A couple of months ago we started potty training our son. It was the start of ‘round 2’ as we had tried at the beginning of the year and although I was hopeful and he seemed keen – he’s just wasn’t ready.
We have a daughter (aged 8) and a son (aged 2) and there has been so many differences in potty training with the both of them – I didn’t think there would be to be honest.
Back in 2012 we started potty training our daughter who was just over 2 years old. My Mother-in-law was staying with us and we decided to go on a trip to York for the day. In the couple of days leading up to this I had just started the potty training process (she had painted her own sticker chart and would add stickers for each wee she did on the potty or the toilet seat) My daughter at such a young age decided she didn’t want to wear her nappies – she wanted to wear big girl knickers. So we set off to York with the potty in the car- I was convinced there would be an accident. As we parked up in York I suggested she sat on the potty of which she declined and asked for the toilet. Luckily there were toilets adjacent to the car park so I took her and she proudly did a big wee! The rest of the day trip in York was just the same, she asked for the toilet when needed and proudly did her wee.
After returning home from our day trip she also seemed keen on going to bed without a nappy – again I wasn’t too sure – but I didn’t want to upset her enthusiasm and so far so good – so she went to bed in knickers. She did wake up during the night wanting a wee, but no accidents in her bed.
And so it began – a great successful start to potty training – and that was that. Dry day and night! Don’t get me wrong there were a few odd accidents when she had been poorly and wet the bed one night or just didn’t make the toilet on time, but all in all – perfect!
So here we are in 2018 and we have started to potty train my son and I presumed all would be a doddle – turns out no! – Actually it is a lot harder this time around!
As I said I did start just as he turned 2 in January – he seemed keen, there was an interest in his potty and he liked to sit on it, and although he did do some wees and poos on the potty, they were more down to luck than judgement, he was super happy when he did them and he too had a sticker chart as rewards for them, but we were still going through tonnes on nappies and it just didn’t seem to work as it should.
I decided he wasn’t quite ready for it yet, we kept the potty and toilet seat out and they were used every now and then, but it certainly wasn’t potty training as it should be.
Now in August – we are well established into his training and I am glad I waited those extra months.
He is dry during the day but we are still struggling with the night times, I am not going to rush him though. He has done so well during the day – we are still continuing praising this.
He was defiantly ready for it this time around, but we have had our fair share of accidents – I think his accidents have made up for the ones I didn’t have with my daughter! Haha!
It started with us sat for long periods of times on the potty – reading books, watching Peppa Pig or Bing. He was determined to wee on the potty, but I started worrying how sore his little bum would get sat there for so long, but even the tiny wees – he was so delighted with, he just continued wanting to do more. It wasn’t a chore – it was a ‘big boy’ event for him.
I decided that this time around we were going ‘cold turkey’ he wasn’t to wear nappies during the day – only pants and if accidents happened- then so be it, we were never angry at him for them, we explained – oops that’s a little mistake, next time tell Mummy or Daddy if you need a wee before you actually do it. Plenty of times he would call “Mummy, I am weeing” – however it was on the floor. If we had told him off for doing something in the house- he would go and hide into a corner of the room or his bedroom and (out of spite – I am sure!!) he would wee on the floor. He soon began to hold himself and get to the toilet or potty though and we now successfully manage trips in the car and he is accident free. The first month was hard work with accidents during the car, (I don’t think a car seat has ever been washed so much!) but he would often fall asleep in the car on our way home from days out and that would be when the accidents would happen. It would upset him though, and it wasn’t nice to see as he was so proud of how he could control himself during the day, but that’s now improving. We make sure we take a potty everywhere we go and make sure he has a wee before we head out of set back home from somewhere rather than relying on him asking to wee, it is just routine to have a wee before we go in the car.
We are obviously still not quite there yet, as he is still not dry on a night, but it’s a great start for him and it just goes to show you the massive difference between one child to another, just look at how different our two were/are. You read stories that it’s down to gender etc, but I don’t know, however it would be great to get your thoughts and experiences and also ideas on how I proceed with my little boy during the nights – see if we can get him dry on a night time too.