One Simple Question About Potty Training...

WEll, I started putting the potty chair out at 18 months just to let him know what would be going down and he did not even care. Then we talked about starting him potty training at two, but he got real sick and that was a flop.....then my babysitter just told me one day that she would be starting (about two weeks ago--he will be 2 1/2 in October)potty traing with him because he would be her only child one week and we bought the underwear and started...At first he did not want to sit on the pot so I used bubbles to keep him on and then books and now he doesnt need anything. He is doing really well...he can talk a little but it was really up to us to ask him if he needed to go. He calls everything poopoo, and he loves to flush and tell the poopoo bye bye but know he comes to tell me and we go staright there. Now will go everytime. He was having a lot of accidents the first week, but it is really going good now...Give the child plenty of fluid and take them every 15 minutes for the first 3 days...this creates memory muscle....he will understand and start to know when he has to go the next week. I use underwear all day and pullups at night...he does real well. Give him less fluid at night and he will be able to keep it longer because of the full bladder all day. Good luck..it worked for us and we are still doing it. I know that it will take at least another 3 or 4 months because he is just able to get on the toilet by himself...he still has not started to pull his pants up and down yet. I help him and then have him do it next time. Taking it in steps is best and does not overwhelm them...

You have gotten some great answers.

My son was willing to go in a diaper forever and have me do all the work changing and cleaning him. He was ready but didn't really want to...so at 3 years and 2 months we started, it took a month...but it really was a power struggle.

I will say my son was hard to train...but I am hopeful my daughter will be easier.

{{{{{hugs}}}}

Hi, I have four boys and was amazed at how well they did. I always heard they are harder to train, but I dont believe that anymore. OF course, I have no girl.

What I have read is to observe your child. If they are hiding in quiet corners to go poo; able to pull off their own bottoms and able to say potty, pee, poo, any cue word then they are probably recognizing and beginning to control the muscles necesary to hold on to the waste until safely on a seat.

She is saying she is going, does she say it just before she starts or does she say it while it has already begin to flow? Take her cues and be consistant. The more consistant, the shorter the training. If you are going to introduce her to the toilet, put her on bare bottomed, putting her on clothed may confuse her.

If you are going to use a potty seat, than give her freedom to explore it. By all means, dont leave her alone in the restroom, but give her some space to be curious.

I havent checked out any website, but know that there is no perfect age or method. Each child is different. Try to keep it relaxed and consistant.

M.

I started my 1st at 18 months - but gradually. My second soon after that same age. Serious training toward 2 and 1/2 years old. It was a frustrating and painful experience for all of us. They both weren't fully trained and fully ready until after they turned 3. Then, then magically were ready.

I waited with my 3rd until he was closer to 3. After 2, we started with the gradual stuff (going only after waking up, etc.). Then I kept encouraging him, but followed his lead with no pushing it. He just turned 3 a few weeks ago and has been fully potty trained for months, including at night. It has been the easiest for me (as long as you're willing to keep paying for pull-ups) and for him. No frustration, just encouragement on both ends.

Encourage, wait until after 2 and closer to 3, give plenty of opportunity, but don't sweat it.

My daughter started potty training at at 15 months and did awesome. She was showing signs of readiness so I went from there. If your kiddo shows interest and wants to try, go for it. If not, you can wait and try when you notice her being able to realize when she needs to go. As for the time it takes to train, that just depends on the kid and the parents attitude. Some are fast, and some take more time. It is really an individual accomplishment.

My daughter was showing some interest at 18 months. We tried for a week or two with the bulky training pants, and it never took. We gave up and put it on the back burner when she asked for a diaper. I thought it was prtty young, but was follwing her lead. About a month after her second birthday, she just did it. We had a stool by the potty, and she did it on her own one day. That was it. We went to big girl panties that day and she was so excited about the Dora panties, she has maybe an 2-3 accedents and never again. -not even at bedtime. It was fantastic, but totally driven by her.
I hear that boys are harder to train. I had a daycare for a couple of years and have trained a total of 4 girls and 2 boys. The boys were much older, but no more difficult once they decided to do it.
Then there are some children that don't train until they are 3. As long as it is by three, anything goes. After three, then you have to worry about the preschool situation that someone else brought up.
I think that it is really all about the child. If she is showing signs, then I would go with it and follow her lead. Good luck.

It took only two days, but my child was 3yrs old.

I found out that every child is different. Some let you know by pulling their diaper but some you have to teach yourself. I had heard that 2 yrs old on up is a good age. My daughter learned at 2 and 3 months and it didn't take so long. Lots of talking and explaining and appraising. They like it when you make a big thing about potting. Good luck.

