How to potty train a boy
According to some estimates, by the time a child turns 2, they’ll have gone through close to 4,000 diapers. No wonder most parents are eager to start the potty training process! As the parent of a boy, you may be facing potty training with a mixture of hope and dread. As Danielle Dauré, MSEd, BCBA, and LBA board certified behavior analyst specializing in potty training, notes “There is definitely a stereotype that boys are harder to train than girls.” While potty training a boy can definitely involve more pee on the floor than a girl, is there any truth to the idea that boys are harder to train? Let’s take a closer look.
Is he ready?
For all children readiness is a big factor in potty training success. Some boys may be ready as early as 18-24 months but many others are close to or past 3 years old before they are ready to try the big boy underwear. Some of the signs that he is ready include that he is able to pull down and up his own pants and underwear, that he can stay dry for at least two hours in a row, and that he expresses interest in using the potty and can communicate with you when he has a wet or dirty diaper.
There does seem to be some evidence that, on average, girls potty train before boys, so don’t get discouraged or start to rush your son if it seems like the girls around his age are on the potty training track before he is.
Getting ready to potty train.
Once your son seems ready to try, you’ll want to engage him in the process by having him pick out some big boy underwear and his own potty. This might be a great father and son activity, especially since it can be helpful for your son to get some bathroom coaching from another male.
In terms of role model, it might be helpful for him to watch his dad go to the bathroom and to see him both standing and sitting on the potty, so he knows the process for both ways.
Take a seat on the potty.
One common suggestion for potty training boys is to start them out by sitting on the potty for both pee and poop. Danielle Daure notes:
“Here is a piece of gender-specific advice I have, which is to go slowly with teaching boys to urinate standing up. Parents often rush this and there is no need. Boys can have much greater success if they sit to urinate until they are old/tall enough to stand in front of a standard toilet without a step stool without having the penis touch the rim of. It’s also a lot more sanitary. Also, young boys (2-5) sometimes think they only need to urinate but once seated they realize they also need to have a bowel movement. If they are already seated this is easily facilitated. If they are standing it can result in an urgent rush to sit down, with some children becoming very anxious, and the possibility of the child not sitting down in time.”
Take aim on the potty.
Once a boy has the hang of using the potty, he can progress to standing to pee. One tried and true piece of mom tested advice involves using Cheerios. Melinda S., from St. Paul, Minnesota, explains that “I always kept a little dish of Cheerios in the bathroom and would throw a few in the toilet to give him something to aim for. It helped keep some of the pee off the floor!” Other wet floor prevention strategies include making sure boys know that they need to hold and point their penis to make sure it is aiming for the toilet, including times when they might have an erection (yes, toddler and preschoolers can have erections too).
With time and practice, he’ll be a pro at the potty!
