Hi. I'm a mother of two girls, ages 2 (26 months) and 1. I'd like to start potty-training my 2 year-old but I'm not sure she's ready. We have a potty seat and she's used it once but it's mostly just a novelty she sits on for a minute then she's done with it. I know consistency is key. She's in daycare from 6:30-2:30 M/W/F and with Grandparents from 8-3 T/Th. Daycare should be fine but I'm not sure about Thursday when she's with my father-in-law. If she's got consistency every day but Thursday will potty-training work? Should I even start trying? Her diapers are still wet in the morning and like I said she thinks the potty-seat is fun but doesn't know she's supposed to do anything in it. Any advice would be much appreciated.
So I bought my daughter a potty-time DVD and a book about using the potty. I ask her to sit on her potty before her evening bath and if she uses she uses it, if not, no big deal. When she uses it she acts like it's something she does all the time so I just tell her good job and let it go at that. Thanks for all the comments! I imagine she'll be potty trained by the end of the year...or whenever she's good and ready.
Hello P.,
I potty trained my first child at 3 years (35 months) and it only took 2 days. A lot of people said that I was waiting too long, but when he was ready, there was no stress at all and he never had an accident after either. Every child has their own schedule of when to do things and if you try to push this schedule it becomes very stressful and more difficult in the long run.
good luck
C. C.
Aloha, P.!
I have two boys (6 years & 15 months). I started with my six year old when he was closer to 3. It began with me looking for clues as to when he was going, or about to go. I got some entertaining potty books. When I figured out his clues, I'd put him on the pot. At first he freaked out about sitting on it, so I waited a bit longer. When he bacame o.k. with it, and I knew, for sure, his clues, I took his diaper off. (not recommended if you have carpet) Night time training came a bit later (about 3). Just be absolutely sure she's ready, or you'll end up cleaning a-lot of accidents, for longer than you expected. Good luck
As I was always told, it is never too early to start training them...potty seats always start out as a novelty, but in my son's case, it became a fascination, he truly wanted to use it and be like the adults going potty on the big seat. Give your babies positive input, praise them for wanting to try...we let our son watch us go to the bathroom, sure its a little strange at first, but he learned real quick what the potty seat was for...he was potty trained long before he even hit 2 years old, he taught himself, and all we did was give him praise and positive input. Little rewards always help the process along, every time he made it to the potty, everytime he made it thru the night without wetting the bed, etc. I wish you luck.
The more of a big deal you make the longer it will take. At school it is usally the most successful place to get it going. At our school we never put pressure for as the students see others using the potty and getting stickers for it, they want to try also!
At 2 1/2 years old my daughter had been watching the other kids at daycare use the potty, but was still the last one to "get it". She'd had her potty chair for quite a while by then, and we let her play with it. You know; dragging it around with toys in it, opening it, closing it, and even sitting her baby on it to go potty. But, it wasn't until a friend lent us a video called "It's Potty Time" that she actually became willing to use the potty herself. After watching it the first time, she wanted to watch it again right away. It was during that viewing that she said, "I wanna go pee-pee in the potty!" It took some practice, and patience after that, but it was a great start. Check it out here: http://www.pottytrainingsolutions.com/shop/product_info.p...
Don't put yourself or her through the fight of trying to train if she's not ready. You've got to all be on the same plan and handle things the same way.
Well, P., you don't say how far into two years old you daughter is - 25 months? 35 months? If she is still close to 24 months, I would say it is too early . . . As much as we look forward to not changing diapers anymore (and by the way, I had two in diapers twice), it was important to me to potty-train when they were ready and that it not be a struggle. With mine, I devoted one day a week to trying to use the toilet until they seemed to want to. For now, I would have the potty available, but not push the issue. You can also read books like "once upon a Potty." The one thing I did that I don't necessarily recommend now was to have an "open door" policy - my theory being that they would see what one does in there - but now I still have trouble finding privacy in the bathroom fifteen years later. Keep open to what may be the right incentive for your girls - for my oldest, a boy, he really wanted to wear underwear (what we call "chonies")- I told him that the rule in this house is that when you wear chonies you go potty in the toilet - and we sang the "wicked witch" song as we ran for the toilet - seemed to make it fun. On the other hand, I tried the chonie thing with my youngest, a girl, and she really didn't care if she wore chonies or not . . . They both potty-trained late, he was 34 months, she was 35 1/2 months. I don't remember potty-training my middle child - which I think means it went smoothly. My baby was for all intents and purposes trained and in chonies at 27 months, but my husband would put her back in diapers when she had an accident and she ended up back in diapers full time . . .
Good luck - and remember they are all potty-trained before they graduated from high school! =)
I agree, if your daughter is less than 2 1/2 , I'd wait for any structured potty training and just let her sit on and play with the potty for now...
Good Luck!
I would say 2 is a little young. Looking back now when I potty trained my oldest I thought she was ready at 2 1/2, she woke with dry diapers and kept taking her diaper off. Really I think I should have waited till she was 3 that is when she really got it. I was just a stress case for the whole time up till then. Good luck in what ever you decide to do though.
Hi P.. I read you are trying to find ways to stay at home. If you and your husband keep your options open, I would be willing to share what my husband and I have done to allow me to stay at home with our little girl. T.
