well and truly ready herself at 3.

BTW, how is Rose going? You used to talk about her quite a bit and I haven't read anything for ages!

Good luck with the potty training, your kids are clever and will get there! Bribes are VERY good.

[RainbowW]

my pede tells us that 2 year olds don't have the muscle control or sensory capabilities to do it yet. that is, they can't feel when they need to go properly, and they couldn't hold it if they could.

[kirstyphysio]

Hi there
I Have recently survived potty training my son (2.5 years) in the BRITISH winter with CARPETS in the bathroom!! (Yes - carpets in the bathroom! Disgusting!! This place has NOT heard of tiles!!)Anyway - my best tip for you is a star chart! Every time they sit on the potty and add something(even a drop) to the bottom of the bowl, they get a star, with LOTS of praise!! After every 5 stars, they get a reward (small car or sweets). Put the star chart on the bathroom door, or wherever the potty is, so they get recognition!( Just Like Pavlovs dog!!) Also - every time they have an accident, sit them on the potty, even if they have already finished! This worked a treat with me - potty trained and dry day & night in 7 days!! BUT - if the child is NOT ready, you are wasting your time! They will do it in a few days when ready!
GOOD LUCK - and be thankful for wipe clean tiles in the bathroom!!
Kirsty

[andrea]

Gunna have to go with mos other posters here - two is really young for a boy and to be honest if they aren't ready it is a major PITA - but in saying that leave the potty in front of the TV and they can sit and watch the wiggles and let nature happen.

[Jade]

I am busy potty training my little one and she is now 2 yrs & 3 months. In the beginning I made sure that she had a book or something to keep her entertained on the potty so that she would want to stay sitting until she was done. Now she has learnt to go there herself when she realises that she wants to potty, pulls down her own pants, and even insists on flushing it down the loo herself when she is done. Patience and repetition and positive reinforcement are what have worked for me. Keep asking if they need the potty, show them where the potty is, and take them to the potty about 20 minutes after they have had something to drink. This will help them to get the idea of what to do. I also make a big deal of everytime she gets it right, and she LOVES the praise that she gets for getting it right. If I haven't noticed her going to the potty she will even shout out to me what she is doing so that I can go and praise her and help her if necessary.

Good luck, and hang in there!

[e]

Nothing useful to contribute from here- we were crap at potty-training. In fact seven years on from the child potty-training start, I still feel like an abject failure at it, and get all bristly when people bragtalk about how dry at their three year old is, and how it only took a week. The only friend I will talk to about this is the one whose (b/g twins...) son was still pooing himself in year 1 (age 5/6).

Good luck, dear. *shudders* May you be fortunate to be one of those smug "did it in a week" and "dry at night by three" types. I wish it on you in a way I wouldn't wish on any of those bragging cows of my acquaintance...

[Beret]

Just from my own experience...

Wait until they are totally ready to do it on their own. You won't have to sit for long periods of time waiting and they won't feel anxiety over it.

Don't tell yourself you only have a certain time frame (3 months). IF they're ready they'll do it in their own time.

When they are ready:

~Use a seat that goes right on the big toilet. (they come with Dora, Blue, or other characters on them). This way they'll feel like big shots sitting up there where the grown ups do. It's also harder for them to just hop off and run away. You won't have to clean out the little potty every time they poop or pee an they'll be used to the big potty when it's time to go at someone else's house or at the mall (for example).

~Make a big deal about listening for the pee when they sit on the toilet. If you hear something, praise them to the heavens.

You CAN potty train in winter.

Don't stress about it. When they are truly ready it will go fast.

[Meg]

Hi Tertia,

2 sounds quite young to me too. But you know your kids, of course. And you're obviously much less lazy as a parent than I am. ::g::

My son (and I'm not saying what happened with him will be the same as what happens for your two) was interested in the toilet from about 20 months and occasionally did a wee on it, with help, but his idea. I started trying to toilet-train him fairly earnestly when he was about 2.5, I think it was.

