Re: potty training deaf child

[Guest guest]

My daughter Emma was totally potty trained before she was 2, she was just

" ready " . However she is not hearing impaired. Vs. My son Ian who refuses to

wear " Spider Man " (we've tried every different character out there)

underwear, he is terrified of sitting on a potty chair; however he hates it

when his diaper is soiled. He is 3.5 and is hearing impaired.

I too would love to know if there are any tricks we've missed... I thought

we'd been there, done that with our first child. Now I am getting very

concerned as he grows older; is it because he is hearing impaired, that he

won't potty train easily? I am so bad about comparing Ian to Emma, it's not

fair to him that his sister was above average in everything she ever tried.

I many times feel lost when it comes to figuring him out. He is so

incredibly challenging. -ALSO I too think 19 months is really too early to

seriously try to potty train. However each child is different, and the

sticker reward game sounds interesting.

--

Thanks,

Tillery

Birmingham, AL

Ian (3-1/2 yrs HI Moderate/Severe - Aids)

Emma (7 yrs Hearing)

on 12/17/03 4:34 PM, & Cammy at ricoba1017@... wrote:

> My daughter also had her own little potty. That was one thing that motivated

> her to go to the restroom. Also we had a chart and she got a sticker for

> everytime she urinated while those added up she got a prize at the end. For

> the times she had a bowel movement she got a treat bec she usually went in her

> underwear and was a bit harder to train her to use the toilet. It was

> something visual and she was able to understand it. She also saw some of her

> cousins using the toilet so she wanted to do what they were doing. She was 2

> 1/2 yrs old at the time we were training her, I think 19 months is too young.

> But everyone has different opinions.

> Good luck.

>

>

> --- I am looking for suggestions. I just bought my

> 19month old a potty chair for chirstmas. But since he

> cant hear the " tinkle " (and I dont know how well he

> can see it??) I wonder what the best way to go about

> this is?? Are there books on this? My son got a

> cochlear implant in October, but due to swelling, we

> have not been able to keep it turned on yet. Any ideas???

>

>

> Sign up for Internet Service under $10 dollars a month, at

> http://isp.BlueLight.com

>

> All messages posted to this list are private and confidential. Each post is

> the intellectual property of the author and therefore subject to copyright

> restrictions.

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

My daughter Emma was totally potty trained before she was 2, she was just

" ready " . However she is not hearing impaired. Vs. My son Ian who refuses to

wear " Spider Man " (we've tried every different character out there)

underwear, he is terrified of sitting on a potty chair; however he hates it

when his diaper is soiled. He is 3.5 and is hearing impaired.

I too would love to know if there are any tricks we've missed... I thought

we'd been there, done that with our first child. Now I am getting very

concerned as he grows older; is it because he is hearing impaired, that he

won't potty train easily? I am so bad about comparing Ian to Emma, it's not

fair to him that his sister was above average in everything she ever tried.

I many times feel lost when it comes to figuring him out. He is so

incredibly challenging. -ALSO I too think 19 months is really too early to

seriously try to potty train. However each child is different, and the

sticker reward game sounds interesting.

--

Thanks,

Tillery

Birmingham, AL

Ian (3-1/2 yrs HI Moderate/Severe - Aids)

Emma (7 yrs Hearing)

on 12/17/03 4:34 PM, & Cammy at ricoba1017@... wrote:

> My daughter also had her own little potty. That was one thing that motivated

> her to go to the restroom. Also we had a chart and she got a sticker for

> everytime she urinated while those added up she got a prize at the end. For

> the times she had a bowel movement she got a treat bec she usually went in her

> underwear and was a bit harder to train her to use the toilet. It was

> something visual and she was able to understand it. She also saw some of her

> cousins using the toilet so she wanted to do what they were doing. She was 2

> 1/2 yrs old at the time we were training her, I think 19 months is too young.

> But everyone has different opinions.

> Good luck.

>

>

> --- I am looking for suggestions. I just bought my

> 19month old a potty chair for chirstmas. But since he

> cant hear the " tinkle " (and I dont know how well he

> can see it??) I wonder what the best way to go about

> this is?? Are there books on this? My son got a

> cochlear implant in October, but due to swelling, we

> have not been able to keep it turned on yet. Any ideas???

>

>

> Sign up for Internet Service under $10 dollars a month, at

> http://isp.BlueLight.com

>

> All messages posted to this list are private and confidential. Each post is

> the intellectual property of the author and therefore subject to copyright

> restrictions.

