OT~~Potty training

[smjmekg]

We've got a potty for DS. He just turned 18 months, and he's waking up dry, no BM's at night, and he pulls off his pants and diaper when wet. I'm pretty sure he's ready to start trying out the potty but I'm not sure what to use to help with it...I found a website that has different "help out" items, i.e. books, videos...so for those of you who have/are potty training boys...what helps? I don't want to start out with the "cheerios in the potty" technique because I want DS to get a little older before I try to get him to pee standing.

[JoyRenee]

My daughter will be turning 3 in March and she has YET to pee or poop in the potty. It's so discouraging but I know she'll do it when she's ready. If your son is showing signs of readiness then def. don't wait to potty train. I found videos were really helpful with my firstborn.

[Limonada]

I didn't use either books or videos with DS.

If your son is ready, the best advice I can give is be as patient as possible and give lots of positive reinforcement.  If he responds to rewards or treats, devise some sort of system (stickers, dinky cars, etc.) that will motivate him.  

Persistence is key - we had DS sitting on the potty to get used to it for months before we actually seriously started potty training him.  By the time we did, he was ready (like your son, he was pulling off his soiled diapers, etc.)

Good luck - I hope it all goes smoothly for you :-)

[LosingMyMindInGA]

With my middle two...I started them out around 18 months just setting them on the potty randomly....especially if me or DH were going.  I tried to praise them just for sitting on it if they stayed on for more than a second but I really went nuts with the praise if they actually did anything.  Once I noticed they going in the potty more and actualyl WANTING to sit on it...I would try underpants (I did it on the weekend cuz i worked during the week)  If they had more than 3 accidents by lunchtime on saturday I just waited a month and tried again.  Eventually (both of them around 2 1/2) there was a weekend where I put underpants on them and they just stopped having accidents except on occasion. They are 14 months apart so they weren't doing this quite at the same time, but the milestones hit at around the same ages.

I also let them put stickers on their little potty if they did a good job.