He was interested and could often tell me and get to the loo in time, BUT he didn't really care if he did a wee on the floor. This even happened a few times when he was only a metre or so away from the potty (which I moved around the house with him!).

I am a lazy, lazy person and didn't try strenuously for very long. I put him back in mostly nappies for a while. Then just before he turned 3, he suddenly *wanted* to go in the toilet. It wasn't just something cool to do when he could be bothered; it was suddenly where wees and poos *had* to go. He was actually ready. He was trained (during the day) within a week or so, with the occasional accident during and after this time, of course. I also had support from his wonderful daycare, which helped heaps. They let their kids stay in nappies until the parents and kid are ready, then they work with the parents.

Good luck, anyway - it's an interesting time! Especially when you're out somewhere and they have to go urgently, and you're not sure if they can wait 2 minutes, wait 30 minutes, or if they'll be going within 10 seconds!

[margaret]

It's a year too early...closer to age 3.

[Robin from TLOL]

I'm not even going to attempt to give assvice, having failed miserably with both children. In fact, my dd didn't train at all until just after her 3rd birthday (despite MANY attempts - leading to purchase of complete new leather salon to replace the cloth one she destroyed!). Even now the little shit (pun intended) is absolutely 100% trained all day every day at school, and pees like a freaking racehorse when she gets home. All. Over. The. Freaking. House. I am at my wits end over here. Her teacher agreed this morning to try a reward (smiley face on her hand) at SCHOOL for staying dry at HOME, since she obviously responds much better to them! Because she's totally dry at school I know it's a purposeful control-thing at home and I completely out of ideas. (Repeat to self: this too shall pass, and don't hijack Tertia's post, this too shall pass, and don't hijack Tertia's post...)

So, no assvice here. Just my fervent hope that you have an easier time with it than I have.

PS Israelis do the whole "must train in the summer" thing too, and they also start by about age two. I got a LOT of grief from the other moms at the pool last summer. Grrrr... (Both of mine did eventually train in colder weather though, it's possible, and not the end of the world. So there. Pfft.)

[Adele]

It doesn't sound like they're ready. My baby turns 2 tomorrow, and she will go pee pee on the potty, and has for quite awhile, but isn't ready to be on her own. We don't push her, she will tell me sometimes, but other than that, I leave her diaper on. Children will control this part. I believe we shouldn't push them, but talk to them with every diaper change about how they should do it on the potty. She gets one m&m everytime she goes, and trust me, doesn't forget about it. It's a process that happens overtime, not overnight. Good Luck.

[Kez]

No assvice to give you, but just had to let you know I PMSL at you on the potty!

Did you ever think, in the deepest darkest days of infertility, when you beseeched God/Mother Nature/the Wizard of Oz that you would do ANYTHING to have children, that that would include sitting on a potty to show them what to do? :) :) :)

[Katherine]

I'm not sure how old the twins are - but I feel compelled to post by all the nay sayers. They may not be ready - or they may be. My daughter simply had the potty about, showed interest in it and in her pees and poops - and ocassionally told me she had to go when she trained in a pantless weekend at 2 years 3 months - never to have an accident again. So, some are definately ready earlier than the current party line of peds. That said, I had no part in her training - simply provided the potty and the info. I am a lucky mom. Don't hate me folks.

[Louise]

No advice here!! Laughing out loud at the fate of your parents' rug :-)

[ls]

Here you go: first of all, no more diapers. At all. Not one "just for the store" or whatever. Leave a change of clothes in your car. Now, every 60-90 minutes, take them to the bathroom. Keep their potties in there. It is disgusting to have them go anywhere else in your house, and unnecessary. Let them sit just for a minute, and then when they want to get up, let them. Do not make them sit for long periods of time. Dumb. Makes them hate it. They will make it sometimes, miss sometimes, and praise them when it happens. NO CANDY. The thrill of gaining a new skill, wearing underwear, is reward enough. It is training YOU to remember to remind them that is hard. And try before you head out to go somewhere, when they wake up, etc. When you go somewhere, a store, restaraunt, friend's house, take them to the bathroom and show it to them when you arrive. Give them the message that bathrooms are everywhere, not just at their house. Praise praise praise. When they have an accident, have them take off their wet clothes, and take them to the hamper or washing machine or whatever. Not you. There is a window opening, as they have some interest, so grab it before it closes! And they are NOT too young. Good luck!!