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

My daughter Emma was totally potty trained before she was 2, she was just

" ready " . However she is not hearing impaired. Vs. My son Ian who refuses to

wear " Spider Man " (we've tried every different character out there)

underwear, he is terrified of sitting on a potty chair; however he hates it

when his diaper is soiled. He is 3.5 and is hearing impaired.

I too would love to know if there are any tricks we've missed... I thought

we'd been there, done that with our first child. Now I am getting very

concerned as he grows older; is it because he is hearing impaired, that he

won't potty train easily? I am so bad about comparing Ian to Emma, it's not

fair to him that his sister was above average in everything she ever tried.

I many times feel lost when it comes to figuring him out. He is so

incredibly challenging. -ALSO I too think 19 months is really too early to

seriously try to potty train. However each child is different, and the

sticker reward game sounds interesting.

--

Thanks,

Tillery

Birmingham, AL

Ian (3-1/2 yrs HI Moderate/Severe - Aids)

Emma (7 yrs Hearing)

on 12/17/03 4:34 PM, & Cammy at ricoba1017@... wrote:

> My daughter also had her own little potty. That was one thing that motivated

> her to go to the restroom. Also we had a chart and she got a sticker for

> everytime she urinated while those added up she got a prize at the end. For

> the times she had a bowel movement she got a treat bec she usually went in her

> underwear and was a bit harder to train her to use the toilet. It was

> something visual and she was able to understand it. She also saw some of her

> cousins using the toilet so she wanted to do what they were doing. She was 2

> 1/2 yrs old at the time we were training her, I think 19 months is too young.

> But everyone has different opinions.

> Good luck.

>

>

> --- I am looking for suggestions. I just bought my

> 19month old a potty chair for chirstmas. But since he

> cant hear the " tinkle " (and I dont know how well he

> can see it??) I wonder what the best way to go about

> this is?? Are there books on this? My son got a

> cochlear implant in October, but due to swelling, we

> have not been able to keep it turned on yet. Any ideas???

>

>

> Sign up for Internet Service under $10 dollars a month, at

> http://isp.BlueLight.com

>

> All messages posted to this list are private and confidential. Each post is

> the intellectual property of the author and therefore subject to copyright

> restrictions.

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

on 12/17/03 4:53 PM, cbenecke at cbenecke@... wrote:

> I did the " potty-training-in-a-day " method and it worked,

What is the " potty-training-in-a-day " method?

--

Thanks,

Tillery

Birmingham, AL

Ian (3-1/2 yrs HI Moderate/Severe - Aids)

Emma (7 yrs Hearing)

[Guest guest]

on 12/17/03 4:53 PM, cbenecke at cbenecke@... wrote:

> I did the " potty-training-in-a-day " method and it worked,

What is the " potty-training-in-a-day " method?

--

Thanks,

Tillery

Birmingham, AL

Ian (3-1/2 yrs HI Moderate/Severe - Aids)

Emma (7 yrs Hearing)

[Guest guest]

on 12/17/03 4:53 PM, cbenecke at cbenecke@... wrote:

> I did the " potty-training-in-a-day " method and it worked,

What is the " potty-training-in-a-day " method?

--

Thanks,

Tillery

Birmingham, AL

Ian (3-1/2 yrs HI Moderate/Severe - Aids)

Emma (7 yrs Hearing)

[Guest guest]

My first suggestion is to wait until he is " ready " If he hasn't shown signs

that he's interested or understands the process then you will have a long road

ahead. Even at 2 my son had no interest and really no concept of using the

potty. He was not bothered when he wet or soiled his diaper and he never

indicated when he'd go. I don't remember when I bought the potty chair but even

after I did it was just a novelty. He would sit on it but still wasn't ready so

I didn't push it. It would just be too frustrating for both of us. I was

thinking that potty training with him was going to be a difficult job given his

stubborn and resistant personality. So I was very surprised when he was potty

trained in one day! Yes, I couldn't believe it myself but I was so happy and

proud.

We were in our first IEP meeting this summer when I started discussing potty

training with the audiologist. She told me that she trained her son in a day

with a method she read in a book, " How to potty train in one day. " She said

it worked and she explained the method. She said it was pretty rigid in that

you were supposed to spend the whole day engaged in the training and you were

supposed to stay in one room for three hours focusing on the training. She

went on to explain the method in detail. I thought about it and while there

were things about it I wasn't interested in doing I took the main idea which was

to focus on dry underwear and use a doll as an example for pottying.

