Trying to Potty Train Closer to 3 - Redlands,CA

My daughter was almost 4!! But she had a medical reason for the delay. That being said, there was NO TRAINING. She was ready. Underwear on - no accidents.

My son was 3, he was ready. He peed a couple of times in his underwear - pooped once (my fault, we were very far from a bathroom and he couldn't hold it) - other than that it was a breeze - with both of them. With both, I tried as well earlier but realized they just weren't ready. I mean why have it be a 3-6mos training session with many accidents when you can just wait until they are ready and have hardly any. At least that is how it was for us.

Best wishes,
M.

J.,

I think even though you asked the question, you are already aware of what your little one is ready for. My son showed signs of being ready at around 22 months, but according to his Pedi not enough to even begin potty learning. So, I waited until he was about 30 months when he started waking up from naps dry and introduced books, videos and pull-ups. We watched the Huggies DVD together about how pull-ups are for big kids and he loved it.

At his school they do potty checks every 30 minutes to get the kids used to the idea, so when his teacher told me he went on the potty and was very happy with himself, I started doing them at home too. After about two months, we sat down and talked about wearing underwear and trying to tell Mommy and Daddy and his teachers when he was ready for pee-pee on the potty. For three weeks straight he went in his pants and we explained it was okay and so forth, but we'd go to the potty and check to see if anything was left.

Honestly, I went into it with an attitude of 'this is his process and I will let him own it'. I gave him time to have accidents and reassured him it was okay because he was learning. But, by his 3rd birhtday he was in unders full-time (except at night) and telling me when he had to go. I think it's one of those things you just have to find a groove and use a lot of verbal and physical cues to teach how this process works. It's tough to go from diapers to the potty without some kind of room for mistakes and clean up. When she's ready you'll know.

Follow your instincts and since you are the best judge of who your little girl is...do what you know is going to work for her. I didn't do bribes either, well with poop on the potty we have a sticker chart and that works pretty well...but that a whole other animal!

People freak out because they think kids should be done with certain things by certain ages, but really every kid is different and you're doing a great job by giving her some more time to show you she's ready.

I'm going to be very blunt. SHE'S NOT READY. She's just not and you have to trust that she will be. This is not your time schedule, this is hers, her body. My daughter is 32 and JUST started to take interest. She is smart as a whip and just wasn't ready until now. I'm not sure why (me included) think this has to do with our time frame, but its just not, as frustrating or concerning as that may be. I really do understand your concern, but really, don't make this a battle; just present it as an option and then reinforce positively (aka bribes) once she begins.

She won't go to high school in diapers: )

Jen

I can recall my daughter training her daughter close to 3 yrs old. She was not wanting to go. My daughter had printed a picture of a toilet and stuck on the wall in the livingroom area with velcro and another velcro tape in the bathroom. When her daughter felt the urge she would grab the picture in the livingroom and run over to her mommy and they both ran into the bathroom and she would stick the picture on the wall. Her mommy would than pull down the pullup pants and sit her on the toilet seat and the mommy would sit facing outside the bathroom because her daughter would feel embarassed and than she would do her thing. Her mommy would always clap together and wipe her private and than flush the toilet and climb on her stool to wash hands. My grand-daughter loved the routine and being in panties only took about a week. Saved my daughter tons of money on pullups. Her baby sister who is not even 2 is also potty trained somewhat. She copies her big sister. Loved the results. Hope this helps.

Hi J.,

well I don't have a toddler-yet, mine's still cookin:) My sister-in-law however just potty trained my neice. She'll be 3 in october. My neice is very smart, and my sis n law waited until she (my neice) was ready. She was aware when she had to pee...and announced after she pooped her diaper. It seems like you don't really want to force it on them, just let them tell you in a way that they're ready! That's all I can say. Sounds like she's almost there, there's nothing wrong with letting it go a couple more months! just get her in the habit of telling you when she's going, and the training will be easy! my neice was in panties in about 2 days. Totally trained!!! ;) good luck!

Hi J., I think maybe you need to look at potty training in a different light. At 29 months they are physically ready. It;'s not about them showing an interset, it's about mom and dad making a decision as to the age they want their children trained. Fox example when my husband approached me about starting a family 26 years ago, I had some very strong ideas and opinions about things, one of the things I told him we potty train early because I won't have a 2 year old in diapers, I made a decision before I was ever expecting. That was my decision as a parent, and I stuck to it. Discipline and reward is the key for teaching children to obey their parents, weather it's potty training, picking up their toys, it's a long list. Think about it like this sweetie, if she shows no interest in school, would you put off her going to school? if she shows no interest in brushing her teeth, would let her teeth go unbrushed, there's times in our childrens lives where we have to play mom card regarless of what they want or don't want to do. Children were never meant to be in charge. As she gets older good hygene is a factor, also so the longer she goes on herself, the more used to that she will get, it already seems to be the norm for her, you want to nip that in the bud A S A P.I hope this helps, I am not judging you or your parenting, just trying to give you another way to look at things. J. L.