[Suzanne]

Back when Magdalena was interested in the potty in the beginning, I kept the potty in the room we were in, like the living room. We're really elegant around here, yk? Anyway, even when she peed on the floor I'd take her over to the potty and set her down. She eventually got the drift and we moved the potty to the bathroom. For a while everytime *I* had to go potty, I'd yell "oh Mommy has to go potty! I better run for the bathroom!"

Warning though. Magdalena was almost 97% pt'ed. (Exception being trips to weird places and bedtime). Something happened and then she started to refuse to use the potty. :( So we backed off completely and now she asks occasionally. It's when other people started to push more (read: my mother) that she stopped going on her own free will.

[jennifer]

We had an awful time trying to train our older boy. The whole sticker/treat routine did not motivate him aat all. With the younger boy, we tried the Dr. Phil method. We bought an anatomically correct boy baby doll that wets (i.e. a boy Betsy Wetsy with a little penis). We then had Willy 'train' the doll to use the potty. He would give the doll a bottle, put it on the potty, the water would pee out, we'd all cheer and so on. Willy had to demonstrate peeing on the potty to the doll so we drank cup after cup of koolaid (not something we usually have). We spent the whole day drinking, peeing, and cheering every time someone peed in the potty. After that he was pretty much trained, a few accidents the next few days, but overall a piece of cake. He was 3 1/2. We didn't even try any earlier because of the trouble we had with the older son...he was 5 and still pooping in his pants.

[Stefanie]

They might be a little young still. My pediatrician said 2 1/2 for girls and 3 for boys. My dd was trained by 2 1/2 and my ds by 2 and 10 months. With my dd, I did a sticker chart. With my ds, the daycare trained him. I was too tired by then.

[Becky]

I waited until my son was 3 1/2 and put underpants on him one day and that was that. I actually discouraged him from training himself a few months earlier so we wouldn't have a newly potty trained kid when we went to Disneyland! I'm too lazy to have tried to 'train' him! I wouldn't even know how to start, so I have nothing to help.
Just a thought- my son has SID/SPD too and his therapists warned me that the same unique wiring that causes it can cause an undersensitivity to the sensation of needing to go, so these kids tend to train later. Might not apply to Adam, but might something to look out for.
Good luck.

[Karen]

My son was two when we started our journey in potty training. When I was researching potty training a common theme seemed to be praise and positive reinforcement. I came across a website called www.pottytrainingrewards.com. We hung it in the kitchen and named the little boy on the front of the package, Bobby. My son could not wait to go to the potty so he could push the button, hear the praising message, and get his chocolate reward from, Bobby. It really got my son excited about using the potty himself and it was fun for him. Because he became so involved, potty training was easy. So give it a try.

[beth]

I have boy/girl twins and potty training was the pits... until they were really ready. It happened after their third birthday. They were hit and miss for about a year and all of a sudden one day they both wore their big kid underpants and never had an accident since. Don't beat yourself up over it with 2 year olds, even with the little signs of interest, it's still kind of a game to them. You can't push it.

[Brandi]

My daughter is just a few weeks older than Kate and Adam. Right after her 2nd birthday, I caught her squatting on the floor about to pee while she was running around naked after a bath. I raced her to the bathroom and plopped her on the toilet, and she loved it. The next day, I bought her one of those cushion things that sit on the toilet to make it smaller and more comfortable for her. She did not want to get off it. We'd already bought her a potty a long time before to get her comfortable with it, but now that she's shown interest I don't really want to have to clean it all the time so I'm loving having her use the actual toilet like the rest of us.

