A mom writes in asking for advice about potty training boys. She says her 1-year-old son has shown a lot of interest in the potty, but she can’t get him to actually use it. He hates having a dirty diaper, often sits on the potty “like mommy,” but ultimately he does not complete the act. Though this mom is not in a rush to potty train her son, given his interest, she is wondering what it might look like to start the process. Any advice?
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A member of the community asks:
“Tips on potty training boys?
Hi mommas! My son is 1-year-old (about to be 20 months) and is showing a lot of interest in the potty, but I can’t seem to get him to actually use it! He hates being in a peed diaper, especially a pooped one, and takes them off if he after soiling himself. He also likes to sit on the potty like mommy but won’t sit long enough to actually pee or anything. Any tips on how you guys got your little one’s potty trained? I’m not in a rush, I just feel he’s ready and would like to try it out and see how it goes!”
– Mamas Uncut Community Member
Community Advice for This Mom Who Wants to Start Potty Training Her One-and-a-Half-Year-Old Son
To see what advice the Mamas Uncut Facebook community has for this mom in need, read the comments of the post embedded below.
Potty Training a One-Year-Old Boy Advice Summary
The community offered this mom in need a lot of great advice. Read some of their responses below.
“When you get that mommy instinct that it’s forthcoming let him sit on his potty while you read him books. (Assuming he likes that). My older son was potty trained at that age. Same behavior. My younger one? Definitely on the other side of 3. They give you hints when they’re ready. Sounds like yours is getting there.”
“I started by putting my son on the potty first thing in the morning when I knew he had to go. We did that for a while and then started going throughout the day. I started him sitting down, then after a few months graduated to standing up.”
“Sit him on the toilet backwards with a book or something on the tank to distract & allow him to relax.”
“My son is 4 and just now getting the hang of both #1 and #2. It took awhile but I started my phone timer for 30-45 making sure he drank alot and made him stay on there for 6-7 minutes at a time. I distracted him with a phone even let him play downloaded potty training games.”
“Tablet with favorite tv show. Also a potty timer watch. When It goes off he gets tablet while he sits on the potty and if he potties he gets one treat for using the potty with my son we use stickers.”
“Cheerios. Put them in the toilet and let him aim for them.”
“I got my son the mini toilet that looks like the real toilet, and I just set it out. Every time me or my husband went to the bathroom, we said we were going pee or poop. We never forced it on him. He picked up peeing with no problem, so we put him in “big boy underwear” (regular boy boxer briefs) and he did have several accidents…
… He pooped and peed in his underwear and pants several times. He hated the way it felt.. so I talked him through it every time l, changed his pants and underwear, and told him that he needed to use his potty and he wouldn’t feel like that anymore… one day he told me he had to poop, went to his potty, and we haven’t had a problem since! Good luck momma!”
“No more diapers. Potty chair in the living room… I let my son go outside on a tree at first and he thought it was cool… And explained that that’s what he is supposed to do on the potty.”
“Put them on the toilet backwards and let them draw on the lid with non-permanent or whiteboard markers.”
“We went to the store and bought a ton of $1.00 toys and put it in a prize bucket. Every time he went potty he got to pick a prize. Worked like a charm!. We also gave him a potty seat he picked out and a frog urinal on the wall. That way he had options. Best of luck.”
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