Potty training - what does it mean to you?

tuliplady · Mar 25, 2013

I started potty training my son at 6 months. For me, it simply means that he sits on the potty chair comfortably and does his job when we put him there. He can indicated 85% of times when he wants to poop, but cannot tell when he wants to pee. AT 10 months of age, this is more than enough, since my motive was to have him get accustomed to sitting on the potty chair, since my close friends circle has kids who refused to sit there after a certain age, making potty training a difficult task.

We take him to the potty seat before his naps on a weekend (he goes to daycare during the week, where they follow this as well) and first thing in the morning everyday. He still wears his diapers at nights.

I have been told that child should be taken to the potty chair every 20 mins to half hour in training phase. I do not follow this at home. When I see my child has not peed (he wears cloth diapers at home) for a long time, I take him to the chair, if he gets restless I know that he isnt going to pee. But if he wants to pee, he does it within few minutes.

ramyaramani · Mar 26, 2013

Buying potty seat

There are two major options:
1. Potty seat: when buying this type be prepared for extra stage of training i.e shifting to actual toilet bowl. There are many options here like singing ones, ones with flush , musical ones etc. but the bottom line is the simpler the seat, the easier it is to clean. I use this: Amazon.com: Fisher-Price Froggy Potty: Baby
It is simple and easy to clean. The downside is DD easily lifts the bowl to show me that she has done potty in the bowl. This has resulted in accidents.
2. Kids toilet seat: If you are planning on using this, buy a step stool for the kids to place their legs on when they sit on the seat. This will give a secure feeling.

I tried training my DD when she was at 12, 14, 16, 18 months of age. At 12 months I used to place her in the potty as soon as she woke up in the morning. She used to poop regularly in the potty seat. But I gave a break of 3 days in between and that derailed the training. After that I started training seriously at 18 months since she did not respond well the previous months.

At 18 months, I tried placing her in the potty seat in the morning (as soon as she woke up) alone. I used to wait for 15-25 minutes. She peed in the seat the initial 2 days. Even that was a major struggle since she did not want to sit in the seat. After the first 2 days she ensured that she peed in the diaper itself before coming to the bathroom (put diapers in the night). Then I changed my plan. In between there was a break in the training.

I placed the potty seat in the living room. I placed her in the seat every 45 minutes. It took 2 days to figure out the time gap of 45 minutes. So we had number of accidents the initial 2 days. After that the number of accidents reduced. If I forgot to place her then there was definitely an accident. I potty trained during weekdays. Weekends she was on diapers (and while going out too). Initially she would not sit in the seat. I would sit next to her and read some books to her just to keep her engaged. It was such a struggle. I observed that once you figured the time gap and placed the kids on the potty, they would most probably pee within the next 5 minutes. This was only for peeing. In this gap DD started having loose stools because of teething. So her pooping schedule went haywire.

I slowly moved the potty seat closer to the bathroom every week. As of today it is just outside the bathroom.

After 10 days I checked if she was able to go to the potty seat by herself. She was not able too. Each time I would tell her she had to pee only in the potty. In this gap everytime DD pooped I would show her the poopy diaper and tell her she has to go only in the potty seat. It is now 1 month and now DD clearly says when she feels like pooping. But only thing she does not want to go in the potty seat but only in her diaper. So this training is still in progress.

With respect to peeing she clearly tells me when she wants to pee like when she wakes from her afternoon nap and at several other times. In fact she wakes up to go to the potty seat in between her nap when she wants to pee. But the weather is pretty cold out here so DD does not know/have the feeling or does not tell me before she goes. So we are facing quite a few accidents. But the thing is even with diapers she wants to sit in the potty seat and go. I guess it is a good thing.

It is better to start the training when it is hot/warm weather. I made the mistake of starting in winter. I do stop the training whenever weather is cold as it becomes difficult when we dress these kids in layers.