We just let her run around naked when we started because she wanted to spend the whole day sitting on the toilet. By the third day, she was only sitting when she had to go, but she also lost interest in the whole thing right after so we haven't been pushing it. Occasionally while I'm changing her diaper, she'll ask to go "peepee pie" so I let her run around naked again and she sits on the toilet. We're taking our time with it because I'm too lazy to make a real effort to train her since she's still so young. Oh yeah, it's the middle of winter here but it hasn't stopped her.

Your children have such terrific musle definition already! Look at those arms!

[LaurieC]

I've trained 2 girls. My son is only 9 months, so I can't help you there. My first was 2.5 when she trained, but didn't completely stop having accidents (occasional) until closer to age 3. I really had to push her, and M&Ms were the trick. She'd do anything for chocolate. I don't care what anyone says about not using treats. They worked great for us, and once she was in the routine of using the potty, we didn't need rewards anymore. My 2nd dd trained at 22 months. I mean, in underwear, telling me she needed to go potty. That's very early. I didn't need to try very hard with her - she was just ready. I'm sure it also helped that she has an older sister to imitate. I did give her M&Ms also, but I only needed to do that with her for a few days. She seemed to get it pretty quickly. A couple weeks after putting her in underwear, even though she had been doing great and not having many accidents, she regressed a little, and we had a week or so of a couple accidents a day. We toughed it out (both my girls went through a phase shortly after training where they realized that diapers were more convenient and asked for them back). Now my 2nd is 2 years 3 months, and I can't remember the last time she's had an accident. Honestly, I think it was partly easier the 2nd time around because I was more relaxed. When she started showing interest (we kept a potty in the bathroom and she would sit on it when I went), I encouraged her but didn't expect anything (she wasn't even 2 yet so I thought it was too early). I think the laid back attitude really helped. Sometimes toddlers will NOT do something just because they know you want them to. Also, both times a good indication that they were ready was when they were conscious of being wet and not liking it. My first was poop trained right at about 2, but she didn't get the pee thing until 2.5, partly because if I put her in underwear and she wet them, she just kept right on playing and didn't care. I will also warn you that their temperament has a LOT to do with how easily they train. My second dd is MUCH more conscientious and careful, doesn't like messes, spills, etc., and I think that's mainly why it was so easy with her. Please try to relax and don't micromanage them or you will turn it into a big control issue, and you will lose. I had some of this with my first and saw many of my friends struggle with it also. Good luck, and don't worry if they don't train now, they WILL get it, and ignore any negative comments.

[Woody's Girl]

To me, what sounds like your biggest hurdle right now is getting them to STAY on the potty until (perhaps) *something* is achieved. Correct?

Do they like coloring/drawing? Perhaps you can keep coloring books and crayons handy in the bathroom, ONLY to be used if they stay sitting on the potty. Aquadoodle, magnadoodle, or somesuch thing might work, too. Or maybe they could blow bubbles (hey, they're stripped down and in the bathroom anyhow, right?). ANYTHING fun and distracting, to keep them still so they have a chance to potty in the correct "location."

Praise/rewards work great. I also second (third?) the comments about ditching the diapers. Disposable diapers are so absorbent, it actually takes away the sensation of being wet - which is a hinderance when you're trying to potty train! The kids need to be able to "feel" that they are wet/dirty, so having them in undies (or training pants) is definitely the way to go.

FWIW, I PT'd our first daughter in 3 days - and yes, during warm weather! I did yardwork, and she was outside with me, wearing a knee-length playdress, but no undies/diaper. Her first "accident" sent her into tears (bless her heart!), because - for the first time ever - she felt the pee running down her leg. THAT made the connection for her, and helped her be able to anticipate needing to use the restroom. She was 2.5 yrs old, BTW.

I'd highly recommend, if you are going to attack this with seriousness, that you choose a weekend when you, Marko and Rose are all available to take the kids potty on a VERY regular basis (like, every hour or so). Whatever you do... DO NOT WAFFLE. It will be very confusing to A&K if you spend a day trying to potty train, and then go back to diapers. Once you make the commitment to do potty training, you need to stick with it. As another commenter said, don't use diapers as a crutch when you go shopping, etc. because that will actually make PT'ing take longer (A&K will get confused about when it is "okay" to just potty in their pants/diaper).

