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My Dread of Potty Training a Boy

When your kid grabs his crotch and says “go potty, eeew!” right as he’s peeing, you’d think that’s a sign that it’s time to potty train right?

Progress is up and down (ok I haven’t really been trying very hard) but I’m trying to take it at his own pace. Big T seems to be a bit scared of the toilet right now. But despite my previous disgust for them, he happens to love his portable potty chair.

I think next month we’ll buy his first pair of training pants. Once we got Lil’ J a pair, she potty trained in a jiffy. All we had to do was tell her Cinderella would be sad if she peed on her and she made it a point to make it to the potty.

Big T on the other hand, I doubt will care who is on the front of his underpants. Is it a boy thing? A personality thing? It was so easy with my daughter and I already feel behind with my son. He’s already messier (his hands have been in the toilet more than anything else), and it seems like it could be quite the disaster.

Potty training and handy uses for wipes

Then again, he just turned two in April. There’s no real need to rush. Especially if it’ll hinder progress more than help.

I also think my husband should play a bigger role this time. He was convinced he’s suppose to pee standing up, but I told him that’s not how toddler boys learn. Oye!

As much as I love to cherish the phase we’re in, I must say I can’t wait to be done with the potty training.

All of the pit stops and cleanups. It’ll be nice to make it through this and leave the diapers behind.

Wipes however, will still come in handy. I think I use baby wipes come in handy for much more other than just wiping baby butts.

My kiddos helped me make this video showing some of our favorite uses of baby wipes.

I also love using them to remove deodorant stains, and for a dozen other cleaning-type uses. And my husband finds them handy too.

So even when we make it through potty training, our Seventh Generation Free and Clear Baby Wipes will still be quite useful. But until then… Pray for me and share your potty-training tips (especially for boys).

What handy ways do you use baby wipes? Have any potty-training tips for me?

I got lots of great responses in the comments! Check them out as you make it through your own potty-training journey!

Wow, this is a great list of potty training tips for boys. Definitely sanity-saving.

 

*This story is sponsored by Seventh Generation as a part of an ongoing partnership. All opinions expressed are my own.

handy uses for baby wipes


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We just finished potty training our son…. My husband refused to let him sit down, said guys stand up, so that is how he learned. I will say it went rather well and liked the cheerio target game in the toilet.

As for wipes, I keep a package in each bathroom, the van, in my purse and one in the stroller at all times. I find we use them for EVERYTHING. All the time.

Danielle says:

I was so excited to be done… But now we’re done and we’re in aiming training. Get ready with those Clorox wipes!

Yvonne says:

We followed the kids’s leads. I wasn’t in any big hurry to think my kid was failing at this task. Both boy and girl child reached a level of detente at age 4. My only goal was to have it done by kindy. 😀

Pull ups are great. No issues with accidents. They are the perfect intermediary between diapers and undies. Kids feel grown up using them and you don’t have to worry about stopping every 5 minutes.

In controlled situations (like at home), we used undies and explained these are what adults wear, but you have to tell us when you need help. They soon learn to hate peeing on their clothes and become more conscious of the signals that tell them they need to go.

Boys are the same as girls when it comes to peeing, pooping though is a whole other thing. Even when our sons were in diapers they’d react differently when going poo. They scream, yell, and carry on like they were birthing an alien. They are totally freaked out and afraid of the whole deal (without any input from us on that score).

I remember needing to rush my brother to the ER when he was 3 because he had refused to go poop for so long that he was getting sick. An enema, a series of antibiotics, gallons of prune juice, and a few more months more and he finally learned this task (under threat of returning to the ER). I have read countless stories online of similar experiences. Boys are just special when it comes to training this task. So give him time, reassure him that it is all normal, try to be conscious of feeding him fiber and natural diuretics (ie, apple juice, blueberries, etc) to keep his bowels flowing normally because one case of constipation could set you back months. No joke.

Good luck. I hope it all works out smoothly. 🙂

James Oliver says:

The wife and I went to a potty training class and they said girls take an interest in it before boys, and forcing kids to train actually causes the whole process to take longer. So, you’re smart not to bother him about it.

Our twin daughter is way more interested in it than our son, too.

Have fun.

Yep, my kids are older and we still keep baby wipes on hand. They are great for on-to-go, zoo trips, in the car, you name it!

Joanne says:

Good luck with potty training your own – I’m sure he’ll do just fine! We use baby wipes for lots of things like cleaning up after our pets.

