Potty Training Tips for a Toddler

Posted by Ali | Thursday February 7, 2013

Warning: Some content may be disturbing/graphic for readers who do not have children. Or have recently eaten lunch.

My 1 year old son poops on the toilet. It's been happening for months, not that I'm bragging (well, maybe a teeny bit). I am immensely proud that my boy, who only has a handful of teeth and not much more than a glorified comb-over, can sit, grunt and do the deed on demand. In fact, he uses sign language to tell me when he has to go.

Please try not to hate.

Now you're thinking that this is either a complete fluke or my son is a genius (neither of which have anything to do with me), and I'd be inclined to agree. But in the off chance that at least some of my methods are helping this along I thought I should share.

The Poop 'n Pee Song
When changing his diaper, I sing "The Poop 'n Pee Song" (a clever little ditty written by yours truly) about the funk in his diaper. Sing with me now! 'Cause there was the pee-pee and the poo-poo and the pee-pee and the poo-pooooooooo! It never fails to amuse him. He is a boy, after all.

Monkey See, Monkey Doo-Doo
Months before we started training, I took him into the bathroom with me when I had to go and sang the same song to him while I was on the toilet so he would make the association between what I was doing on the toilet and his own bodily functions (see? I warned you it would be disturbing, but as every mom knows, there is no such thing as privacy anyway). I did this starting around age 4 months.

Baby Sign Language
At 5 months, I started teaching him sign language. There are some really cool apps you can download on your phone that have cute babies doing sign language. I use Baby Sign and Learn. It has all of the basic action words you want to teach your little one like please, more, again, and poop! I introduced it for food first so I would know if he was still hungry and wanted more or if he wanted milk or water.

Using sign language is really helpful because during early stages the only other method of communication a baby has is to cry. My son was able to tell me what he wanted without crying. We continued adding words to his vocabulary until he could tell me when he has to use the toilet. Now he will happily tell any adult that he needs to poo, which is great for the babysitter or nanny but not so great for visiting relatives who are a little squeamish about holding a toddler over the toilet while he does his business.

I'm very proud of my boy and only hope that #2 will be just as trainable. Dear moms with more than one kid: what are my chances?

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8 Comments

	on February 12, 2013 AngelinaRosaries 2,303 said: I'd read this early method before and glad it is working for you. good savings on diaper for sure. Way to Go Ali! I personally waited till they are ready, around 3. After that, they are trained for the summer and no accidents. I tried my oldest son at 2, he was not ready and we all get frustrated. I bet the sign language helps too. With my 3 kids and lots of my daycare kids, the average is at 3. They have all the skills, they go when they need too, and a little bit of reminder. I guess it was easier for me too, and the kids are so physically ready - the motor skills are there to pull the pants down and up.
	on February 12, 2013 cutie_marlena 3,191 said: Wow! My daughter is just 3 weeks, but I will have to keep all of this in mind!
	on February 09, 2013 nscott84 4,013 said: Very good job, as I am finding out potty training is much harder with boys than with girls. Both of my girls were potty trained rather fast once they began My son on the other hand, he didn't take to the same methods and instead of a stand alone kiddy potty he required a big boy seat for the adult toilet.
	on February 08, 2013 KatelynRose1984 20,704 said: Wow! That is definitely impressive. My daughter was a late bloomer in potty training, and I literally tried everything with her. Maybe next time around I'll have to sing the Pee Pee Poo Poo song! haha.
	on February 08, 2013 Bren 26,031 said: Wow that's really impressive Ali!
	on February 07, 2013 Patricia 6,845 said: Great tips! Thanks! I will have to remember this when I need it! :)
	on February 07, 2013 fredamans 12,209 said: For my son, I used a penny in the toilet. It won't flush. Create a game where your child tries to aim for the coin. Then you reward him. See how fast he catches on and gets trained.
	on February 07, 2013 takoda 28,648 said: Your doing a great Job Ali. A friend of ours has a little one about a year older then your son and he's done sign language since he was about that same age. I wish I would have done this with my boy's so I didn't have them crying in frustration when I couldn't tell what they wanted. I've seen this done a lot in the last five years or so and it really dose work and I think makes for a much happier baby and household. I was very lucky with both of my boys and had both fully train with in a week. They were both always in the bathroom with one of us when we needed to go because back then we just left the door open to pee, or they'd just fallowed us in there. I'm not sure if that was part of the reason they both caught on so easily or not, I just know we got very lucky with both boy's. I think having them watch daddy pee was very helpful because as you know mama just can't do it like daddy can.LOL Try having him watch daddy more and he just might take the hit. Good luck to all of you going through this now!