Good luck! It's really not as hard as you think. And I promise... they will NOT go to college wearing diapers.

[Orange]

That is a beautiful hat, Miss Kate!

[ls]

I am going to chime back in and remind everyone that thinks that your twins are too young that 35-40 years ago the AVERAGE age of potty-training was 18 months. Over 90 percent of toddlers were trained by age two. Mothers at home dealing with stacks of cloth diapers to wash and often hang outside to dry were quite motivated, as were kids in uncomfortable cloth diapers. Winter can actually be a better time because being wet AND cold is pretty miserable. But you have to be willing to hang in there and not get discouraged, I can't tell you how many times that first week she would pee in her underwear, and then the next week it was less and then even less. It can happen overnight, but it may not. You need to decide if you are really ready and committed because your kids will pick up on any ambivalence on your part. Your attitude and transferring the attitude to them that "this is what we're going to do becasue I know you can do it" is more important than you may think.

[fuzzit]

try seeing what the "babywhisperer" has to say about potty training....i love her books, she advocates getting started even earlier than 2
my assvice:
if they are not in cloth diapers put them in them b/c it will let them know when they are wet and they wont like it
have a potty routine just go and sit on there and well if they go they go and praise them like hell
i do like the reading on the throne idea too

[Amy]

Just put them in underwear and weather the accidents for a little while. Give them treats (chocolate:1 for pee, 2 for poop) if they are successful. If they are ready, they will get it after a week or two. If it's been three weeks and they are still having daily accidents, then wait a few months. My son trained at 3; my daughter at almost 2.5. Good luck! (And keep your eyes on the prize: life without diapers is blissful!) :)

[colicmommy]

Too young. Don't bother yourself with it. Seriously, you THINK diapers are a hassle, but wait till you have two toddlers in the store who have to go pee pee RIGHT NOW NOW NOW. And you are in the checkout. With a huge cart of groceries or whatever. Yeah. Diapers not looking so bad...

You can train in the winter. I trained colicboy in Feb. , at age 2 3/4. Took me 4 days. Total. No accidents since.

The book "Toilet Training in Less than a Day" is great. Hole up in the house for 4 days. Don't go out at all, and just focus on how the book says to do it.

Seriously, the boy was trained in 4 days, he has no patience, and I'm not some great mom. It was all the book. Even worked for inpatient boy.

[victoria]

My friend's oldest boy was not potty-trained until he was four and a half. It took other kids' shaming him for him to become motivated. (He was physically capable of controlling his bodily functions much earlier, but just couldn't be bothered, even when he was wearing regular pants that were always wet & uncomfortable.) She said that girls are mot motivated on this one than boys are. Good luck. Whatever happens, don't tear your hair out -- there's only so much you can do about this.

[Ana]

I have to disagree with almost everyone it seems. Here in portugal we potty train our children much sooner apparently. My daughter was 21 months old when she was fully potty trained, day and night. And she was not the first in her daycare, not even close to that.
Having said that, we didn't do much. She was too young to argue with, too young to bribe or try to convince. We just stopped the diapers, had a couple of accidents (it was summer, so this was mostly at the beach or outdoors) and within a week she got it. She never wore a diaper again, day or night.
I have a 14 months old boy now and I will do it this summer. Let's see how that works out.

[Suzie-Q.]

Well, having read all the comments I am now scared to death to try to potty my twins who are just weeks behind yours!
I will let you work it all out and let me know how it goes!
Good luck!
**And, could you hurry it along, please? I would like to start training mine soon.

[Simonne]

I remember my mum saying that girls are easier to train than boys, and that because little girls have a nurturing instinct, she tapped into this for me. She said that she got me a dolly and that we toilet trained dolly - deciding when dolly needed to go potty, and going through the motions of getting to potty, doing the business and praising dolly and apparently soon, I wanted that praise for myself, and I got treats as well! I don't know what she did for the boys though!

