S/O Potty training

[Mom in High Heels]

It's been a long time since I had to potty train and Indy was crazy hard. He was petrified of the toilet and didn't fully train until he was a little over 4. He stopped wetting his diaper at night around 8 months of age, so you would think it would have been easy, but not so much. I think I'm traumatized by the whole potty training process!

 

Anyway, Han Solo will be 2 next month (WHAT?) and he tells me after he's peed and pooped his diaper. He'll point to the front and say "I tee-tee!" or when he's pooped, he'll grab his bum and say "I poop!" (he gets very excited about it). My mom says this means he's ready to potty train, but I'm not so sure. He tells me afterward, not before. He knows what the toilet is for, since Indy has no problems coming into the bathroom and using it (only peeing!) while I'm bathing HS. HS will point at Indy and say "[indy] tee-tee." That doesn't mean he's going to use the toilet though. I think he's too young to potty train just yet, and I'm fine with him still being in diapers (he's still a baby!). When should I start trying to train him? I don't want to start too early, but how do I know when? You'd think this would be easy since it's my second time around, but it's been so long!

[SKL]

I would talk to him about it and see if he's interested. Maybe have him sit on the pot before a bath and see if anything happens. If not, give it some more time.

 

In the summer, let him play outside without anything on except a short shirt and cloth trainers. Put a potty out there and tell him what to do with it. Practice. Catch him in the act of peeing and remind him. No big deal if he doesn't get it. Let it go if it seems traumatic, or if he isn't getting it after a couple of days.

 

That's what I'd do, anyway. Good luck!

[Ottakee]

I am easily on the just wait side but I do have a friend that potty trained all 7 of her kids right about their 2nd birthdays. She claimed that there was a window of time that they were easier to train before they hit that resistant stage.

[DianeW88]

My oldest was trained at 2 years and 6 months (because I was NOT going to have two in diapers), my dd at 2 years and 4 months, and my youngest son at 2 years and 9 months. Just let them go without any pants on...at all. It happened pretty quick for mine.

[BakersDozen]

I am easily on the just wait side but I do have a friend that potty trained all 7 of her kids right about their 2nd birthdays. She claimed that there was a window of time that they were easier to train before they hit that resistant stage.

I agree with that window! Once we figured out when it was (about 14-16mo of age), we were able to potty train our babies in about a month. Our littlest girl is training now since she is waking up dry/almost dry and sitting herself on the training potty.

 

If a dc is recognizing wet/poop and even telling the parent about it, training time is here! I'd just make it a normal part of the daily routine: first thing in morning (dry or not, sit on the potty), mid-morning, before lunch, before nap, etc. I've not had a smidge of resistance if I make using the potty a part of our regular routine. Having an older sibling take them (or even use the potty at the same time...obviously toddler is on training toilet) has had great results here. Lots of high-fives and silly potty dances rounds out our potty training experience. :)

[mommylawyer]

I've always waited to potty train until my kids are around 3 years old. My current 3 year old did the same thing as yours - telling me after the fact that he pooped and/or peed. So I thought I try to train him then (he was 2). It was a no go then - he just did the same thing while wearing underwear - he told me AFTER. Ew! I'm not the type to keep this sort of thing up for a month or more. If my child can't stay dry after a week of trying, I stop and try again a few months later. Given that, I always get the little potty out when they're around 2 or so, and occasionally ask or encourage them to use it, but potty training happens when we are BOTH ready (I can't stand having to take changes of clothes and plastic bags with me everywhere; I have to work myself up for that). On the positive side, because I wait, potty training usually happens in a weekend. A weekend. Not weeks or months. 3 days! I don't use pull-ups and three of my four children have not only successfully daytime potty trained in that amount of time, but have stayed dry at night, too. I say wait.

[SKL]

I also did the 3-day method (outdoors in the summer) with my youngest, but she was 17mos. She hasn't worn a diaper since. Very few accidents. And she was like a leaky faucet before boot camp.

 

I agree that if you start young, you may be less likely to get the toddler attitude. However, all kids are different. Personally I'd give it a try, but I wouldn't stake my self-esteem on it. ;)

[*Lulu*]

I agree that if you start young, you may be less likely to get the toddler attitude. However, all kids are different. Personally I'd give it a try, but I wouldn't stake my self-esteem on it. ;)

 

 

This is good advice. The last bit applies to a whole lot more of child-rearing than just potty training!

[KrissiK]

Well..... I'm starting on my 5th child to potty train. She's 2 1/2 now and when I think about it, I put her on the potty. She's peed in the potty. But honestly, I'm not really inclined to push the issue. My other two girls were closer to three years old and it's just much easier when they're older. When it gets warm I'll probably put my baby in panties and let her figure it out, but I don't have the time to put her on the potty every two hours. My sil started doing that when her baby turned two and basically her life revolved around potty training. And her daughter is still not trained. Mommy is trained, though. When I started number 4, she was almost 3 years old (we started that late not intentionally, but she was almost 2 1/2 when she came to live with us, and I just didn't want to start potty training so soon after the upheaval of a new family, so we waited about 6 months until we started training her and it was very easy) and we just put her in underwear and she had a few accidents, but figured it out when she decided she didn't like urine running down her leg. It was a very painless experience.

[kiwik]

Depends on the child. My younger child was probably 2.5 for day and stopped wearing night nappies on his third birthday. By trained I mean takes himself only requiring help for wiping - not you have to drop everything when they need to go. My older son is 6 in two weeks. I would say he is not fully toilet trained either day or night. Part of that is due to medical issues and part because unlike the younger one he honestly doesn't if he is wet or dirty.