During the day I put in regular underwear. I talked about the new

underwear and that it was dry. At this point I wasn't even sure he would

understand the vocabulary dry and wet as it pertained to urinating, but he

learned

quickly. I felt his pants every five minutes and made a big deal about how it

was

dry and I was so happy. I took his elmo doll and talked about how he was

dry. I talked about how we were going to put elmo on the potty and I made elmo

urinate by having previously poured some water in the potty. I showed him that

elmo made pee pee and I was very excited. I continued to check 's pants

every five minutes and talk about how great it was that it was dry. Sometimes

elmo would wet and we would talk about that. I would put on the potty

every 20 minutes. He had some accidents and we'd talk about how the underwear

was wet. I never acted disappointed or upset. It was just a fact. I would

say " Uh oh, it's wet. " We should go pee pee in the potty not in the pants. "

THen I would sit him on the potty. Then he would put dry underwear on again

and we'd continue with checking every 5 minutes and sitting him on the potty

every 20 minutes. The child is bound to urinate at some point on the potty and

then of course it's a big celebration. I used candy for reinforcement. We

just kept doing this throughout the day reinforcing the dry underwear with

praise

and being very excited for elmo and for when he used the potty.

The next day he had the hang of it and was excited about using the potty. I

could hardly believe it! I was amazed it was so easy. From that day forward

he was peeing and pooping in the potty on his own. I continued to use the

candy as reward. There were some days that I would find that he had gone on the

potty on his own without any announcement. He was trained a few weeks before

he started preschool and he was 2 months away from turning three.

I'm sure it doesn't work for everybody because every child is so different,

but I'd say the idea of focusing on dry underwear and using a doll as an

example is something worth trying.

mom to , 3 yrs, CI 7/30/02

[Guest guest]

My daughter also had her own little potty. That was one thing that motivated her

to go to the restroom. Also we had a chart and she got a sticker for everytime

she urinated while those added up she got a prize at the end. For the times she

had a bowel movement she got a treat bec she usually went in her underwear and

was a bit harder to train her to use the toilet. It was something visual and she

was able to understand it. She also saw some of her cousins using the toilet so

she wanted to do what they were doing. She was 2 1/2 yrs old at the time we were

training her, I think 19 months is too young. But everyone has different

opinions.

Good luck.

--- I am looking for suggestions. I just bought my

19month old a potty chair for chirstmas. But since he

cant hear the " tinkle " (and I dont know how well he

can see it??) I wonder what the best way to go about

this is?? Are there books on this? My son got a

cochlear implant in October, but due to swelling, we

have not been able to keep it turned on yet. Any ideas???

Sign up for Internet Service under $10 dollars a month, at

http://isp.BlueLight.com

[Guest guest]

Many thanks for this - It gives me hope.

--

Thanks,

Tillery

Birmingham, AL

Ian (3-1/2 yrs HI Moderate/Severe - Aids)

Emma (7 yrs Hearing)

on 12/17/03 5:22 PM, Stefanie Cloutier at stefanieac@... wrote:

> This whole thread makes me just laugh, since my son was only FINALLY fully

> potty-trained this past September -- he turned 5 in August!! (He was

> pee-trained at 4.2, but refused to poop in anything but a pull-up.) There

> was no reward big enough to motivate him; even his big sister and peers

> couldn't budge him. I read books, took classes, begged, pleaded, cajoled,

> until I finally gave up. And he did it when HE was ready.

>

> Good luck!

>

> Stefanie

> mom to Ben, 5, severe-to-profound HOH, CX 26

[Guest guest]

Many thanks for this - It gives me hope.

--

Thanks,

Tillery

Birmingham, AL

Ian (3-1/2 yrs HI Moderate/Severe - Aids)

Emma (7 yrs Hearing)

on 12/17/03 5:22 PM, Stefanie Cloutier at stefanieac@... wrote:

> This whole thread makes me just laugh, since my son was only FINALLY fully

> potty-trained this past September -- he turned 5 in August!! (He was

> pee-trained at 4.2, but refused to poop in anything but a pull-up.) There

> was no reward big enough to motivate him; even his big sister and peers

> couldn't budge him. I read books, took classes, begged, pleaded, cajoled,

> until I finally gave up. And he did it when HE was ready.

>

> Good luck!