Losing patience is quite common once in a while. If you feel you seem to be losing it often then stop the training for a while. Chances are your kid might not be ready too. But if you feel your kid is ready then you can tell them firmly. Once in a while I did have to tell DD firmly (no shouting) that she had to do her business in the potty. Usually she would do it well the next 1-2 days before coming back to her usual self.

I did not use the reward/sticker method.m

Cleaning products for carpet

Accidents become the norm when we potty train. I have carpet in my apartment. The following products worked really well in removing the stains and disinfecting:

Amazon.com: Folex Co. FSR32 Folex Instant Carpet Stain Remover - 32 Fl 0z.: Health & Personal Care

Amazon.com: Lysol Disinfectant Spray - Spring Waterfall Scent: 19 OZ.: Health & Personal Care

sujusmani · Mar 27, 2013

@ramya - :bowdown..
thank you soooo very much for such a detailed experience description.. its really helpful.. and would too for many other mom's who plan to start potty training too...

tuliplady · Mar 28, 2013

Wow..Ramya, I am going to bookmark your post for future..when I start training him seriously! Thanks for such a detailed post.

BTW I also have the froggie potty seat. When I kept the potty seat in living room, DS thought it was fun thing to play with. I then promptly put it in bathroom.

Also, what I figured was that, earlier during the training, DS was not accustomed to sitting and would not like it..I simply gave him a newspaper and since then he plays with the newspaper and does his job. Its hilarious!!

Harithag · Mar 28, 2013

@Ramya,your post really helps lot of moms like me.

Last week iam out of station and couldnt continue potty training.Now DD refuses to stand in bathroom.iam regaining my patience and started it all over again.

ramyaramani · Mar 29, 2013

@sujusmani Thank you.

@tuliplady Even my DD used to play with it initially i.e even before the training started. I allowed her and everytime she played I used to place a doll and tell her about peeing in the potty. She gained familiarity ith the seat atleast!

@harithag seriously regaining patience is a huge thing! All the Best.

I just hope these posts get archived by the time my daughter grows up. I can only imagine how she would roll her eyes when she reads this.

ramyav_cse · Apr 2, 2013

How do you help ur kids overcome the fear of sitting on a potty seat? My DS is a little big for the little potty seat and so I got the potty seat Amazon.com: The First Years Magical Sounds Soft Potty Seat, Mickey Mouse: Baby.
He liked to sit on it when it was placed in the living room but when I moved it to the restroom, he was scared of sitting on it...he actually tells us when he poops but how do I encourage him to sit in the potty seat? i even tried reading a book/making him read but he didnt seem to appreciate the idea

ramyaramani · Apr 2, 2013

@ramyav have you tried placing a step stool for him to place his feet on while sitting on the seat in the bathroom? He might have fear of falling.

golumolu · Apr 2, 2013

We made her do potty on regular seat when she was 2 months old(I dont know if this could be called as potty training). Some accidents were there but most of the time from her facial expression we got the message that she wants to pass and we immediately rush to seat. We hold her with our hand on the seat and she completes her job there.

Now she is 13 months and from last 15 days she tells her that she has an urgue for potty. She does not tell it but she gives message by directing her hand to bathroom. For pee also we always ask her ..susu..if she has urgue she nods her head otherwise no...

I think she is getting trained.

ammani · Apr 7, 2013

susu training is hell of a job for me.. he will want to play with water and if i allow then making him come out is a big task in itself...

potty training... when i see him silent sitting or standing somewhere...i rush him to our indian style commode... he sits squating... he learnt to squat by himself... dono how... and he does there... but sometimes just cant make out when is the time and the work is already done

he is 16 months old... n this potty things started from one month... im trying to improve but he is so stubborn sometimes... he will angrily sit on the bathroom floor and doesnt agree to come out...

patience patience patience....

this "strike" thing he does always... if he doesnt want to walk n want us to hold him he will sit down.. even on the roadside... this thing is more when he is with me... with his dad nothing works he knows... when his dad says sit or eat he will do so chupchaap