Potty training tips??

[Renee2]

I am about to venture into potty training with three of my kids. Megan is pretty well on her way, but she doesn't poop in the potty, Kayla is my youngest and has decided on her own to start training. My main problem is Jimmy, his sensory issues are going to be a very big problem with training.

I don't want to push him, but he is over 3 1/2 and still has no interest at all in the potty. It was just a few months ago that I could even get him to go in the bathtub. He will not wear pull ups at all, he can't stand it when we have to clean his penis or apply cream to him. He freaks out. I really want them all out of diapers. I don't think Megan will ever be fully trained until there are no more diapers in the house and everyone is trained. Plus, three kids in diapers is killing my budget.

Any tips on how to make this less traumatic for me or them?

[Lori]

Sorry no ideas...we are still struggling with Chase. He pees on the potty if we can get the darn kid to sit on the potty! It requires every ounce of "creativity" I can come up with...incentives...you name it...and, sometimes, he simply won't do without kicking and screaming. Then, I think "Is this okay...to force him on the potty?"

Anyway...Chase won't wear pull ups either. They bother is tummy or something...yanks on them and screams. He will wear the swim diapers though???

He also refuses to wear undies...but, I think in early March we are going to hid all the diapers and tell him "at the end of the week...NO MORE DIAPERS, except for nap and bedtime." I actually think he is ready for it...heck, he often stays dry between diaper or potty trips...he is just SUPER STUBBORN!

Lori

[Kat281]

For us the thing that worked was using an incentive to get on the toilet or potty. He refused to sit at first. Then I started using Nemo stickers and he'd get one for just sitting. That got old fast. The thing that ended up working was letting him listen to the LION KING cd while and only while sitting on the potty. He started wanting to sit on the potty just to hear it. His big thing is music, I can still get him to do anything to hear his favorite songs. Then eventually after about a week he didnt need the music because his reward became peeing and pooping on the potty. I also left him naked for a few days, he was afraid to pee and poop on the floor. That stuff grosses him out. After the 3 days naked I started putting underwear on him and that was it.

[CaroFL]

At 3 1/2 Jackson had no interest in potty training what so ever. If it was up to him he would have stayed in diapers. The reward system did not work. Watching his twin sister (who by 2 1/2 was potty trained by herself, night and day) did not work. I had to get him trained because school would not take him without being potty trained. We took all the diapers out of the house and told him we had no more diapers. We used the Gerber cloth training pants and put him on the potty about every hour. At first he did not want to sit there. I would sit on a stool next to him and read books. He did have quite a few accidents and boy could he hold it in. It really only took a few weeks to get him trained. We also did not use diapers or pull ups at night -- we referred to the training pants as big boy undewear and he got the white ones like DH wears so he felt like a big boy. I always referred to him as a big boy during the training because it made him feel special and big boys don't wear diapers. Good luck, I certainly dreaded doing it -- now my problem is that Jackson only sits and goes to the bathroom he does not stand and go pee pee. If anyone has the same problem I would love to hear about it.

[Lori]

I have officially just given up on potty training!

I just deleted this, as I felt like I was "stealing" your post! SORRY!

I put it in my BLOG!

Lori

[CathyNY]

Aw, Lori. . .

Renee, I have no tips at the moment, but we are supposed to begin potty training Nicky NEXT WEEK (assuming he is over this bug by then), so I should have plenty of tips to offer then. Are you sure it's a good idea to do all three at once?! You know yourself--but I'd be scared.

[Louisette]

Hunter's school offered a workshop for potty training. I wasn't going to because I though Hunter was too young (23 months at the time) but ended up going and glad I did. We will be potty training during our next school break this April!

I got a whole workbook and here are the highlights...

Before you begin to toilet training
Is your child ready? You cant always wait for this. So find a good time to start where you have a few days uninterrupted wher you can stay at home and do this.. Ususally school breaks are a good time where you have 3-7 days free or Summertime. Get support (including teachers). Decide what words you will use to talk to your child ( Pee pee, Poopie, Potty). Get proper equipment (Chair VS seat on toilet (pee guard is imperative)). Find your childs preferred items (make a box to be left in the bathroom with puzzles, books, games, snacks, drinks.) If your child is male, have the Dad (when home) sit-in the beginning to be a model for the child. Boys should always start out sitting. Use a step stool in the beginning while sitting on the adult toilet to provide stability. Prepare and collect training pants and regular underwear. Sweats are easiest to pull down quickly, shorts too in warm weather. No diapers at all to be worn during training period except at night. Bring exact same toilet seat for school to be left there and tell teaches that your male child will SIT not stand when going to bathroom (this offers continuity).

Keep a bathroom chart. Do a dry pants check every 15-30 minutes for at least 3-5 days and record on a sheet the time you brought your child to the toilet, did they pee, did they poop, in the toilet or did they have an accident (#1 or #2) and were their pants dry when bringing them to the toilet.

After doing the chart for 3-5 days , then determine an appropriate amount of time to bring him to the toilet (every 30 mnutes, every hour) after looking at their bathroom chart. If they are wetting every 45 minutes, then dont bring them to the bathroom every hour, they will alreaady be wet when you go to bring them to use the potty! Bring them every 30 minutes then. Important to keep their bladder full to further chances of success. So during their time, provide their favorite drink, unlimited amounts. You can even give them salty foods to increase thrist!