>

> Stefanie

> mom to Ben, 5, severe-to-profound HOH, CX 26

[Guest guest]

Have u talked with his dr about this? There might be something besides his

hearing impairment preventing him to accomplish this. But do try the sticker

game. I hope it works out for u!

On Wed, 17 Dec 2003 15:54:18 -0500 Concept Design Dept

wrote:

He is 3.5 and is hearing impaired.

I too would love to know if there are any tricks we've missed...

Sign up for Internet Service under $10 dollars a month, at

http://isp.BlueLight.com

[Guest guest]

Have u talked with his dr about this? There might be something besides his

hearing impairment preventing him to accomplish this. But do try the sticker

game. I hope it works out for u!

On Wed, 17 Dec 2003 15:54:18 -0500 Concept Design Dept

wrote:

He is 3.5 and is hearing impaired.

I too would love to know if there are any tricks we've missed...

Sign up for Internet Service under $10 dollars a month, at

http://isp.BlueLight.com

[Guest guest]

Have u talked with his dr about this? There might be something besides his

hearing impairment preventing him to accomplish this. But do try the sticker

game. I hope it works out for u!

On Wed, 17 Dec 2003 15:54:18 -0500 Concept Design Dept

wrote:

He is 3.5 and is hearing impaired.

I too would love to know if there are any tricks we've missed...

Sign up for Internet Service under $10 dollars a month, at

http://isp.BlueLight.com

[Guest guest]

Lots of hearing boys aren't trained til they're 5...talk to the preschool,

kindergarten teachers. They'll tell you boys don't seem to care about it

that much

Re: potty training deaf child

> Have u talked with his dr about this? There might be something besides his

hearing impairment preventing him to accomplish this. But do try the sticker

game. I hope it works out for u!

>

> On Wed, 17 Dec 2003 15:54:18 -0500 Concept Design Dept

wrote:

> He is 3.5 and is hearing impaired.

>

> I too would love to know if there are any tricks we've missed...

>

> Sign up for Internet Service under $10 dollars a month, at

http://isp.BlueLight.com

>

> All messages posted to this list are private and confidential. Each post

is the intellectual property of the author and therefore subject to

copyright restrictions.

>

>

[Guest guest]

Lots of hearing boys aren't trained til they're 5...talk to the preschool,

kindergarten teachers. They'll tell you boys don't seem to care about it

that much

Re: potty training deaf child

> Have u talked with his dr about this? There might be something besides his

hearing impairment preventing him to accomplish this. But do try the sticker

game. I hope it works out for u!

>

> On Wed, 17 Dec 2003 15:54:18 -0500 Concept Design Dept

wrote:

> He is 3.5 and is hearing impaired.

>

> I too would love to know if there are any tricks we've missed...

>

> Sign up for Internet Service under $10 dollars a month, at

http://isp.BlueLight.com

>

> All messages posted to this list are private and confidential. Each post

is the intellectual property of the author and therefore subject to

copyright restrictions.

>

>

[Guest guest]

> 19 months??????

>

> WOW! Is he showing signs? Showing you he wants a diaper changed?

> Wanting to sit on the potty? My boys weren't trained until 2

> 1/2...and both (at the time) could hear.

>

Great! I have a 19 month old daughter & truthfully, potty training

hasn't even hit our radar yet. And, I've heard girls are usually

ready earlier than most boys in this.

Good Luck!

Debby

[Guest guest]

> 19 months??????

>

> WOW! Is he showing signs? Showing you he wants a diaper changed?

> Wanting to sit on the potty? My boys weren't trained until 2

> 1/2...and both (at the time) could hear.

>

Great! I have a 19 month old daughter & truthfully, potty training

hasn't even hit our radar yet. And, I've heard girls are usually

ready earlier than most boys in this.

Good Luck!

Debby

[Guest guest]

> 19 months??????

>

> WOW! Is he showing signs? Showing you he wants a diaper changed?

> Wanting to sit on the potty? My boys weren't trained until 2

> 1/2...and both (at the time) could hear.

>

Great! I have a 19 month old daughter & truthfully, potty training

hasn't even hit our radar yet. And, I've heard girls are usually

ready earlier than most boys in this.

Good Luck!

Debby

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 12/17/2003 10:25:05 PM Eastern Standard Time,

enriquez16@... writes:

,

What about the bowels? really wants to potty train but has no language,

but he takes his diaper off so I started putting him on the potty, we have a

little seat that goes over the toilet.

