Toilet Training Boys - The Simple Guide

This part is meant to give you some motivation to get the job done. You need to be serious about getting your little one potty trained if it's going to happen. So below is a simple listing of things you probably hate about your son not being potty trained that hopefully will give you enough pain to get the job done (I experienced ALL of these):

1. Changing diapers - this was fun the first 10,000 times
2. Buying diapers - I could have paid cash for a car by now with how much I've spent
3. Washing soiled clothes
4. Changing soiled clothes
5. Changing sheets on a daily basis
6. Waiting for them to complain about being wet or soiled, but they never do. You start to wonder if they enjoy it for some reason?
7. Telling them to go to the bathroom 100 times as they do the "pee-pee" dance
8. Wondering why they hold it in for hours until you put a diaper on them, and then they go
9. Getting pissed off that the dog got a diaper and shredded it on your bedroom floor
10. Stepping on a little "nugget" that fell out of their diaper
11. The smell of the Diaper Genie
12. Diaper rashes and having to use a wipe on that rash - talk about screaming bloody murder!
13. Having your daughter use the unused diapers on her dolls (if you have girls you know what I'm talking about)
14. The fear of what will happen if they are not potty trained by the time school starts (our preschool required them to be potty trained before they started)
15. Did I mention buying them?

OK, you gotta love your boys and some of these things truly are cute, but the diaper stage does get old, so let's get down to business...

You first have to figure out if they are ready to potty train or not. Every kid is different and boys sometimes take a little longer than girls. But deep down, you know when they are ready. And if they show some of the following, they are probably ready to learn:

1. Do they show an interest?

If they show a genuine interest when they watch daddy or watch an older sibling go to the bathroom, then they are probably ready.

2. Do they stay dry?

Can they go a couple hours without wetting their diaper? If so, their bladder has probably developed enough for them to start learning.

3. Can they verbally understand?

Are they at an age that they can follow simple directions? If not, your attempts at potty training will be futile.

4. Are they becoming more independent?

Are they showing signs of wanting to do things themselves? If so, they are probably ready to start potty training.

If you think they are ready, then go to Step 2. If not, stop and wait - and don't beat yourself up, every kid develops at their own pace. Relax knowing that it will happen. Heck, if anything, you know they won't be in diapers when their 40 years old!

When toilet training boys, and girls for that matter, you have to plan a fun shopping trip with them to get all your potty training supplies. Here is generally what you should get:

1. A couple of potties - get a few of them for different spots around the house.
2. Underwear - don't just get plain white ones, make it fun. Get their favorite character and let them pick them out. In my house not getting Spiderman wet was pretty much the motivation to get potty trained!
3. An anatomically correct doll - you see why below
4. A wall chart and stickers - or at least something to track progress and to give them a reward

And by all means, make sure they are involved in the shopping - it makes them buy into the fact that they will be potty training.

I know it sounds silly, but when toilet training boys, start off by toilet training the doll. Kids can relate to the doll and they do not view it as a threat. Get them involved and model correct behavior with the doll.

Yes, you heard that - every time the doll correctly uses the potty, give it a sticker for the potty chart. This way, your son will see that the doll gets rewarded every time it uses the potty.

This is a great way to have your son want to copy the doll so he gets a sticker too!

Yep, at this stage in toilet training boys, it's time to say goodbye to the diapers. And you have to go cold turkey.

I know, I know, sometimes it's way easier to slap on a diaper if they have an accident. BUT...

resist the temptation. By doing so, you are teaching them to go in their pants so they can wear a diaper.

To make it a little easier and fun, you can even have a farewell party for the diapers, complete with balloons and little party favors!

Above all, give them constant positive reinforcement. You cannot get mad if they have an accident because they will have one, I can guarantee you that.

Use the stickers, or any other positive type reinforcement, to teach them that going on the potty is a fantastic thing.

When they do have an accident, let them know its OK and take them to the potty and have them sit on it for 2-3 minutes. Get them some dry pants and then take them back to the potty every 10 minutes or so for 5-10 times.

But above all be supportive!

My 4 year old son was the worst. We tried just about everything we could think of and could not get him potty trained. He would continually wet himself, and then stay in it how hours. We thought maybe the wetness would make him uncomfortable and make him want to go in the potty, but it didn't. It was almost as if he enjoyed being wet?

And sometimes, when he wore a pull-up at night, he would wear it when it was about to fall off because it was so full. We thought maybe that would make him uncomfortable enough to be fully potty trained. But, we were wrong.

That's when we finally turned to a resource called Potty Trained in 1 to 3 Days. It not only helps with potty training, but it helps tremendously if you have a strong-willed child. It also helps you learn how to talk to your child to get them potty trained quicker.

All in all, it was a fantastic resource because we were at wits end. It did take us about 5 days to get him potty trained with Potty Trained in 1 to 3 Days, but we're not complaining because we had tried for months prior to that.

So, if you are having trouble toilet training your son, then you should really check out Potty Trained in 1 to 3 Days. It helped us tremendously.

Good luck, and enjoy them while they are young, they grow up so quick!