Do a dry pants check In the beginning when starting to log on your chart) every 5 minutes in the beginning (until you start to see a pattern developing) You can they increae to to every 30 minutes. During this time you do they dry pants check, have the child touch the dry pants with you saying something like "see you are dry...you're a big boy now) and use a reinforcer for them to keep staying dry (favorite book, stickers). When it is time (that 5-30 minute time period) to take them to the bathroom again (use a timer set as a reminder) for you and the child. Say "now its time to go to the potty". If when you get there they are dry say something like "great job staying dry". Then have them sit on the potty and do what you can to make them comfortable to go to the bathroom. You can run the water (noise), put their hand in warm water, pour warm water over their privates. Make them sit for 5 minutes (not too much longer) or until they finish eliminating. If no pee/poop praise them for sitting on the potty and staying dry. If they did pee/poop provide a reinforcer, book, stickers... and throw a POTTY PARTY! Remember you have the POTTY PARTY Box being kept in the bathroom so it is there initally to keep them occupied when sitting and if they are successful, you have the contents ther for a BIG PARTY! If no pee/poop in the potty take them back in the bathroom within 15 minutes..if you believe they need to go. Continue this until they pee/pop consistently and can stay dry most of the day.

It sounds like a lot of effort but in the end, we all know it will be worth it! Good luck. Let me know if you have questions. I gave you the basics, there is much more detail to the workbook. So ask if you need clarification or have any other questions related to the potty training.

[Terry]

I'm no help as my guys started kindergarten in pullups. By the end of the school year Max was 100% trained. Robert is pee trained and will stay in underwear unless he has to poop. We keep a supply of pullups at home for him.

One thing that worked for us and made it much easier especially w/Max was he was ready. Prior to that only I was ready, they weren't.

Oh yeah and the party idea...USE IT. Max told us one day he wanted to stop wearing diapers. We told Max if he stayed in underwear for a week without accidents(pee accidents) we would have a party---knockdown drag out full blown matching party supplies of his choice party. Within one week we had our party and about a month later he was poop trained and we have looked back since.

[DebyD]

I have some paperwork on Joseph's potty training bootcamp that the Autism DR for the school system gave me. It is a system that is very hard to do. You have to be 100% committed for several days.

B/c of our kids sensory issues, it is not an issue of waiting until they are ready, I think. Sometimes we just have to help them get on with life whether they are ready or not. I guess this is why they offered the potty training camp for the special needs kids.

So at the school they had two counselors to each kid. Each kid had their own bathroom. The child was taken out of the diapers/pullups and placed on the toilet for 20 minutes. During that time, you pull out the stops. Books, songs, whatever. If they cry and scream (which they do) you physically keep them on the toilet without hurting them. So, if your son loves dinosaurs, you have tons of dinosaur books/toys with you.

After 20 minutes he gets up. If he went anything in the toilet, you celebrate with a candy treat. If he gets off without going, he gets to play for 5 minutes. I think they put Joseph in his underwear during play time. I have to get his notes.

Then you say the words "Dry pants check." And hand over hand teach the child to touch his underwear/pants to make sure he's dry. If he's dry, you celebrate and give another small candy reward.

Do another 5 minutes of free play and another "Dry pants check." Making sure the child checks to make sure his pants are dry. Celebrate with a small candy reward if he is dry.

If at any time he starts to have an accident while in underwear, undress hima nd put him immediately on the toilet.

They used the kid sized real peoplel toilets at the boot camp.

Was there screaming and crying? Yes there was.

But...you also provide a really big incentive for after a few days. Joseph's was the dinosaurs from Imaginex. I think he got one after self-initiating to use the toilet. Another after several dry periods.

Also you say "Big boys, pee pee in the potty chair." that kind of thing when he has an accident. And he has to repeat after you so many times.

It is kind of all a blur. But I'll tell you it was hard. I had tried to do Emilie at the same time at home, while not really understanding the process. So I had E who would pee if I put her on the toilet, but who didn't know she had to "go" and so would have accidents.

It wasn't until I sat with both of them in the bathroom for a day or two trying to continue Joseph's progress from his bootcamp that I had success with both of them.

We do still use pull ups at night. I think that Joseph has that chemical imbalance that boys have or still has an immature bladder. He has an accidnet at least once a night. Emilie is totally dry, but is mentally attached to the pullups still.

I'm sure there is going to be something I left out. I think I had some posts to Cindyjumper regarding the technique. You do keep a chart, etc.

Also, there is a web site out there with Autism Potty Training tips. You get sent an email every day or once a week or something.

to everyone. You really, really have to be committed to this technique. And it was HE11. But I think it was really worth it.

Joseph got to see that he could accomplish it. He and Emilie both got some cool rewards that they are still proud of and still play with.

We got to use the phrase "Big Boys..." and "Big Girls..." for alot of other things for awhile. Joseph got the concept that he was a big boy now and not a baby. He hates being called a baby. If there is some sort of a stim that is babyish I can tell him that big boys don't do that now.

Good luck!

DebyD

[GJD]

I would do a couple of things before starting the potty training with Jimmy. First, read lots of potty books to him. We had a whole library-worth of books. We also went to see the potty at restaurants, stores, etc. We had his teachers in special needs preschool tour the bathrooms at school.

Second, I would address his sensory issues. We had a whole long list of things to do from my son's OT, including brushing, playing in water in various places -- bathtub, kiddy swimming pool, running in the sprinkler in bathing suit, then in his clothes. We did sensory things for about 3 months before starting potty training.

Once we had interest and the sensory issues addressed, potty training went relatively quickly and gently. We bribed him with things he really wanted for each step along the way. The wonderful thing about training a sensory challenged kid is once they get it, they never have accidents.

Good luck.