[brenna]

"How to Potty Train in Less Than a Day"
It sounds too good to be true, but it really really works if you really really follow it to the letter. The thrust of it is "get your child to potty train a peeing doll." It is genius. I know it has been around for at least thirty years because that is how I was trained (and I am STILL in big girl pants! Success!).
Good luck!

[Judy]

I'm not much help - my older son trained in a day right before his third birthday - he was very ready and it was a breeze (which makes me think this next one - which I'll work on this summer - will be the worst experience of my life).

Tyler will begin the process in August, the height of our summertime, and right before we go back to preschool. He'll be two months shy of three years. I'm a little apprehensive about it, since the first one was so easy.

My SIL and BIL tried to train my nephew when he was 20 months and it was a total disaster. In fact, it was so bad for the poor kid that the totally rebelled against it and he was over 4 years old before he fully trained. Yeah. Fun times.

So, the only advice I have is dive in with both feet, give it 110%, and if for some reason the kids start rebelling, call it quits and do it at Christmas or some other time. It would be better to let it go if it isn't working than to keep pushing and really send the kids into a tailspin. Hopefully you won't have that, though.

GOOD LUCK - every child is different, and every experience is different. You'll do the right thing for your kids.

[Jessica]

I've heard that with a boy, it's better to have them sit to pee--otherwise they think that excretions of all kinds ought to be accomplished while standing, and will refuse to sit and poo in the potty. I have no kids, but a couple of people I know have said that. Plus I imagine it takes a while to develop good aim...

[Heather]

"Once Upon a Potty" is a great book. It got my son interested very quickly. When he sits on the potty, he even recites lines from the book. "And he sat and sat and sat..." It's great. We got him to sit longer by reading him the book while he say there and by having "potty toys." I gathered a box of toys that I noticed he really liked - small ones like trucks - and put them in a box. Whenever he sat on the potty, he could play with them. As soon as he got up, he had to put the truck, etc., back in the box. He's still not potty trained, but I just don't think he knows what *that* feeling is. He stays dry through his nap, tells me when he needs a new diaper, but has yet to show any sign that he knows *that* feeling. The universal thing I have heard is positive reinforcement - just find whatever works for you and beat it like a dead horse! :-) Best of luck!!!

[Andri]

I was potty trained at 10 months. My mom and her best friend - who had my subsequent best friend and myself exactly a week apart - decided they'd had enough of the diapers. Apparently the process was extremely quick, around two weeks I believe. It involved continual placement on the toilet, especially AFTER I had already gone in the diaper, and she would tell me that THIS is where I should go. According to her, I just caught on.

Great advice for boys: toss some cereal (fruit loops or your equivalent) into the toilet and tell him to aim! :)

[SheilaC]

Our kids were developmentally delayed (prematurity) for gross motor and speech. So we didn't think they were going to be precocious about training, and we waited to try until the summer when they were 3 years old. It was still a lengthy process. Actually our son got the idea sooner than the girls did, so boys are not always slower!
I would caution you to avoid offering sweet treats as rewards, at least at the beginning. It's especially problematic for multiples - if one goes, do they both get a treat, or does the other one melt down? If one is successful earlier on and the other is not interested yet, you can't stop offering the rewards. So you could be into many candies a day, possibly for months. Stickers were good at our house, and eventually we offered tiny toys for successful BMs.

Visit your local library and look for potty training videos like Once Upon a Potty and Potty Time with Bear (Bear in the big blue house). Also borrow lots of picture books, and keep a stock near the potties.

Good luck, whenever you decide to begin.

[karyn]

Bear in the Big Blue House Potty Time With Bear is a great video. Our kids loved it, very soothing and calm.

Just potty-trained my exactly three year old son in the middle of a dead cold winter here in Canada. Took one day to stop having accidents and was in 24hour undies after four days. His sister was 2yr8mo when she went from diapers to pants in a week and a half.

Wait until the kids are ready, even if you are. Much less trauma and stress that way.

