# Potty Training: naked to underwear transition?



## milkmamamerina (Sep 29, 2008)

My 3 yo DS is on his 3rd day of potty training in earnest. He does very well when naked from the waist down, but always pees in underwear whether thick trainers or thin tighty types. It is getting chilly out and I feel bad for him running around half naked, although it doesn't seem to bother him too much. I have tried long legwarmer/socks that go up to his rear and he will only wear them a few moments.

In any case, I'm eager to let him wear undies and pants soon. How long do you think he should go before we try clothes? And does anyone have any tips on making the transition smoothly?

We are still putting diapers on him if we leave the house.


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## Bug-a-Boo's Mama (Jan 15, 2008)

DS went a very long time being naked from the waist down. His main problem with underwear became that he couldn't pull them down on his own-therefore taking away his ability to pee whenever he wanted to. Last winter he was bottomless always at home. The temperature didn't seem to bother him at all. Do you have some soft pants that he could wear? That way he would be wearing something at home. DS never peed in the bottoms when he was wearing them without underwear at home. Different feeling I am assuming.

Good luck!


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## RomanGoddess (Mar 16, 2006)

I never saw the point of going through the naked bottom stage, because as soon as you put underwear on them, they pee as if they were in a diaper and you have to start the whole process all over again. Why not just keep him in underwear or cloth training pants from the beginning? It means you will have to do some washing but at least once he has figured it out, you're all done!


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## sugarlumpkin (Dec 20, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *RomanGoddess* 
I never saw the point of going through the naked bottom stage, because as soon as you put underwear on them, they pee as if they were in a diaper and you have to start the whole process all over again. Why not just keep him in underwear or cloth training pants from the beginning? It means you will have to do some washing but at least once he has figured it out, you're all done!









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## milkmamamerina (Sep 29, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *RomanGoddess* 
I never saw the point of going through the naked bottom stage, because as soon as you put underwear on them, they pee as if they were in a diaper and you have to start the whole process all over again. Why not just keep him in underwear or cloth training pants from the beginning? It means you will have to do some washing but at least once he has figured it out, you're all done!

My son is an all or nothing type perfectionist. If he can't succeed at something at first, he pretty much refuses. So going bottomless is the only way we have had any success and he's really excited about it for a change...he had been on the road to toiletville prior to my dd's birth but went through complete regression refusing to go anywhere near the toilet until now (5 mos. later). We are thrilled that he's finally deciding to give it a go once again and certainly don't want to shatter that confidence by throwing him into undies too soon. Should we just offer them now and then and let him use them when he decides? If so, what seems like a good time frame to start offering the undie use?


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## earthymama4 (Aug 22, 2008)

I'm potty training my 2 1/2 yr old who is doing amazing with naked from the waist down.... underwear confuses him and he thinks it's like his cloth diapers. I've been chicken I admit to just let him run around in underwear around the house and have to clean up the messes and go places outside but I think I'm just going to do it and deal with the extra clean up. Any suggestions on making this easier would be apperciated! I can say I started training him last week and he started doing poop right away on the potty (little training potty)... but if I put on underwear he thinks he can poop right in it! Any suggestions on making this easier would be apperciated! I'm having baby # 4 early March and I would like to have him out of diapers permanently well before then! (I'm hopeful).


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## broodymama (May 3, 2004)

My DS went through that stage last year, he would treat underwear like a diaper. I think it confused him having something that snug up against him. I bought several pair of sweatpants and let him wear those without underwear, and he would pull those down to go to the bathroom. A few months later we started gradually having him wear underwear underneath. There were a few accidents, but that was to be expected.

Of course, he _still_ prefers to go commando, but will wear underwear if I remind him.


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## Anastasiya (Jun 13, 2006)

My son trained _himself_ - yeah - we seriously did nothing. He just took it upon himself to initiate it and stick with it - at 2 years old!

He ran around naked most all the time, and I noticed that when we did have to dress him, he'd wet the tighter underwear and trainers because I think to him that "snugness" reminded him of diapers and he thought he had a diaper on. I noticed that when he just wore pants with no undies, he was fine. So I know it was that "snug" feeling that was confusing him.

We ended up buying him some toddler boxers online. They worked because they were loose, like a pair of shorts. After about 4 months in those (with no accidents), we were able to switch him over to some boxer briefs.


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## milkmamamerina (Sep 29, 2008)

Well, before I even got a chance to read the posts on loose pants, my son told me he wanted to put on shorts (we're having a warm spell) and no diaper. So that's what we did and he did really well. He did forget and peed the shorts at the end of the day today, but I figure that's along the same lines of kids getting clumsy when they are tired.

I love the boxers idea, especially since he will be attending preschool soon. I don't think going commando at school would be acceptable.







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## bright_eyes (Dec 7, 2007)

We did the naked thing. By 20 months old, ds could take himself to the potty each time he had to go, without any help from me, as long as he was naked. Getting him into underwear and pants has taken so much longer. I've had the most success when he is wearing pants but no underwear. He is getting much better and going to the potty no matter what he is wearing now. He still has the most accidents when he's in underwear, but they are becoming far less. Often, though, he doesn't want to wear underwear, so I just let him go commando.


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