Potty Training with an Almost 2 Year Old. Where to Start?

When she can tell you she has to go then it will be much easier.
My oldest was just over 3 next was 22months said she was not baby anymore and peed on the potty with one accident that first week. Next 2 were 3.5 and number 5 was 3. All were dry at night before I even brought up potty training.
I think that when they are ready they will tell you otherwise you will be doing alot of laundry. Good Luck!
J.

My son didn't potty train until three. My daughter is fully potty trained as a young two year old. We bought her really cute panties that she loves, put the potty in front of the tv and let her sit there and watch tv naked while sitting on the potty for the first day or so, until she had some successes and understood what we wanted her to do. and when she did it, we made a REALLY BIG DEAL out of it! :) SO HAPPY! SUCH A BIG GIRL! WOW!!! Also, we cut all fun snacks and candy out of her diet, except when she went potty, then she got to pick one candy out of the jar -- and had LOTS of fun candies in there. Whenever she wanted a candy, we reminded her that she got one when she went potty, so she'd want to go sit right then and usually managed to go! :) Now, my five year old son was a big help through all this, he made her think going potty was the coolest thing ever (because he got a candy, too, when she went successfully, haha). Now I know you don't have a five year old boy, but maybe someday, your daughter can be a big help to a younger sibling, too. :) Alternately, I guess I would say that everyone being supportive of her efforts is important, so if you can get everyone on board with praising her and encouraging her, that's good. So, I know your in-laws don't want her naked or having accidents, but uh, that's just kids! It's just pee. It's sterile. Be respectful and clean it up right when it happens with good cleaner, and without making your daughter feel BAD about it... if it happens on the carpet, it's a GREAT idea to have a steamer if you can borrow or rent one or buy one. (We have a Hoover steam vac, $200 from Best Buy, probably can get it cheaper at Kohl's nowadays!) Totally worth it. We use it constantly.

Oh, also, my daughter went potty like every ten minutes once she figured out what she was supposed to do and that she got candy! So, be prepared for it to rule your life for at least a week or so. And then, once it loses its excitement, for her to have a few accidents while she's busy playing and forgets to go to the potty. And be prepared to carry a couple of extra changes of clothing and some clorox/wet wipes for accidents while out shopping, etc... accidents WILL happen. You'll be taking her to the public potty whenever you go out for a while, until you can trust her to "hold it." It's kind of a mindset change, not relying on diapers and remembering that you have to ask her/take her to the potty every 45-60 minutes, or whatever works for your daughter. Girls usually catch on faster than boys, for some reason. But if she doesn't, don't stress about it. Stop if it becomes "stressful" for your daughter and try again in a month. :)

Good luck!

I'd just start by taking her anytime you go. You can both sit, read a book, and see if anything comes out!

She needs to be ready and interested. I believe in the no pullup thing too - BUT there will be nakedness and accidents.... Don't push her, she is still young and sometimes the younger ones take longer (more accidents etc). I would wait until she's interested. Every time you change her put her on the potty to try - if she does CELEBRATE IT! If she doesn't say, good try, we'll try again later... Once she starts to go regularly and can show signs of control - take away the diapers (pull ups only at night - or just use diapers). My daughter trained early during the day, but has no night time control (she's 4.5)... they are all different...

There's great deal of information at this site: readiness checklists, and the science/research on various approaches to potty training: http://www.parentingscience.com/toilet-training-readiness... Toilet learning is a natural developmental step, and if allowed to approach it at their own speed (usually somewhere between 2.5 and 4.5 years), kids experience pretty much universal, quick success (sometimes one day!) with little-to-no stress and a great sense of satisfaction.

And it also appears that starting at different ages, from infancy on, can work depending on the parents' lifestyle, dedication, and intentions, and that all ages offer their special challenges or requirements for success.

There are also warnings about what can go wrong to help you avoid common emotional pitfalls. Follow the internal links for a wealth of information; you may see the possibility of early training for your child.

You can try to potty train now and since she will sit on the potty and go for you, that is a good thing. Just keep putting her on during times you know she goes. My son stays dry at night so I started with the first morning pee. That was the easiest. Get really excited when she goes and get her a tiny little treat. My son gets 1 Annie's Organic Bunny Treat. Does your daughter tell you after she goes in the diaper? That is the other sign of readiness. Even if she doesn't yet, you can start potty training, it just might take you longer. We use pullups for my son but I waited to really start serious potty training until he was telling me each time he went in the diaper. I personally would not let her go around bottomless unless you want to clean up - A LOT. Either way, put her on the potty like every hour. Soon she will get it. I am not sure it there is a better way but that is how we are doing it and its going great. BTW, my son is almost 3.

Can she gesture for potty--I watch a child who doesn't talk much and doesn't say potty but he taps his diaper sometimes before he has to go or points up to the bathroom. Without language or the ability to have some naked time it will be a longer process. I don't mind that really--would rather start early so they don't get so stubborn about being used to sitting in wet diapers. My daughter trained at less than a year, and her daycare buddy in my home trained around the same time and he was about 4 months older--took him a little longer but he was wearing underwear while sleeping before age 3. I'm currently training a less verbal 22 month old using pull-up per mom's preference--not intense training but he started wanting to go when the other kids did and he stays dry for long enough periods that if he makes a trip to the bathroom after each drinking session--I usually initiate he can be pretty dry. Key is to not let her sip on drinks all day--restrict drinks to meals and snack times--you can predict her patterns better that way.