As a mother of a toddler I have found hearing the potty training stories of other families very helpful. The following is a potty training story from a caring mother of a 3 year old. It gives great insight into how one family found the right time for potty training their toddler.

Please share your potty training stories with us. Include the books that you and your child read which you found helpful or not helpful.

Potty Training Story

Our youngest son, Matthew, had no interest in using the toilet even at the ripe old age of three. As we passed his birthday and settled into a new school year for his brother, Christmas came and went and he still would tell me "no" when asked to sit on the potty. My job was busy in January, but I looked ahead to February and thought, okay, this is it.

I took most of a week off and started reading books about potty training. We checked out one for Matthew called No More Diapers for Ducky! since he loves ducks, and that seemed to hold his interest. I kept asking him if his diaper felt cold or wet, like ducky's did, but he didn't seem to really connect the two.

The one I got for me to read from my library was Toilet Training in Less Than A Day on the recommendation of a friend with kids, she had not used it but other friends of hers had. So I read through, and while I thought it was a little silly to potty train a doll first, when we got to it, Matthew really got into seeing if the doll went in the potty! I was surprised, and thought we had hit the jackpot - he was interested, he was drinking lots of liquids, he seemed like he was going to go along with everything. I was thrilled!

For that first day, things went well. He still had a few accidents, but they lessened on the second day and I was encouraged. Matthew wanted to keep training the doll, but I put it away saying that it was more important for me to see if HE could use the potty.

The third day, he seemed to backslide a little and I started to get stressed out. My husband, who was very supportive of the training, thought it was too much for me and was in favor of stopping and waiting until summer to start over. I decided to try for a couple more days, and I'm glad I did. I ended up having Matthew home in just his underpants - whenever he had on pants, the wetness didn't seem to bother him as much. Maybe this was because the pants absorbed the accident and wicked the moisture away from him, I'm not sure. Either way, hanging out in unders and staying home were the trick for us!

By the end of the third day, Matthew really understood that it was important for him to keep his pants dry, and to get to the potty when he had to go, and that while I wouldn't make him feel ashamed of an accident I wouldn't encourage it either. This was a biggie for us, since his older brother (who is six) still had occasional "drips" in his pants over the course of a day, and was still wetting the bed at night. (Matthew being potty trained has really helped our older son, who wants to be cooler than his brother!)

By the seventh day, Matthew headed off to daycare with underpants only - no PullUps - and his daycare provider said he went every time he needed to during the day with minimal prompting. That night, when we got home, he had one accident but it was only that first day. After that, no troubles. He also has been dry most nights since the middle of that second week of training, and we were able to stop buying PullUps for overnights for him.

As for the BMs, Matthew has always had trouble with constipation. As an infant, he even had trouble going as often as other children and had much firmer, larger BMs when they did pass. I have started him on Benefiber powder, on the advice of my pediatrician, and his stools are loosening up with daily treatment.

This week, the sixth week since we began this (boy, that went fast!) he had a BM in the toilet! It was wonderful - for weeks he has been asking me to "wipe" for him, and we would go to the bathroom and he would let a little tiny bit pass, then I'd wipe it away. Two minutes, we'd be right back doing the same thing. It would go on for a half hour this way, wiping little bits away at a time. Now, he's loosened up enough to let a whole BM pass at once and is so proud!

All in all, it has been a good experience. I am glad we waited - this would have been a real power struggle if we had started when he was younger, as he is a VERY strong-willed boy with opinions all his own! :) I would counsel other moms and dads who are thinking about waiting to do so. It caused me no extra stress to change his diapers a little while longer - in fact, it was much easier than if we'd started before Christmas and had a million accidents during the holiday season! February was a good time for us, as nothing is happening then: no holidays, no birthday parties, no occasions for trips out of town, nothing.

No one was judgmental about it - in fact, many of our friends with second children said the same thing, their son or daughter wasn't interested at all, even at the age of three or more. Reading while sitting on the potty didn't interest Matthew, but we did occasionally sing songs while waiting for the "piddles" or BMs to happen. (He loves to sing!)

He now runs right to the bathroom when he needs to go, and our only trouble is that he likes to make a bridge with toilet paper and leave it attached to the roll after wiping, which isn't so attractive or helpful to the next person in the bathroom! I still remind him to go around mealtimes and when we're going in the car, but he listens very well to his body's cues and is almost never wet at the end of the day. I'm thrilled with him! :)

Hope this helps someone. :)

 A Caring Mother

Please share your potty training story with us. Include the books that you and your child read which you found helpful or not helpful.

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