If you wait until they are ready, it will only take a couple of days to teach. Otherwise, you are really training yourself and it is not very effective. My son learned to use the potty in about 2 days when he was just over 3. He told us he was ready to pee in the potty and, boom, he was. I had a harder time with his sister. We tried to start potty training her when she was just under 2 (she had very good verbal skills and had the lingo down, so we thought she was ready). It was a huge struggle and she wasn't completely trianed until she was 3 anyway. It really depends on how much effort you want to put forth. Also, a 2 year old has a very tiny bladder, and you will not be able to go anywhere without using the restroom, or having a huge panic (think long car ride or shopping trip, ugh!) I think you are on the right path. Take your time and it will all fall into place, maybe later rather than sooner, but it will be sooooo much easier.

My best advise is to listen to your child. Is she dry when she wakes up in the morning. Does she talk about going to the potty? is she curious about it? Is she aware when she is wet and does she tell you?
I am a true believer is waiting till they are ready.
T.

I don't think potty training should take 2 years. The key is making sure your child is ready. At 24 months, My oldest daughter was potty trained in 2 days and after a month was potty trained at night too. I potty trained my son when he was 26 months old. He took about a week because he was just too lazy to run to the bathroom every 30 min. (he has to go a lot). A couple of weeks ago I was at the store to buy pull-ups for my 2 year old and decided I didn't want to pay anymore for them and bought underwear instead. She is pretty much potty trained. She only sometimes has an accident in the afternoon when her sister gets home from school and things are a little crazy.
Just watch you daughter. If she is able to tell you she is wet or going pee or poop she is ready or close to ready. I learned in a child development class that when your child is able to draw circles they are ready. I would start by having her go pee in the potty before she gets in the bathtub. If she seems to be well doing that then pick another time of day and add that in. I have a friend whose son was potty trained at 18 months. It will happen. I don't think there are too many kids who make it to Preschool still in diapers.

My pediatrician told me that the best indicator that a child is physically ready to potty train is if he or she wakes up on a consistent basis in the morning or from naps with a dry diaper. This means that the spinchter muscles and bladder are developed enough to hold everything in until the child is awake. My advice to you is to make sure your daughter is waking up with dry diapers before you start to potty train.

My daughter was out of diapers at 14 months. Not fun for me because her bladder was the size of a pea. She did that herself, her decision.

My son is 18 months and he chooses when to use the potty. He won't poop on the potty yet, so I'm just not pushing it. Maybe put her on once or twice naked and cheer when she goes. They're quick when it's fun. But let her lead you. Give her opportunities for success but don't push. She's tiny and seriously, you'll never leave the house without having to put that precious skin on a public toilet again. Why rush that? The minute you start, go out and buy some toilet seat covers and keep her in dresses.

It can be a very fast process, even when they're tiny. Just listen to her and you'll both do great.

If your daughter is aware, start now. Just make it a habit kind of thing, and make sure it's fun. When she wakes up in the morning, sit her on the potty without her diaper/pullup. This is a normal time we all go. About 30-45 minutes after food and drinks, sit her on it. Don't leave her for very long, maybe 5-7 minutes. just long enough for her to get the idea. The time it takes and what age to start depends on your child. My girls went because they wanted their princess panties. We went to the store and they picked them out themselves. Good luck with whatever you decide!

I actually started "training" my 6 month old to use the potty chair and she is 13 months now. She still is in "training" but is getting better and better at going only in the potty and holding it for longer periods. Its called EC and you can look it up on the internet and find out alot more about infant potty training. Or Elimination Communication. I am guessing that my daughter will probably fully potty train somewhere between 15 - 20 months. The key is just to communicate with them and read their signs of needing to go and help get them used to going in the potty chair and not in a diaper. I love the baby bjorn potty chair by the way. :)

You will probably get answers all over the map on this one. My daughter was very verbal and was speaking in sentences by 18 months old. She wanted to start sitting on the potty, so we got out the potty chair and just left it in the bathroom. She went when she wanted to, but it wasn't consistent. At around 2 years old, we tried a little harder to make it more consistent, but she didn't want to poop on the potty and asked to go back to diapers, so we did (she held it for days at a time and was getting very constipated and it wasn't worth it to me to push the issue). So, we waited until she told us she was ready. Right at about 2 1/2, she decided she wanted to wear underwear. So, we went cold turkey on the diapers and just did it. She still had problems pooping on the potty for about a month, but now she has it down (except today...she had 2 accidents out of the blue! Too busy playing to stop and go potty). So, my answer would be to just wait until they're ready. If they seem interested and want to do it, you can start, but keep your expectations low because it is SUPER easy to get frustrated with it. Once she decided to do it, it was no biggie, but it had to be her idea.

Good luck!

