My toilet training success

We decided a few months ago that Andrew was ready for toilet training, and we had also given him a deadline of being toilet trained by next Jan, due to the next baby (I think we have given him heaps of time). He didn't like the potty so we got a step for the toilet. He was really good at telling us that he needed to do wee's and would get to the toilet before he did it in his nappy, but we were having troubles with the poo's.

So.... I decided to do a sticker chart for Andrew with plain stickers for wee's and very special stickers for poos. I started it 3 weeks ago and Andrew was loving the sticker thing and then we decided to put him into undies as he was getting really good at telling us when he needed to go. I also told his daycare that we were doing this so they could help with the training. It took a few days to get a special sticker for poos, but as so as he knew that he ws getting special stickers for poos we have only had 1 accident with poo's (he exploded and it went everywhere, big mission for dad to clean up as mum was on her way out!!!). Once we got the poo's in the toilet we decided to change the sticker chart just for poo's and he is doing so well. He has 11 stickers left to get and then he gets a Thomas the Tank Engine DVD (his reward for his effort, I didn't want to reward him with food). He also loves going into daycare and telling his carer that he is wearing undies .

Next chart we do is for staying dry after his afternoon sleep, then onto the big one of overnight.

If anyone is thinking of toilet training soon, you could try it as well.

We did the same thing Becks and found it worked wonderfully for Paris. We just decided one morning around last xmas.. i think she was about 2 yrs 4 mths.. that we would put her in undies, and she has been in them ever since. she was doing really well then regressed a little so thats when the stickers came in.. she gets forgetful at daycare if she's busy doing something - she's worried if she goes to the loo someone will come and play with it and she'll loose it (which is highly likely!!) we have a calendar in her room anyway, so at the end of the day, if she has had an accident-free day (or a dry-day, as she calls it), she gets a sticker. we gave her the incentive first off that once she had 7 dry days in a row she would get some hi-5 underwear.. which took a while to get, she would get 3 or 4 days then forget and have a little accident. so it would be back to square one. After she achieved that, all was good, we kept doing the stickers (she loved putting a sticker on her calendar at the end of the day) but after a while the accidents started coming back thick and fast again, so we gave her another incentive.. this time of 14 days in a row.. (we knew she could do at least 10 by looking back over her calendar.. handy) straight off she got to 11, almost 12.. but had a n accident and back we went, it took forever.. we had her reward sitting up in our wardrobe.. a doodle-bear which she had wanted so bad for ages.. and had picked as her reward, and come with us to schoose it.. she knew it was there, she knew once she got all those days in a row she could have it.. still took a couple of months but finaly we got there.. and now, for the last few months we are lucky if there is 1, maybe 2 gaps on her calendar a month where she has had a "wet-day".   I think small incentives and rewards go a long way.. not only does it teach them to work towards things but they learn along the way how to get there.. to go to the toilet before starting activities etc... Paris knew that the doodle bear was her last reward as mike explained to her that there would be no more cos getting 14 dry days in a row meant she was a big girl and could stay dry.

Good luck, It's great not having to bujy naps for her very often.. she is dry during afternoon sleeps, but we have not yet done the trial at night.. we will do that once summer is properly here and she is a little older., mostly she'll get up in the morning and her nappy is dry anyway.

Well done Andrew (and mum and dad). Lissy still wets at night. heavy sleeper too. We did have a stretch of a few dry nights in a row, which she got a reward for. But thismorning it was a cold wet bed and girl.... She just doesnt wake herself up when she wets.

I think I have been blessed with a child that is wonderful. Finished the sticker chart for poos in the toilet and is really good, does with out us asking sometimes. We got Andrew pullups (sfter me sticking to my no more nappies) and for the past 2 nights has been dry . We call them his special undies and that he shouldn't do wees or poos in them like his other undies he wears. So happy with this and he thinks he is just the best in the morning. His carer at daycare was most impressed when I told her no more nappies at all for Andrew, as she is having troubles with her nearly 4 year old at night.

Try a sticker chart on a calander and go for days in a row that she is dry and at the end she gets a reward. Make it something she likes and really wants. We are getting Andrew a Thomas DVD as that is something he wants for his efforts with the sticker chart for poos on the toilet.