PT-One very small bathroom, two very active boys

Where to even start? I have completely not pushed the potty training thing. I think they are probably too young (from what I hear about boys) and I'm thinking that summer is probably a pretty good time to start. However, they seem to have different ideas. First of all, they have no interest in the small potties - only the big person's toilet (and, no, I'm not willing to use a potty so they think that big people use that too). I only have 1 bathroom. I'd say it was about 7x3.5 and that includes a tub, toilet, and sink with cupboards underneath. There is a wastepaper basket and a plunger (complete necessity). There is very little room for 3 people (and only just enough if 2 of those people are minis). This evening Ezra really wanted to use the potty. Everything I read says you shouldn't say no. So I got him out of his pjs, his two diapers (they are big night pee'ers) and sat him down. Well, between him reaching over and flushing every two seconds, getting in to the toilet paper, putting his hand down so he can feel the pee (he does actually go nearly every time we put him on - I think if we instituted regular potty times, we could probably have him trained), I pretty well had my hands full with him. Meanwhile, Elias is getting stuff out of the cupboards, climbing into the bathtub still wet from their bath, playing with wet tub toys, trying to get to the plunger, trying to hoist himself up to the sink taps and throwing himself at my head (for some reason, If I'm down on their level, they think it means I want them to jump on me). It was freaking horrible. Then I had to get Elias stripped down (actually he had done most of it himself) get him on the potty, get Ezra back into his diapers and pj's, monitor Elias on the potty and keep Ezra from destroying the place and me (and flushing the toilet repeatedly while Elias is sitting on it). Remember the size of my bathroom - no room to maneuver at all.

Anybody have any tips on how I'm supposed to navigate this. I keep on hoping I can just put it off until their older and maybe, by some magic, they will actually care when I'm telling them no but it really seems like Ezra is ready.

Oy.

 

Well, my only bathroom is about the same size as yours. First of all, we didn't really use the little potties. We got a ring and a step stool and they used the big potty. I had bought the little ones thinking I had to have them, but they just end up in the way and make more work since you have to empty and clean them instead of just flushing everything away! They'd probably be great if you had a bigger house than mine and the bathroom wasn't steps from wherever you happen to be.

I also didn't take both kids in the bathroom with me. One had to wait outside the door while the other went potty. I kept the door open so they didn't feel locked out and could see and talk to us. But, there just isn't room for unnecessary people. There were only a few times when they both had to go so bad they couldn't wait. In that case, DD got the potty and DS stood in the tub to pee. :blush: But, that's what happens when you only have one bathroom! Now, they can hold it long enough to wait for the other person.

It also sounds to me like your kids may not have had a lot of access to the bathroom. Is this right? I say this because their behavior (playing with the toilet paper, flushing the potty) sounds like curiosity. Maybe if they had a little more access to the bathroom, they would get over the curiosity. You could buy safety latches for where you keep the chemicals, give them some rules, and let them explore while you watch at first. As for the flushing, I made a rule with my DS that he could flush only after he had gone to the potty. This was practically a reward for him!

Lastly, I will warn you. Having only one bathroom with two potty training kids basically mean you lose all privacy in there. They'll have to go while you're in the shower or while you are drying off. And, when first learning, they can't wait. Plus, if your kids are anything like mine, they will always have to go while you are doing your business in there. Sometimes I dream about a second bathroom! :lol:

 

How did you stop the one outside the bathroom from wreaking havoc in the rest of the house while you were in the bathroom. Saying "stop" just seems to egg them on. Come back here doesn't seem to do much good either. They are in the bathroom every night for a bath but it is pretty controlled so you may have a point there.

 

I can't help with the limited space issue, but here at my house everyone is involved in potty learning. We have potty dances that the non-pee-ers can sing and dance (to keep them busy) while the other one is attempting a deposit. My older kids love the silliness of it and the fact they are allowed to use "bathroom talk". "Ezra's peeing in the toilet. Whoa! Ezra's peeing in the toilet!" can be sung by Elias and vice versa. Maybe keep them busy and involved?

Just be forewarned that you may get a "Mommy's pooping in the toilet" sung once in awhile while out in a public bathroom!

I've been very laid back about pl with the twins because it is much more work and I'm lazy. My only time limit is that I will not buy any more diapers. We have about 20 pampers left and then I will have to use the cloth diapers only. (It is a pain to cloth diaper when you have only a few wet/soiled diapers a week. Much easier when you have to do a full load each day. When they sit around for oh, say a month, before being washed it can be really gross!)

 

That's a great idea. It's hard to look at your daughters' ages and see that they are the same as my boys' and not feel like I'm failing because we are so far from the stage of having only a few diapers a week. I know boys are later but....

 

We have a tee tiny bathroom, too, and I didn't even put their potties in the bathroom. I put them wherever we were at the time (living room, bedroom, etc). Then I put them in their room once they were proficient with pottying. Once they were good with that, I went to the potty ring, but still left one potty in their room for night time, that way we weren't all crowded in the bathroom at once. There was no way 2 potty's and me and kiddos were fitting in the bathroom.

 

I didn't start with my boys until they were 3 and they were fully trained a week later. It just seemed to click. We have 2 bathrooms but only used the 1 in the front of the house while training. When one was on the potty and the other had to go I would let the other pee in the tub and then rinse it out.

 

Well, mine were older than yours, so I didn't have that problem. But, maybe having a special activity just for their wait time would help? Kind of like the special toys you may have kept on the changing table for diapering time. I don't know if it would work, but it is an idea. Also, that may be a time where you want to institute whatever discipline you use with them in order to make sure they stay safe. In other words, tell them to sit right outside the door with their toy/activity and, if they move, they get sent to time out or whatever you do.

I will say that, by the time mine were the age of yours, they had pretty much free-roam of the house. So, their behavior was never any different in one part of the house than in another. It was all the same to them. But, like I said before, I have a really small house and never had to worry about them being in another part of the house where I couldn't hear them or get to them in a split second. Sitting here at my computer, I can easily see the door to every room in the house. That made giving them free-roam no big deal. So, if that doesn't work for you feel free to ignore the suggestion.