There is a short window at about 18 months where your child will show interest. If you focus during this time and are able to take advantage of it fully, you can be trained by two. My daughter responded well to wearing big girl underwear and hated how they felt when they were wet. I missed the window with my middle daughter and she wasnt trained till three and a half. With the third, I kind of tried at the window, but he lost interest and was trained at two and a half. I would say if you want it easy, wait till your child shows interest and then reward. We used m&ms or marshmallows. Don't push, they will pretty much do it when they are ready, not when you are. Oh, with my first, she always peed in the tub when the water was running so I would put her in the tub for a second then lift her to the potty and praise her for going. That is how I got her to identify "tinkle" and the feeling of going. Anyway those are my tricks and tips. Good luck to you.

This is a loaded question that you will probably get a wide range of answers to. I will tell you that i started trying to potty train my boy at 24 months (i was pregnant with the next one and wanted him out of diapers before the new one arrived). It was futile and frustrating and I gave up after 8 or 9 months. About a week after he was 3, he came up to me and told me he wasn't going to wear diapers any more. I bought him some pull-ups, but he only used one of them. He was potty-trained that afternoon. He just did it. All I needed to do was remind him before he went to bed or before we left the house to go potty. I was so amazed and felt so stupid for wasting my time trying to potty train when he wasn't ready. With the second, I just waited and he also potty trained himself around 3yr and 2 months. He did use pull ups for a little while (two weeks or so), but it was almost without effort and definately not stressful for any of us. I hear girls are easier and potty train sooner, but I don't have any info on them. Good luck and try not to stress over it.

Number one rule for potty training is if your child's bladder is ready and can they sense when it is time to go. All the time training in the world does the child no good - it is the parent that is trained- basically, knowing your child, you can expect to be successful at toilet training at 2 1/2 to 3 years old and it can be done in a week or less. Just don't start too early - you and the child will be frustrated. Child care centers are usually quite adept at knowing when a child is ready - check with someone who works with 2 and 3 year olds.

Once kids are really ready, it doesn't take very long. My oldest wasn't ready until just after 3. It only took going potty once for him to get the pee part down, but it was several more months before he was willing to poop on the potty. (He would ask for a diaper, though, so no messy pants!) My 2nd was completely potty trained in one weekend when she was under 2 1/2. I wasn't even all that interested in training her, but she kept taking off her diaper to sit on the potty, so I thought I'd see what happened over one weekend, and that was all she needed. At any rate, I'm a firm believer in waiting until they're really ready, because of all the stress I felt (and put on my kid) when I was trying for months to get my oldest to use the potty; it just wasn't worth it. All that said, I have had some friends whose kids were trained just before or at 2 years old, so just follow your daughter's lead. Good luck.

Unfortunately there is no perfect answer. Every child is different, gee, haven't you heard that 100 times. Anyway, if she is telling you when she is going I would put her on the potty, this way she can start associating "going" with the potty. Don't stress out about how long it will take, you will drive yourself crazy. I have twin boys age 3 now, but I started them out at two, not knowing really what to do until I read as much as I could about potty training. Huggies has a great DVD about it. When they were about 2 1/2 I put them into underwear, and that seemed to really work. We are fully potty trained now. That is my story, but just mine. Your story may end up totally different. Enjoy the process with her and make the bathroom were her potty seat is enjoyable for her, like pictures she has drawn, a book she likes, etc, and praise, praise, praise. Good luck!

I started my little girl,who is 9 now, after she turned 1. By 18 months she was potty trained and moved from the baby room to the 2 y/o room. It was very easy......but every child is different. My stepson, who we got custody of at age 3 1/2 was never potty trained...still wearing diapers ...and clueless!!!!! I was beside myself..so was my husband!!!!!! Anyway...he is now 4...goes to PreK and only wears a pull up at night. He is doing well...but it was a struggle.... I don't think waiting until they get older is always the best option....but those are my only two experiences!!!!!!

Good luck, R.

Since every child is different, there is no right age to being potty training. It depends on your childs own readiness. Also the length of time it takes to potty train varies per child. Not all children take 2 years to potty train, and not all potty train in a few weeks. My pediatrician advised that boys generally take a bit longer to get the hang of potty training. So it's not unusual for a boy to still be training at age 3-4, but some boys catch on quickly.

You need to observe your own child and see if she is ready. You can certainly buy a potty and books to read with your daughter to introduce the idea now but don't push until she is ready.

Some signs that she may be ready are that she stays dry for 3-4 hours, recognizes and dislikes being in a wet diaper, asking for diaper changes etc.

Here are a few helpful sites with info on what signs to look for:

http://babyparenting.about.com/cs/pottytraining/f/readine...

http://www.pottytrainingrewards.com/articles5.html

http://www.webehave.com/potty-training-readiness.htm