Potty Training a 22 Month Old

She's not ready. Kids can show a short interest In the potty at this age but are nowhere ready to be potty trained. When she is truly ready it will be a breeze to potty train.

Wait.
My son, who was 2 1/2 at the time did the same thing. Peed on the potty and was so excited! Then, for the rest of the day, he screamed and wouldn't sit or stand at the potty. Even got his feet in the water once...not really sure how that happened.
So I said, you must not be ready yet! Put him back in diapers and went on my merry way.
Not 5 months later he told me that his diaper was too small. He was in size 5's. I told him that they didn't make bigger ones, so when he was ready I would get him big boy underwear and he could use the potty. He thought about it for a minute and said, yeah, lets get some. So we did. He potty trained, day and night, in 3 days. One pee accident a day. It was brilliant and smooth and he felt great about it.
L.

On here people will tell you to wait. That's the reaction I got when I asked a similar question. First, do YOU believe she is ready? If yes, then help her overcome the fear. Give her privacy if it makes her more comfortable. Show her how you do it. Flush her poop while she watches. Just reinforce the potty idea. And I'd let her be naked from the waste down. The pull up is interferring, not helping. When you see she has to go tell her to use the potty and guide her there if you have to. All of these suggestions have worked for my 20 month old daughter.

Kids show a readiness to be potty trained between 18-24 months. Sadly, most parents ignore that sign and think "they are too young." DOn't listen to them. Only in America are kids not ready. The rest of the world potty trains around 18 months.

Have you tried a little potty seat for her? I started with a small potty for both of my kids, and they then moved over to the regular toilet around 2.5 years old. But by using a small one, they could put their pee in the potty as young as 18 months --without my help.

This may sound extreme in some ways, but it worked for us. I second the comment about Americans holding our kids back in some ways and I think this is one of them. 22mos is just fine.

1. Allow her to see you go to the bathroom. Talk about each step in the process normally and naturally.

2. Buy a little potty seat and put it next to your toilet. If she wants to sit on it while you go, that's fine and it will normalize the process.

3. Go buy several (~20) pairs of beautiful, fun, big girl underpants. Throw the pull-ups away (or you can donate them - Goodwill will take them!) Tell her that there are no more pull-ups bc she's a big girl now. DON'T go back! If she knows that's a possibility, it will delay the process.

*The only exception I made to this was to keep some hidden and available for bedtime. When DS was accident-free during the day, we went off the diapers at night.

4. When she puts on her big girl underpants, tell her it's her big girl job to keep them dry. Tell her constantly: "don't forget to tell mommy when you have to go potty!" Don't put her on the seat if she doesn't have to go - it feels punitive to them to have to stop what they're doing to sit on the boring potty for no reason. Put the onus on her to get there. If she starts to have an accident, RUSH her to the potty. She needs to be able to hone in on the sensation of having to go and then getting there.

5. If she has an accident, don't shame her or yell, just say "uh-oh! Your pants are wet. Ok, we have to change them now. Remember, you need to tell mommy when you need to go." Have her help you clean up and talk about how yucky it is and this is why we go in the potty. She needs to be a part of this process.

*It's basically your FT job to watch her and read her signs for when she needs to go. Keep reminding her to tell you when. If you're vigilant, it actually won't take too long!

6. A sticker chart worked well for us. I would steer clear of food-related rewards as they are hard to wean from and develop unhealthy associations with food. Of course, you're going to make a HUGE fuss over her when she gets it!

7. If you have an iPhone, there is a FABULOUS "Potty Time with Elmo" app. It's $2.99, but I'm not even kidding, it was worth every penny. It has the story, fun songs, a reward chart, and puzzles! My son LOVED it and it really helped to reinforce going on the potty.

It takes courage to dive right in, but it's worth it! Don't allow this to drag out by reverting to pull-ups. Even in the car, we take the little potty seat and remind him to tell us. We have had no accidents in the car, even over some long trips.

You can do it, L. (and so can she)! Good luck to you both.

My daughters were both trained by that age. My first daughter was nervous going the first time and would tell me she needed to go and then only sit for a second but kept doing it so she knew she needed to go. Finally I had to hold her on the potty and just kept reassuring her it was okay to go even though she wanted off and she finally went. That was it and she was fine going by herself and that was the only time we used the little potty after we always used the toilet. My second daughter was in undies at 16 months and was going no problem. She did have occasional accidents but I was okay with that because it meant no more buyng diapers other that for night. I also watch other kids and they only use the big tiolet with me. I would definately keep up with it and start underwear. I hate pullups because they are diapers that dont hold alot and cost more. (waist of money) I also give a couple m&m's for going. my first didnt care about the candy so she got a clear piggy bank and a couple coins when she went.

when she poos in her pull up dump it in the potty tell her that it goes in there not in the pull up. When you change her tell her that it goes in the potty not in the pull up. Other than that DONT PUSH it , it will back fire and will take longer to train her.