I've seen a lot of posts lately about potty training and waiting for signs of being "ready". My question is, What are those signs? I have an 18 month old daughter who cannot stand to have a wet diaper. She immediately rips it off and throws it away.....yes she even throws it away.....:) When she has a "dirty" diaper she will point to the back of her diaper and say "poop" and so I check her diaper and it is indeed poopie! She likes to stand in the bathroom when I am getting ready and she will back up to the toilet and lift up her shirt and start to pull down her pants as if she was going to use the bathroom. We do have a small potty chair but that seems to be more of a toy or just another chair to her. I am in no hurry to potty train her because I feel like she is way too young and I do not want to embark on this journey until after my second daughter arrives in December.
But what are the signs of being ready? Just curious so I can start to look for those.
In one of my responses I was asked if she wakes up dry in the morning....and that would be a great BIG...NO!!!! She is soaked when she gets up in the morning. In fact the very first thing she does is take off her diaper.
Start now! It doesn't take long if you use panties and not pull ups. You can use pull ups at night and call them "night night" panties. I had a friend whose son showed all of these signs but she ignored them. She didn't start training until he was 3 and she had big problems. She should have started when he was ready and willing before he got too "opinionated". Good luck!
When my now 4 year old potty trained, he still wet his overnight pull up at night but was trained during the day time. Girls areusually quicker to train than boys and usually do it earlier. She is showing you all the signs she just might be a little immature to put it all together. one thing a lot of kids do is tell you they went after they go instead of before. but they are getting the idea they just have to put it in the right order. she really is getting there just give her time to grasp the concept. Also, dont worry if she still need an over night pull up, my 4 year old still needs one incase of a accident at night because he is a very sound sleeper and sometimes does not wake up in time. Good Luck, MOM TO 3, A. J
I would think you would want her trained before the other one arrives. But she sounds ready. Night is harder and some do not stay dry for a long time after. But I had a almost one yr old in my Day Care I think I could have trained her. If she had not had to go home on week ends. She pooped in the toilet three days in a row. It was always at the same time. Look for when she is fed and time how long after she has a movement. Then that is a sure time to try and take her. Girls are a lot easier then boys. But I had one boy who just did it on his own actually two. It also helps when other children are trained the younger ones catch on sooner. Good Luck. What goes in comes out and our systems are all different. Maybe 15 min after drinking or 30 min but you can see a pattern. Write it down and then proceed to take her at those times. It is so much easier then when you have the second one. Because she may need to go and you are nursing or feeding the baby or changing her. Then she cannot wait and there you go. She can divert back once the baby is here just because they want attention and that is a way to get it. I sure hope that does not happen. Good luck to you and your new one. G. W
It sounds like your daughter is ready - those are the signs - awareness of when the events occur. And usually the kids that don't like wet diapers are easier to potty train. I used cloth diapers at home for that reason. But, you are right there is a possibility of a relapse after the baby comes. But, that was not a problem with my older son, who used the potty for pee-pee at 18 months. Your daughter is not way too young.
That's it. She's ready. Ask her if she wants to use the big girl potty in the daytime. Nightime potty training is a whole different thing. Good luck!
I agree, those are signs of readiness. If she is doing all this, I say go ahead and start putting her on the potty and leaving her diaper off at times. My son is almost 3 and barely shows any of those signs. We make him pee-pee on the potty several times a day, but he doesn't care at all if he's wet and doesn't tell us when he has a poopy. Sounds like your daughter's going to be easy to get off the diaper. Does she ever wake up dry after naps or in the morning? That's another sign. I would definitely encourage her now, if you let it go and she stops doing these things it may be harder to train her later. Do you want to do that with a newborn around or get it done now before the baby comes? It's definitely not too early- all kids are different and yours is just a little ahead of the game. Mine's running late, obviously.
Those are all the signs and more! In Europe and Asia, children are potty trained by 18 months at the latest. Until the last 50 years or so, kids in America were potty trained that early,too. Now we're in a child-centered environment where you're supposed to wait for your kids to tell you what to do... I don't agree with it but it is what it is. Anyway, she's more than ready and there are numerous book to help you out. Since my daughter is only 7 months I'm not sure which book is best but I suggest you go to Amazon.com and read reviews on potty training books. Won't it be nice to only have to buy diapers for 1 baby when Sierra is born?!
Hi K.,
I have some tip sheets from Elizabeth Pantley...she is the author of the No Cry Sleep Solutions and also No Cry Potty Training. She has given me permission to use these sheets in my classes I teach and I would be happy to send you the articles in a link. Send me a private email if you are interested.
Have a good day!
Marianne
