Toilet/ Potty Training Ideas

Toilet/ Potty training can be a very intense time not just for the toddler but also the parent and anyone around when it's happening. I'm not planning to toilet/ potty train Little Boy Blue right now but I am still thinking about how to do it and home educate at the same time.  

With two older boys you would think I would know what I'm doing, right?? I have a confession to make it's been over 5 yrs. since I was involved in toilet/ potty training and can't quite remember what to do!! HELP! 

Looking at the ages of my boys you possibly think they were toilet trained early but the truth of the matter is that my second son S toilet/ potty trained himself at 2 1/2 years old!

My eldest being introduced to the potty!

 We were still helping my eldest L (aged 4 1/2 at the time) to be dry at night when S decided one night, in bed, to strip off every stitch of clothing! When we went in to take L to the toilet at 10.30pm there S was asleep in bed in his birthday suit! The bed was dry! Deciding to let him sleep and see what happened we were surprised when he had got up in the morning and gone to the toilet with his big brother. Not only had he done that but was peeing standing up too! He continued from that night on being dry and clean all the time (well maybe the odd wet accident), so I can take no credit for toilet training him as he did it by himself.

So where does that leave me now? Lost and desperate! I did however come across this in my search for help.

It's called the iPotty and I found it here: http://mashable.com/2013/01/10/ipotty/

Personally I think it's the daftest idea I have seen in a long time (and the reason for me posting sooner than planned!) Like a lot of the comments on the website above I really don't want my toddler to associate going toilet/ potty with the iPad. Is it not bad enough that youngsters can hardly drag themselves away from some sort of electrical gadget or other? You would be cheeper getting a normal potty and setting it in the middle of your living room in front of the TV! How do you transfer this training method over to the bathroom and using a real toilet? Or will they bring out a new product for that?

A question that could be raise is "Where is the parenting with this sort of product?" It may be too harsh to say absent as I know the struggle all too well. In the moments of despair and the pile of laundry building up, at times, you would consider any thing! I may have found toilet/ potty training L difficult at times but it was an achievement for us both that I'm proud of. I just need to get myself mentally prepared for doing it all over again.

Wish me luck!

P.S Any helpful tips will be appreciated.