The only other advice I can offer is that we went 'cold-turkey' with diapers. Once we decided to train, we went with underwear all day everyday, and pullups at night, but that only lasted a week until they were in pants all night, too. That way there is no waffling between diapers and underwear. They don't have the confusion of 'we can pee our pants now, but not now'.

Best of luck. It will happen when it happens. Try not to stress out too much!

[Kathy B.]

1, Why the requirement to potty train in summer? I never heard of that one. (Just curious as to the reasons why.)

2. Girls are easier than boys.

3. I don't have much to offer. My daughter trained herself at 22 months (in October) -- don't hate me, it certainly wasn't anything I did!!!

[e]

Ana- In France most kids are also potty trained by 2, as they cannot join nursery school still in nappies. Of my three, my son still hid behind the door to pee in his pants, had frequent accidents, and found the whole process too much trouble until he was nearer 4 than not. Of my daughters, one potty trained herself during chicken pox at 15 months (had a lot of spots on her bottom that stung) and subsequently reverted to wetting herself all the time at about 2.5 (many medical investigations revealed nothing wrong whatsoever) to the extent that she was back in pull ups for convenience about six months later, as I got fed up changing her underwear seven times a day for several months. She was not fully dry in the day until nearly 7, but we abandoned the pull ups when she went to school. she just went with three pairs of knickers in her bag, which all came back wet every day)

My second daughter was potty trained at around 2 and did exactly the same thing as my daughter- ie reverted to wetting through the day until 7ish.

None of them was dry at night until nearly 9.

As all three are only 4 years apart in age in total, we had three day and night incontinent kids at the same time for about a year. They are trained at night roughly at the same time age-wise. I'm wondering if it is genetic.

*feeling all inadaquate now*

[e]

Also my French friend potty-trained her daughter by smacking her bottom every time she had an accident. That was one way I wasn't willing to go...

[Michelle]

Haven't read all the comments but I'm betting lots are telling you your kids are too young. Don't listen to them! 2 is the perfect age! If you wait too long, kids become set in their ways and don't want to learn to use the toilet, but 2 year olds think it is cool and are easily motivated by rewards like small candies. And the boy/girl thing shouldn't matter - I know plenty of boys who were trained between 2 and 2 1/2, if their parents were motivated. (30 or 40 years ago they all were!)
I simply took the diapers away when my daughter was 2 years 3 months. Then I took her to the potty every 1/2 hour, rewarding her if she went. It took 3 days to train her. (She hadn't showed all that many signs that she was "ready" either, but the fact that your kids know before they go is great!) Naked is a good way to start, but they have to learn to hold it when clothed as well.
Hopefully SA is a little more pro-earlier potty training so you will get some support. Here in the US it is common for subborn 3 and 4 year olds to refuse to give up diapers, and the current culture is to say they aren't "ready".

[Jazz]

Oh my this is too funny - I don't have kids but have experience with them so not totally clueless but would never have thought that 2 was too young. I was potty trained at one. My brother (younger) took much longer. But that was in the day of terry nappies. Right now I have a friend who was concerned as some Chinese friends were mentioning that it is time to start potty train her BABY (not even toddler). She is nearly 6 months!! Apparently that is what they do/have done! Forgotten how she said they do it, something with recognising the red pushing face and taking action (what action, they do not even normally sit up alone at that age, let alone balance on a potty). But I guess it works. Cheerio from Hong Kong!

[Dondi Tiples]

I feel your frustration, I really do. My older son took a long time to potty-train because he was always impatient to get off. I finally fixed the schedule of our potty training after breakfast: I sat on the big toilet bowl, and he sat on his "poo-poo chair", every morning until he got it. The pee training took a little while longer, but it was worth it.

Not to discourage you, but I think it's going to take longer than 3 months, and even then, you're still going to have some more embarrassing accidents. This is one milestone you're going to need a lot of patience for. Good luck!

[Krissy Poopyhands]

I think that there is a great disparity in what people believed "potty trained" is.

Some individuals think that it's the kid knowing that they have to go, getting to the toilet by themselves, pulling down their pants, going, wiping, flushing and washing their hands.