[Heather in Neverland]

Here kids all start potty-training at about 18 months. It is normal. My amah trained my dd in 3 days and my dd has not had an accident since. No tears, no trauma, no attitude. It was easy-peasy. I was surprised since both my boys didn't train until 2 or 2.5yo. My amah's response is that's because western women are too lazy. Um. Not exactly a politically correct answer but she also hasn't learned how to be tactful in a second language. Yikes.

[kiwik]

I'm guessing your amah is able to focus pretty much on childcare as that is her job.

 

Eta. To be fair if I had put my mind to it my youngest would have done that but with the problems the older one was having i was too scared. Also childcare centres automatically put a nappy on a child if they have more than three accidents and home based caters tend not to even let it go that far.

[Heather in Neverland]

I'm guessing your amah is able to focus pretty much on childcare as that is her job.

 

 

Oh definitely. Cook, clean, laundry, take care of dd. She is basically me until I get home. She is a treasure (outside of her occasional surprising comments).

[Melissa in Australia]

Here kids all start potty-training at about 18 months. It is normal. My amah trained my dd in 3 days and my dd has not had an accident since. No tears, no trauma, no attitude. It was easy-peasy. I was surprised since both my boys didn't train until 2 or 2.5yo. My amah's response is that's because western women are too lazy. Um. Not exactly a politically correct answer but she also hasn't learned how to be tactful in a second language. Yikes.

when my children were little the general attitude was similar to your anah's. All my children were toilet trained well before 18 months. I think the key difference is that in the past people used large bulky cloth nappies (diapers) and as the child got older , they fell off, didn't absorb so much fluid and were a pain to wash. nowadays parents seem not to be bothered about toilet training~ their child is wearing disposables.

[duckens]

Best advice for potty training:

"Very few children leave for kindergarten not potty trained."

 

Stages of potty training:

1) Child informs parent after child has peed or pooped.

2) Child informs parent AS they are peeing and pooping. (This is the most frustrating stage because parents usually holler, "WELL, GIT ON THE POTTY!")

3) Child informs parent before child needs to pee or poop.

 

Little boys tend to potty train later than little girls. It's not their fault. Physiologically, some of the nerves at the base of their spines (for controlling the bladder) develop a little later.

 

Dd2 has been much easier to potty train than dd6 was. Loverboy and I believe that it is because of our "superior parenting style." :rolleyes: Of course, our superior parenting style consists of letting her run around buck naked most days.

[Mama Geek]

I did the 3 days with no diaper shortly after dd's 2nd birthday. She isn't trained at night yet and still has an accident now and then, but she does really well. If I had it to do differently I would have done it at 18 months. I started to and wished I had finished it.

[chicagoshannon]

He might be ready. My son has been telling us for months after he uses his diaper but will not train! Good luck!

[Crimson Wife]

2 certainly isn't too young to PT barring no special needs.

 

My oldest was trained at 2 1/2.

 

My DS was a late-talker so I did not even attempt PT until he was 3 1/2 and finished with speech therapy. I figured he was working hard enough on his speech that I didn't want to throw too many new demands at him all at once, KWIM?

 

Youngest DD I started working on PT at 3 1/2 and it wasn't until shortly after her 4th birthday that she finally was consistently doing #2 in the potty and actually verbalizing a need to go rather than needing to be taken on a schedule. However, with her developmental delay, she's functionally more like a typical 3 y.o.

[I.Dup.]

I don't potty train anymore. I don't see how it makes things any easier for me when at 2-3 years old they still need help getting their pants down, getting on and off the toilet, wiping, pulling their pants back up, washing their hands, etc. But this is coming from someone who still wipes her 6yo on the toilet so take this FWIW.

 

I tend to wait until around 4yo when they are more independent, truly seem ready to switch to the potty, and can at least get their pants down and get on the toilet by themselves, and wash their hands pretty independently.

 

And yes, I have regularly had 3 in diapers! Like I said above, I just don't see how it's so much easier having to find a toilet and make sure they get there and do all that entails versus just changing a diaper. YMMV. :confused1: We haven't noticed a huge expense for having 3 in diapers but it will be interesting to see if our finances get freed up a lot once we have no more in diapers (sniff). By then it will probably all be spent on food anyway, lol.

 

I look at it as, by 5 years old they are all trained, so hey. It's not something that will affect the rest of their life. Now if they were in childcare or school of course I would want to train them sooner!

[Dustybug]

This is something that can vary from child to child, but all three of my children trained right around 2. My youngest is currently 32 months old and has been completely trained for a little over a month. I did NOT want two in diapers and she exhibited many of the same signs as your child is. I tried a few months before but after a week, she didn't "get it," so I didn't worry about it and came back to it a bit later. I try to be really relaxed about it.

 

I have a friend that swears that every child can be trained by 18 months as well, but her method, well, I'm too lazy for it. lol I do put my children straight into panties/underwear though except when napping or overnight while training.

[Luanne]

I have trained a lot of kids (even though I only have one daughter). I worked in day care for years predominately with children under age 3. Very few children are able to be trained under the age of 2. Those children usually give you signs (like my neice who started going all by herself at 17 months of age ... she had just started walking too). It makes no difference if the child is a boy or a girl. I've trained just as many girls over age 3 as boys who were younger. Most children train easier closer to age 3. My own daughter was 3 years 4 months (and she started talking at 13 months of age, was talking in complete sentences at 18 months). She just didn't understand the potty training thing until after she turned 3. If you want a less stress training, I'd wait until he is a little older... but that is just me.

[Luanne]

I've found in a lot of cases, the people who think all children can be trained by 18 months or even 2, are trained themselves and the child isn't actually trained.