, I just got lucky and realized to do everything in the potty.

I really didn't expect that but of course was thrilled about it. I would take

it one step at a time with or any other child. Often it takes longer

for the bowel control. Just be happy if he's learned the concept with

urinating. Eventually as you " talk " more about it he will understand he should

poop in

the potty too. It will happen one day and then you can praise and reward.

No sense in pressuring yourself and him to do it now because then he could

regress and be hesitant to use the potty for urinating. Then you're back to

square one again and it could be harder to persuade him to start again.

As far as how often a toddler needs to go, I'd say there really is no way to

say because each child is different and it can vary on the day, the diet, and

their behavior. I think it all comes down to bladder control and that gets

better with age and experience. Even after was " trained " there were days

when he wanted to go every 10 minutes (ugh, that was a pain) because he just

liked the activity of it. Other times he seems to hold it for a long time.

Some days he would wet his pants if he was in time out even if he had just used

the potty minutes before... so it can also be a control thing. But perhaps

putting him on the potty on a regular schedule and monitoring the time can help

you to see how often you can expect him to go on an average day. Good luck.

And I don't believe you need hearing or speech to learn. Of course it makes it

easier for us being used to communicating orally, but our children pick up

cues in so many ways and they understand. Your expressions and signs and body

language will communicate the message.

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 12/17/2003 10:25:05 PM Eastern Standard Time,

enriquez16@... writes:

,

What about the bowels? really wants to potty train but has no language,

but he takes his diaper off so I started putting him on the potty, we have a

little seat that goes over the toilet.

, I just got lucky and realized to do everything in the potty.

I really didn't expect that but of course was thrilled about it. I would take

it one step at a time with or any other child. Often it takes longer

for the bowel control. Just be happy if he's learned the concept with

urinating. Eventually as you " talk " more about it he will understand he should

poop in

the potty too. It will happen one day and then you can praise and reward.

No sense in pressuring yourself and him to do it now because then he could

regress and be hesitant to use the potty for urinating. Then you're back to

square one again and it could be harder to persuade him to start again.

As far as how often a toddler needs to go, I'd say there really is no way to

say because each child is different and it can vary on the day, the diet, and

their behavior. I think it all comes down to bladder control and that gets

better with age and experience. Even after was " trained " there were days

when he wanted to go every 10 minutes (ugh, that was a pain) because he just

liked the activity of it. Other times he seems to hold it for a long time.

Some days he would wet his pants if he was in time out even if he had just used

the potty minutes before... so it can also be a control thing. But perhaps

putting him on the potty on a regular schedule and monitoring the time can help

you to see how often you can expect him to go on an average day. Good luck.

And I don't believe you need hearing or speech to learn. Of course it makes it

easier for us being used to communicating orally, but our children pick up

cues in so many ways and they understand. Your expressions and signs and body

language will communicate the message.

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 12/17/2003 10:25:05 PM Eastern Standard Time,

enriquez16@... writes:

,

What about the bowels? really wants to potty train but has no language,

but he takes his diaper off so I started putting him on the potty, we have a

little seat that goes over the toilet.

, I just got lucky and realized to do everything in the potty.

I really didn't expect that but of course was thrilled about it. I would take

it one step at a time with or any other child. Often it takes longer

for the bowel control. Just be happy if he's learned the concept with

urinating. Eventually as you " talk " more about it he will understand he should

poop in

the potty too. It will happen one day and then you can praise and reward.

No sense in pressuring yourself and him to do it now because then he could

regress and be hesitant to use the potty for urinating. Then you're back to

square one again and it could be harder to persuade him to start again.

As far as how often a toddler needs to go, I'd say there really is no way to

say because each child is different and it can vary on the day, the diet, and

their behavior. I think it all comes down to bladder control and that gets

better with age and experience. Even after was " trained " there were days

when he wanted to go every 10 minutes (ugh, that was a pain) because he just

liked the activity of it. Other times he seems to hold it for a long time.

Some days he would wet his pants if he was in time out even if he had just used

the potty minutes before... so it can also be a control thing. But perhaps

putting him on the potty on a regular schedule and monitoring the time can help

you to see how often you can expect him to go on an average day. Good luck.

And I don't believe you need hearing or speech to learn. Of course it makes it

easier for us being used to communicating orally, but our children pick up

cues in so many ways and they understand. Your expressions and signs and body

language will communicate the message.

