When do you start toilet-training?

frayda

Tue, Jan 29 2008, 4:36 am

My DD (20 months) is starting to do this too. Occasionally I'll let her sit down on the potty, since she asks, but I'm not really trying to train her yet. She does let me know when she has a dirty diaper, so I think that's another sign she's on her way to being ready. DS (age 3) isn't trained yet, maybe seeing his younger sister using the potty will give him an incentive to want to go too.

I say if you feel you're up to it, then go ahead!

GAMZu

Tue, Jan 29 2008, 1:39 pm

I guess a lot of people know where I stand on this topic already... Smile

Anyway, the way I believe works best for ALL kids:
Start talking "potty" from the time your baby is able to understand what you are saying, like almost one year old.
Keep talking while changing diapers that we only make ____ and ____ (insert the words you use) in the potty. (Obviously, first buy the potty.)

By the time the child is able to control his body, he is super excited to do what you prepped him for.

This method has helped my 1st son train in 2 days when he was 27 months old. My 2nd is now 22 months and is trained. He still has some accidents when he is wearing something on his bottom, but when he is without underwear, he has no misses. We are waiting for warm weather to take him outside without a diaper, because I can't take a risk of him wetting himself in the cold.

So, shed all stereotypes of not starting until age 3 *shudder*.
I have heard of some children expressing a readiness and a need to start training, but the mother stifles their enthusiasm because it's "too early."

IMO, it's never to early to help out your kid if she doesn't want to sit in her own waste.

Admittedly, some children are not ready emotionally until later.
But MOST children are ready physically shortly after age 1. It's just they don't know to use the muscle to "keep it in" until getting to the potty because no one told them they could.

Hatzlocha! Follow her lead, help her along, cheer her on, but don't show disappointment for accidents.

MorahRachel

Tue, Jan 29 2008, 5:42 pm

my son is over 3 years old and he has made on the potty exactly one time. I talk about it all the time with him and he always says "Tomorrow I'll make on the potty." He really isnt interested. I dont want to push him but its really a bit crazy by now. Some of his younger friends are even trained already.
The main problem I have is that he is in school all day and I am not with him so its hard for me to dictate his training.
Now I'm thinking that when he is home in the late afternoons, I will let him run around naked. Any advice about this technique?

GAMZu

Tue, Jan 29 2008, 8:06 pm

Put him in underpants and don't look back on diapers except for sleeping.
The technique you mentioned is not great, because he will need to relearn the "gotta go" feeling with clothes on. (Talking from experience.)

Why don't his teachers do anything about it in school?

Atali

Tue, Jan 29 2008, 9:06 pm

GAMZu wrote:

I beg to differ. A few months ago, my three year old DS sounded just like Morah Rachel's son. He was absolutely not interested in the potty, no amount of incentives or talking about it made any difference. (My DS has a reputation for being quite independant and stubborn). I tried putting him in undies, but he just kept going through four every hour.

Then, one day (at about three and three months), I casually suggested the potty (for the millionth time) and he decided that he wanted to go, and has never worn diapers since.

Now he is even trained at night.

Of course, if my child expressed interest earlier, I would encourage it.