What (if any) potty training method did you use?

Liz342

We are going to PT DD in a few weeks and I don't know if I want to follow a method or just wing it.  I went to the Toddlers 24+ board and they have a separate tab up top for all the PT questions and I went in there and requested the 3 day PT method to be emailed to me.

This is the only one I have really heard of.

When I asked friends/family members they just say put LO in undies and take them to the bathroom every 10 minutes (or was it 20?)

I also was wondering if people typically use a potty chair or just one of those cushiony things that goes on top of the regular toilet.

What did you do?

Shelly203

We put DS in regular underwear and took him every 15 minutes.  We started with a potty chair, and he hated it!!  We got the cushion seat for the toilet, and that was much better.  He was really into putting money in his piggy bank when we were training him, so we got a bunch of change, and every time he was successful, he got money for his bank.  Pee was a lot easier than poop.  We made a treasure box with a bunch of Target dollar bin stuff in it and he got to pick something out when he went poop.  Be patient...it takes time.  And if your DD isn't ready, you might need to back off for a while.  WE thought it was time for DS, but he fought it like no other.  We took a two or three month break, and the second time HE was ready, and it made all the difference in the world!!  Good luck!

Daisy77

Rule #1: Start when they are ready, not you.  You will save yourself a lot of trouble!

DD#2 has been potty training for awhile now.  She wore underwear for a bit but it was a mess and way too much for me to deal with at the time.  So she went back to pull-ups (we switched to those when she had a reaction to the Pamper Dry Max stuff).

Currently, as in the last 2 days or so, she has worn underwear during the day and a pull-up at night.  I ask her every 30 minutes or so if she needs to use the potty.  I also ask her every time she asks me for something to drink.  We have a potty chair and a cushioned potty seat for the toilet but she hates the cushioned seat, I think it's too high/wobbly for her.  She also likes to empty the potty chair herself...annoying, but it brings her great joy (she's helping!) and encourages her to use the seat so I deal with it.

So far she has stayed dry all day yesterday, woke up dry this morning, and she just announced that she had to pee, lol.   To be honest I truly believe it depends on the child.  DD#1 was potty-trained in 2 days, DS took a year, and DD#2 is on-and-off.   DD#1 was awhile back so I can't remember, but DS and DD#2 both requested to wear underwear and showed a major interest in ditching the diapers/pull-ups.  DS was tough because he was learning to aim AND pee in JUST the toilet (not in the corner of the living room, grrrrrr).

HarrietNJMommy

I tried everything out there - bootcamp, underwear, no underwear, etc. with DD#1. I was trying to force it and she wasn't ready.

So, my "method" is wait until they are ready. I did it for both girls and DD#1 trained in 2 days, and DD#2 needed no training at all (she had been watching DD#1).

GL! 

chedder143

Ditto pp in waiting until DD is ready.

For the potty we just got one of those potty seats, we let her pick it out, that sit right on the toilet. We weren't sure if we would have to do it, but we wanted to avoid possibly having to transition her from potty chair to actual toilet. 

Then we used a timer. 20 minute increments. It got to the point where when she'd hear the ding, she would run to the potty. I got this "method" from when my son was going to daycare/preschool.

lilone_06

Like the PPs said, the most important thing, I think, is to wait until DC is ready.  You might be ready to train them, but if they're not ready it'll be like beating your head against a brick wall. 

We tried several times before having success - DD was probably around 2.5.  The first time she actually went was on the potty chair (I sat her in front of the TV on it!).  Once she had the sensation and made the connection, things went pretty fast.  She alternated between the potty chair and the cushiony seat on the toilet.

GL!

almostjennifer

With DD #1 I tried everything: charts, rewards, a party, etc.  Nothing worked.  So I thought she wasn't "ready" and waited three months, tried again, still no success.  At this point she was pushing 4 years old and I had had it, so I went punative.  Everytime she peed in her underwear she didn't get to watch TV the rest of the day.  She was trained in two days after that.

Angiesmommy

I used the 3Day PT method. I tried to do it at 22 months like it says but she wasn't ready. I tried it again at 26months and she got it in a week (not 3days).

I bought 2 potty chairs because we were living in a townhouse when we started potty training.  As it turns out, one potty has made it's way to her grandma's house and the other is long gone in exchange for a seat topper and step stool.