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My son, for a while, was showing signs that he was ready to start potty training, so I wanted to share my experience on how to start potty training boys age 2. If your son goes to daycare, he is already beginning to learn how to do it, but you will need to reinforce it at home to ensure his success.
Potty training for boys can go beyond the age of two, so if you find that now is not the right time, you can always ask his daycare if your son is showing signs of wanting to potty train or if it’s something that you should wait a little longer to try. You can always consult your pediatrician for assistance if you are not sure.
Potty training is fun and stressful. It’s a sign your little one is moving to a new milestone in a toddler’s life, but you’re not sure how long it will take before your toddler is potty trained. Some toddlers take a few days, and some can take a few weeks. Regardless of how long it will take for your toddler to potty train, this is going to be a moment that you remember for your toddler.
This post is about potty training boys age 2.
Toddler See, Toddler Do
Your son is mimicking a lot of what you do at this age. From how you brush your teeth, comb your hair, and even repeat some words you say. Since you can easily catch their attention with anything you do, the best way to introduce the potty training process is to start by showing them what they will be doing.
Your son is already following you in the bathroom. Knocking over everything anyway to while you are on the toilet, start talking to them about what you are doing. We began to do things with our son like, “this is what big boys use to go to the bathroom.” We explain what it is and demonstrate how to sit on the toilet.
You can either buy a potty or get a toilet seat attachment as we did. We went with the attachment option because we didn’t want to dump the bowels afterward, but you can choose what is best for you and your family.
I never thought I would be potty training boys age 2
My husband and I started by sitting our son on the potty while dressed. We did this so our toddler would begin to understand the concept. At this age of two, we have no idea when he has to potty and how often he potties, but we know that we change his diaper every 2-3 hours. We will use this schedule to put him on the toilet to see if he even has to go.
Even if he doesn’t have to go, getting our son in the happen of going to the bathroom every few hours is a good start to setting up a schedule of when he should be letting us know he needs to go to the bathroom.
It won’t be perfect, but it’s a start. If you aren’t sure how often your son is going to the bathroom, either ask the daycare provider or pick a timeframe you want to start with and go from there. You will have to develop a schedule for your son anyway, so whatever you come up with will work for your toddler.
Start During the Day, then Move to Night.
It goes without saying, but you don’t want to start potty training a two-year-old at night. You have to watch for visual cues, make changes to the schedule, and you can’t do that at night. Also, when you’re sleeping, you have no idea when they are using the bathroom, and at this age, your son still doesn’t have enough control to hold it until the morning to go to the bathroom.
You will know based on your toddler temperament if you can start in the mornings or start in the afternoons works best. This process of potty training has to be gradual. We started early afternoons with our son since we know he is most alert and ready to receive information, but your son might be different.
Once you feel comfortable, you can introduce underwear to your son as a reward system. You will allow them to wear the underwear after they have gone to the bathroom for small increments at a time until you feel your son can go an entire “bathroom cycle” without using the toilet. You will start this gradually and make sure to get your son’s input on what type of underwear they would like to wear. My son, just like yours, is probably into Cocomelon, Paw Patrol, and things they can build and break, so getting their underwear in their favorite characters will help motivate them.
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Teach Sitting Down First, then Standing
As a mom, this is the part that starts to get tricky. The standing up and having them aim and shoot will take time for them to master, so I have started with having my son sit on the toilet. If you can get your son to master moving his bowels while sitting, once you transition to standing, it will be a treat for them.
Tools on the market help boys aim correctly in the toilet. And it’s even cool to see that it’s made out of games. It’s more important to get your son to learn while sitting because he will have to “poop,” and we can’t have him doing that standing up. Also, since we as moms are sitting when we use the toilet, it’s easier for them to see us model the behavior we want to see from when they are in the lavatory themselves.
Get them in their Birthday Suit.
Sometimes going commando, and I’ve heard from other boy moms, this is the best and most effective way to get your son to potty train faster. I would only do this method if you are ok with your floors being wet, have an area in your home where you feel comfortable having your son playing, and being around the house naked. I wouldn’t do this cold turkey. Not every family can do this method (like we can’t. We have carpet everywhere, and our son and dog are very close in age, so we can’t risk our puppy reverting to peeing all over the house).
Try out different methods and see what works best for your family and your son. Your son will dictate which way he is gravitating to the most at the end of the day. Whatever he seems to master the best is the method you stick with for training. Remember not to compare what you have to do for your son to others. Advice is always helpful, but you don’t want to stress you or your son out.
Celebrate the Small Wins
Positive reinforcement will be crucial to your son’s success with potty training. Yelling, screaming, and making a big deal about something your son does wrong will not help him feel good about this transition, and it will take him longer. It’s not going to be an overnight process, so if you can get your son to sit on the toilet for a few minutes without crying or making a fuss, reward them.
You want to get your son into the habit that the potty is an excellent place to be and that nothing wrong will happen to him at the potty. Everything that you see positive around their experience with the toilet should be rewarded. If you see your son run to the potty and dance around it, reward him. If your son can wear underwear for a couple of hours without an accident, reward him. Even if he flushes the toilet on his own, reward him.
Keep Trying potty training boys age 2
Success comes with repetition, especially with boys. If you want your son to succeed, you must keep at it even when it gets complicated. There will be days and moments that your son will backslide. If you have a life change like a new baby, new pet, moving, or change in daycare, this will make them backslide since toddlers don’t do well with change.
Acknowledge the change, and keep trying. Never compare your journey with potty training your son to other people. He is still in diapers, so don’t make him feel like he is slow or behind. Some boys can take up to three years old before understanding the potty training concept, so you have time.
If you were potty trained by your parents, you could teach your son. Don’t overthink the process and make it fun. Always reach out to your pediatrician if you feel your son is not making the progress he should, but that should only come after you have tried for a few months or if you notice something is off about the process.
If you are looking for more resources on how to adjust to the world of being a toddler parent, here on the blog, I have plenty of topics on toddler development, parenting and product reviews.
This post is about potty training boys age 2.
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