Potty Training - Kensington, MD

You will always hear other mothers tell you they had their child potty trained at 12 months, 18 mo, 24 mo, etc. Ask yourself was the baby potty trained or was the mom trained? As a general rule, to help your child achieve a satisfaction of learning to be independent the child must be mature enough to understand his bodily urges and the need to use his/her potty chair. 3 years of age is an excellant starting point. If the time period falls into connection with the summertime where regular big boy/girls underwear can be used and get wet or soiled a few times your child will start to connect the urges with the outcome. It will be a much happier training time for both of you. If your child is in daycare be sure they know your schedule and can assist you in your plan. Good Luck, A.

My youngest daughter is 33 months old and was just potty trained last month. She would go sometimes on the potty, but it was just if I nagged her all day and got lucky when she was sitting on it. I finally just took away her pull-up diapers and put her in underwear. It took about 3 days for no accidents. The first couple of days she wet her underwear more than once a day. After that, she got the idea. I waited so long to do it this way because I am not working during the summer and I could not send her to daycare like that!

i'm a single wohm of a 2yo daughter as well and my advice is to talk to her daycare provider or whoever cares for her while your at work. if she is at a center they likely have a routine for all the kids. other than that, just tell her it's potty time once per hour than once per half hour when she hasn't gone in a while. i used stickers to keep my daughter interested. she may be just too young to always be able to listen to her body and want to stop what she's doing to go to the bathroom. at this age i still have to remind my little girl. eventually as she learns to hold it you can take her once every two hours or after wake up, eating, before going out. try not to interrupt exciting activities so it doesn't seem like a chore. if your daughter is already telling you when she needs to have a bowel movement, knows what the potty is for and can go when asks than she is doing very well for her age!

2 books to recommend:
1. Diaper Free Baby, Christine Gross-Loh
2. Diaper Free Before Age 3, Forgot author's name

Both have similar philosophies and excellent ideas. I tend to refer to Book 1 more often.

Hi C.,
I have read a lot about the issue since I have a little girl who will be two in August. Everything I have been able to find says to have the potty available, even as a chair while watching tv or playing. Eventually she will be ready. I let Camryn go naked around the house and she uses the potty whenever she needs. She loves to announce it each time too! Your daughter telling you about number 2 is great! That is usually the last step for most! Be patient and she'll get there!
E.