[Guest guest]

My son was 4 before he was partially trained. He's 6.5 now and still has

accidents. He also has a bladder condition that made training harder. I think

the best way to approach it is to let the child do what they're comfortable

with. Pushing them too hard only makes matters worse.

een

[Guest guest]

My son was 4 before he was partially trained. He's 6.5 now and still has

accidents. He also has a bladder condition that made training harder. I think

the best way to approach it is to let the child do what they're comfortable

with. Pushing them too hard only makes matters worse.

een

[Guest guest]

My son was 4 before he was partially trained. He's 6.5 now and still has

accidents. He also has a bladder condition that made training harder. I think

the best way to approach it is to let the child do what they're comfortable

with. Pushing them too hard only makes matters worse.

een

[Guest guest]

,

What about the bowels? really wants to potty train but has no language,

but he takes his diaper off so I started putting him on the potty, we have a

little seat that goes over the toilet. He doesn't know how to indicate he has

to go. I like the idea about every 20 min. I was wondering how often I should

have him go in the potty. How did you teach him about the bowels? I see your

son understands some language at that time, do you think I could do it without

words? Gestures and excitement and all? I really need some ideas about the

bowels he is doing really well with the pee and I think I will try the 20 min

thing to get him to go in the potty every time. I'm hoping at some point if he

doesn't sign toilet he will knock on the bathroom door to indicate he wants to

go, or take my hand and lead me to the bathroom, something, I just have no idea

how to teach him not to poop in his pants.

Re: potty training deaf child

My first suggestion is to wait until he is " ready " If he hasn't shown signs

that he's interested or understands the process then you will have a long road

ahead. Even at 2 my son had no interest and really no concept of using the

potty. He was not bothered when he wet or soiled his diaper and he never

indicated when he'd go. I don't remember when I bought the potty chair but

even

after I did it was just a novelty. He would sit on it but still wasn't ready

so

I didn't push it. It would just be too frustrating for both of us. I was

thinking that potty training with him was going to be a difficult job given

his

stubborn and resistant personality. So I was very surprised when he was potty

trained in one day! Yes, I couldn't believe it myself but I was so happy and

proud.

We were in our first IEP meeting this summer when I started discussing potty

training with the audiologist. She told me that she trained her son in a day

with a method she read in a book, " How to potty train in one day. " She said

it worked and she explained the method. She said it was pretty rigid in that

you were supposed to spend the whole day engaged in the training and you were

supposed to stay in one room for three hours focusing on the training. She

went on to explain the method in detail. I thought about it and while there

were things about it I wasn't interested in doing I took the main idea which

was

to focus on dry underwear and use a doll as an example for pottying.

During the day I put in regular underwear. I talked about the new

underwear and that it was dry. At this point I wasn't even sure he would

understand the vocabulary dry and wet as it pertained to urinating, but he

learned

quickly. I felt his pants every five minutes and made a big deal about how it

was

dry and I was so happy. I took his elmo doll and talked about how he was

dry. I talked about how we were going to put elmo on the potty and I made

elmo

urinate by having previously poured some water in the potty. I showed him

that

elmo made pee pee and I was very excited. I continued to check 's pants

every five minutes and talk about how great it was that it was dry. Sometimes

elmo would wet and we would talk about that. I would put on the potty

every 20 minutes. He had some accidents and we'd talk about how the underwear

was wet. I never acted disappointed or upset. It was just a fact. I would

say " Uh oh, it's wet. " We should go pee pee in the potty not in the pants. "

THen I would sit him on the potty. Then he would put dry underwear on again

and we'd continue with checking every 5 minutes and sitting him on the potty

every 20 minutes. The child is bound to urinate at some point on the potty

and

then of course it's a big celebration. I used candy for reinforcement. We

just kept doing this throughout the day reinforcing the dry underwear with

praise

and being very excited for elmo and for when he used the potty.

The next day he had the hang of it and was excited about using the potty. I

could hardly believe it! I was amazed it was so easy. From that day forward

he was peeing and pooping in the potty on his own. I continued to use the

candy as reward. There were some days that I would find that he had gone on

the

potty on his own without any announcement. He was trained a few weeks before

he started preschool and he was 2 months away from turning three.

I'm sure it doesn't work for everybody because every child is so different,

but I'd say the idea of focusing on dry underwear and using a doll as an

example is something worth trying.

mom to , 3 yrs, CI 7/30/02