Some individuals think it's when you take them to the bathroom every hour and they produce and have minimal accidents because they are often given the opportunity to go.

At the end of the day you can't argue with science. At some point, usually between two and three years old (there is some speculation that this is later with boys) kids become coordinated and in enough muscular control to know when they have to go, correlate that with what the next action should be, and hold it until they get to the potty and get their pants down.

It's a fairly complex process.

Add to that the mental weirdness about being aware for the first time that you are losing stuff out of your body. That alone is freaky. If they get a whiff that it's something that's important to you they may explore it as leverage to get your attention and/or affection.

If your kid is points-motivated (stickers, treats) it may be easier. If they are not points-motivated or praise motivated, but instead self-motivated, you are most definately best to wait until they decide to do it themselves.

If you start too soon there is a strong possibility that you will wind up with a potty-trained kid at exactly the same time as people who choose to wait.

And I don't know about you, but racing a kid to the toilet every hour and calling it "potty trained" seems kind of pointless to me.

My assvice is to wait. Make it fun, make it easy. Don't invest because if you are invested you've painted a big sign on your chest saying "PLEASE MAKE THIS A POWER STRUGGLE, KIDS. TA"

Winter training is possible, I promise.

[Diane]

Not too Young!!!

My daughter was fully trained (nights too) at 27 months, and my son (stubborn) could pee at 2 years but held off on the other for a full year (much to the chagrin of the daycare teachers!).

If they can recognize that they are about to go, and dislike the dirty nappy, you are good to go. Rest assured that they will figure it out eventually. The first success (and all subsequent ones) should be praised mightily! I personally used the m&m thing for my son, but that was because he was stubborn. My daughter took well to being read to while sitting.

Good luck and I adored those pics! So cute!

[cathy]

do you have the cereal cheerios? shaped like an O. they are great for little boys learning to pee in the big potty. throw a couple in and tell him to sink them! works, kids love it!!

[Caroline]

When my aunt was potty training my cousin, the only way she could get him to sit on it for any length of time was to place it in front of the television. He'd sit there and watch cartoons. I am happy to report that 14 years later, at the ripe old age of 16, the boy has no problems in that area ; )

[Kate]

my advice for mulitples? Potties everywhere!

those pictures were hilarious!

[Not on Fire]

I agree that 2 is kind of early, especially for boys. We started my son closer to 3. But, my assvice goes as follows. Start with the books and videos. Talk, talk and then talk more. If you get too excited then it freaks them so a laidback approach is better. We had him teach a doll to use the potty. Yes, I had a doll that would pee. It helped a lot to get the idea across.

My son was not much for the potty, he wanted the toilet. We used to go and sit on the toilet after every meal, but it was very light hearted. In fact he was so fascinated with the toilet that we used it as the reward. Pee in the toilet and you can watch the water flush with the lid off. Poo and you can flush twice. It worked like a charm, even if a little environmentally evil. When he went a week without a problem we started the superhero underwear during the day. He was done in about a month.

I hope this goes well for you.

[k]

We used Potty Training in Less Than a Day when our son was 2 yrs 8 months old.

I was very skeptical. But it worked really well. We started on a Saturday and he was fully trained (accident free) by Monday.

One plus, I think, was that we had never introduced the potty chair or underwear to him before. So the morning that we told him, "We're going to use the potty from now on," he was like of like, "Okay, sounds good, I guess," and just kind of rolled along with our new routine (which starts by keeping the potty chair in the KITCHEN, of all places! ... only for the morning of the first day, though).

Good luck with the twins. Everyone's experience is so different. You know better than anyone what will work for their distinct personalities.

[angel]

aaaaw- pink and blue potties! how cute! its times like these that i love having a teenager!

[lorrie]

I used the Naked method with success at K&A's age. They wee/poop on the floor, you hand them a paper towel and politely request they clean it up and remind them that the potty is where they go. Absolutely no more diapers during the day.

Nightime was much harder, but I didn't push it b/c I hate changing wet sheets. I let them wear pullups to bed for 2 more years.