Mari says:

Great share I didn’t have a boy but my friends who did swear by the Cheerio method which is using cheerios as incentive for the “aim” lol you drop a few in the potty or toilet and have your little man aim! Best of luck also keeping liquids to an hour before bedtime and peeing right after schedule helps with accidents. I wrote a whole post some time back with other tips if your interested 🙂

Bri says:

I use baby wipes to wipe away the smell of sweat on hot summer days. I don’t have children yet, but I hope potty-training goes as smoothly as it did for my mother.

Dani says:

I’m so glad Ro is out of diapers. At night we have accidents still. I thought the process would be harder.

Chastity says:

We went straight from diapers to undies. We stayed home for 3 days, made our son drinks lots of juice and sat on the potty every 20 minutes (set a timer.) After 1 or 2 times of him wetting his undies he had no desire to get them dirty again. He was fully potty trained after that!

marie says:

Not a gender thing, just a personality thing. My oldest son took about a year and a half to potty train…. yes, I’m serious. He was mostly potty trained after a few months but would have accidents probably 2-3 times a week for over a year. My younger boy we trained just before his 3rd birthday and after one weekend he was fully trained and had no more accidents.

Amanda V says:

We are potty training too. He is number 4 and just being difficult. He goes when we put him on the potty but wont tell us when he needs to go. He just goes. Then tells us he’s already gone. Then my 4yo daughter started to regress because her baby brother was getting treats for going potty.

I’ve made a sticker chart and hes done so much better! Plus my 4 yo hasn’t had one mess since we started the sticker awards. They both LOVE putting up the stickers.

Heather says:

Potty training can be an adventure for sure – but it’s great when they get it and you are done!!

Jessica says:

We were finished with potty training 10 years ago, thank goodness. I still remember the first day I was babysitting my little brother and cousin who were potty training… One went all over the floor, and the other followed as I cleaned up the first mess.

Thank goodness for baby wipes making the process of cleaning up easy!!!

AmyRyb says:

My son is just a few months older than Big T and we are having zero luck. He has sat on the potty or the special seat on the toilet maybe 3 or 4 times. I offer it, he says no. The couple times I tried to coerce him a little, he freaked out so it was clear that was not the way to go. I can tell he’s getting a little uncomfortable in dirty diapers, so I do have hope. My older son did the potty thing pretty regularly starting around 2, but he wasn’t fully trained until 3-1/2. So, my thinking this time around is that he’s ready when he’s ready, and maybe by then he’ll just get it and it will be a quicker process. If peer pressure at daycare and watching his big brother aren’t helping right now, he’s just not ready. The one caveat to this is that all bladders are different. My older son had consistent issues at night until he was six (!) but suddenly he was fine and we’ve only had a couple accidents in the many months since. Sometimes their brain and their bladder just can’t get on the same page! Heck, we STILL catch him doing the dance and tell him to go…he’s just too busy! Good luck!

Nicole says:

My daughter who is a few months older than your son has no interest in potty training. She has yet to actually go on the potty. We even bought her a Minnie potty (her favorite character), hoping that would encourage her to at least sit on the potty. She will occasionally sit on the potty, but not consistently. We have put her in panties a few times, but she just holds it until we put a diaper back on her. So, I clearly have no advice. She is my oldest so I have no clue what I’m doing. But, all the research says if you push them, it can be damaging. So I just ask her if she wants to use the potty and if not, we move on.

Linda says:

I feel your pain. My older son potty trained in no time thanks to my father. My younger son didn’t potty train until he was 3 1/2 years old! His potty chair became a toy, and he constantly threw it down the stairs. So, don’t worry. It will happen when he’s ready.

Courtney says:

Potty training my daughter was a nightmare. Started her at 2 yrs & 9 mts and finally took her out of nighttime pull ups just before her 4th bday. My son miraculously went pee pee in the potty 3x in a two day span right at 18 mts and I thought it was Jesus’ way of giving me a break for round two! Not so much! He hasn’t peed on the potty since and refuses to even sit on it. He’s still only 22 mts so I feel zero pressure at this point. I just pray it’s smoother than my daughters journey!

kathryn says:

I have a two and a half year old boy. And it’s been quite a process trying to potty train him. If we ask if he wants to he always says no. We can get him to sit on it sometimes especially if we offer a reward for going, and he will pee almost every time. Poop however has not happened no matter what we try. I feel like it’s never going to happen.

Josephine says:

Nice Read…

I agree with you all, potty training is a must, since this training is a part of our overall personality grooming and understanding the meaning of hygiene levels.

Such type of training is mandatory to be taught at the age of 1-3 years of age…

Thanks a lot for sharing this post and making people aware with the beneficiaries allied to it.

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Hi! I’m Jennifer Borget

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I'm a former journalist, and lifelong creator striving to make the world a better place. This is the space where I share my journey in making the most of every day by cherishing our individuality and celebrating our differences.



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