Mom Needs Help with Potty Training

This came from a Mom and I thought it would be a good place to start some of the discussions.

My son Lukas is 4 years old and we are in the process of potty training and have been for quite some time now. A problem I am facing is that at night when I put him to bed he is wearing a diaper. In the morning he is wearing nothing. If he has to use the restroom in the middle of the night he goes on his floor, walls, toys, and himself – everywhere. I’ve tried putting him in underwear, pull-ups… and it’s always the same… do you or anyone have any suggestions? Thanks for your help.

We need information or help with transition into the adult world. ›

My son, 3

Submitted by GascogneLaura on Sun, 06/21/2009 - 23:04.

I never thought I would get my son trained. he is almost 4, and we just literally got him trained and with just 2 accidents in the last 2 weeks.

Is your son motivated by candy? It sounds terrible I know. It worked for our son. We decided to start with cotton underwear in the daytime and potty scottys over cotton underwear at night (which we still do). I started by simply taking him to the toilet every 2 hours and giving him candy (just 1 small piece) every time he peed...2 for pooping. It took about a week of doing this every 2 hours. Nothing except candy would motivate him. (If I ran out of the candy he liked at the time, he would throw rages---so be consistent---all the way down to the flavor---Skittles are neat, non-messy and kids usually like them---but if I ran out of that or the flavor he was into...watch out! Gummi Bears are good too but my son does not like Gummi Bear texture)

The trick of course is consistency...reward EVERY time, do not acknowledge the accidents except maybe (Oh well, you tried)...My son eventually got angry at himself for accidents since he knew he would not get candy.

I bought the POtty Scottys on EBAY. It worked for us using this method. He still requires the candy after peeing and pooping but anything is better than diapers for a 40lb+ kiddo.

Every one is different

Good Luck, laura

Potty Training Help (from moms at Cerner)

Submitted by Kray on Thu, 04/09/2009 - 15:02.

 

Author : Webb,Kelli (kelli.webb@cerner.com)
 
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If he's waking up during the night, taking off his diaper, and peeing on things, it's probably around the same time of night every night.  She should try to find out what time he's waking up and then wake him up just before that, and walk him to the bathroom to use the potty.  Then, put his diaper back on and put him back to bed.
 
Suggestions for finding out what time he's waking up could be as simple as a baby monitor turned way up so you'll hear him, or even something like a motion detector rigged to go off in your room if he gets out of bed.  Or even just camp out in his room for a few nights.
 

Author : Williams,Kathy Williams (kathy.williams@cerner.com) She may also want to experiement with different brands or materials of diaper. If he has sensory issues, the material that the diaper is made of (stiff paper & plastic?) may be too painful or irritating to him to be able to sleep. She could check if he's removing it as soon as she leaves the room, long before he soils the bed or floor.