Potty Training

Pookie

Ghetto Fabulous
My daughter is 19 months old and I've heard some people say she should've been potty trained already. Others say most kids aren't potty trained until 2, somtimes 3. I don't feel she's ready yet, but would like advice as to when to start, what the "signs" of readiness are, etc. Thanks in advance.
 

JabbaJawz

Be about it
Mac was fully trained a couple weeks after her 2nd birthday, but that's not to say that all kids are ready. I have a friend who started her daughter around 20 mos. and she did great with it. I found a website at the time I was wondering that had a great 'quiz' to test if your child is ready or not. Try about.com or parentsplace.com - I think it was on one of those that I found it. My personal recommendation - "Say no to pull-ups!" They're nothing more than a fancy diaper. I purchased the thicker training underwear and plastic covers for my daughter, and we started right in on that. Of course the first couple of days she peed herself quite a few times, but it didn't take long at all for her to get the hang of it. I also set the timer for 10 minutes over and over again and would take her to the bathroom each time it went off. A pain in the arse, yes...but completely worth it to speed the training along. When she would go on the toilet I'd get all excited and reward her with a sticker, m&m's, or whatever. I didn't go to the store much the first week or so because she still couldn't hold it for long and was learning the 'I need to go' feeling, but she caught on so fast and life was soon normal again. My babysitter also agreed with no pull-ups, and between she and I Mackenzie was fully trained very fast. For a while we still did diapers at naptime and bedtime just in case, but it turned out we didn't need them b/c she always wakes up if she has to go. Good luck!
 

Ken King

A little rusty but not crusty
PREMO Member
Originally posted by ememdee19
I don't feel she's ready yet, but would like advice as to when to start, what the "signs" of readiness are.
One sure fire sign for us was when the kids would take their dirty diaper off. If they do that, train them. As to the "age" to start training, you're with the child, you'll know best, but 19 months sounds like a fine time to start learning to me. BTW my baby is just about 22 years old, so my thoughts might not be current.
 

jlabsher

Sorry about that chief.
My oldest, now 4 was very easy, did it around 19 months, the second who will be 2 on Sunday still has accidents. She tries, but when we go out for a long time we do diapers and when at home we don't. It confuses her. Can't wait for summer months, let her run nekkid in the yard (back) nothing gets them trained faster than going on themselves a few times.

Boys, however don't mind it (for life)!
 

Dymphna

Loyalty, Friendship, Love
Let me guess, those people who say your daughter should've been potty trained already were older, like maybe your mother or a little younger than that.

20-30 years ago the prevailing opinion on potty training was, if they could walk it was time to start. Problem with that is, some kids just aren't ready for it. If the child doesn't want to do it, they won't and you are setting you and them up for failure. It becomes a control issue, with the child in control.

Here's the latest article from Parents magazine on the subject.
Potty-Teaching Dilemmas

Moms know best. Don't let anyone make you second-guess your parenting skills. Basically if you don't think she's ready, she isn't.
 

Pookie

Ghetto Fabulous
Thank you everybody for the great advice!

Most of the people who have been hounding me about potty training are older and think they "know it all". I'm sure they're just trying to give me motherly advice since they've gone through it also, but every child is different. My friend's daughter is 3 and she just got her potty trained. I kinda felt that was a little late in the game, but again, it depends on the child.

I was planning on starting her on pull ups, but thanks to Lauren's advice it looks like I'll be staying away from them and going straight to the training underwear with plastic covers.

Guess it's time to go buy her a new potty! Would you recommend their own personal potty or the inserts that fit into the toilets? Anymore rec's would be greatly appreciated!
 

JabbaJawz

Be about it
I started Mac with her own little potty, but quickly transitioned to the inserts. The kiddie pottys are such a mess, and I much preferred the insert!
 

vraiblonde

Board Mommy
PREMO Member
Patron
This is going to sound stupid but...we went with a little potty because it seemed to comfort my son to empty it. He had this problem with flushing the stuff. He was horrified - like "You're just going to flush my body parts down the toilet!?!" So if he actually got to dump the pan and flush the toilet, it made him happy. Future guy.

Mine son was night trained and everything by his 2nd birthday. The daughter was, I think, 2 1/2. When they're old enough to take their diaper off or tell you they need a change, it's time to potty train.
 

Pookie

Ghetto Fabulous
Lately she's been taking her diaper off in the mornings when she gets up. I'm not sure if she's doing it because she's ready or just because she knows how to take her clothes off now and thinks it's funny to do so.

She knows what the word potty means, but can't yet convey it to me. She's very interested when anybody has to use the "potty", especially me! I don't think I've been to the bathroom alone in over 6 months! :biggrin: Anyhow, you guys have given some great advice. I hope this works out well!
 

vraiblonde

Board Mommy
PREMO Member
Patron
One more tip: The trick is to get them to potty in the potty chair for the first time, so you can make a big deal about it and they realize that this is something good. Remember in "Look Who's Talking" - "Pee pee in the pot-ty!"? That was us. It's very much like housebreaking a dog - you potty them every hour or so, watch them for signs that they have to go, then throw a party when they finally go where they're supposed to.

(poor Doug - off serving his country and his mother is talking about his potty training on a public forum :lol:)
 
K

Kizzy

Guest
I have 2 boys and I noticed that the 1st was a pain to train, and the second was a piece of cake. My oldest was talking in sentences before he was 1, but he would just get too busy to go no matter what. The 2nd couldn't stand having dirty/wet diaper on and when he was 18 months, we had him on the potty and totally trained before he was 24 months.

You can get an insert for less than $10 and a plastic step stool at Wal Mart for $3. I didn't do the potty chair with the 2nd, we went straight to the insert and step stool.

:rolleyes: All I have to say is better you than me. I don't want to ever do the potty thing again.
 

jazz lady

~*~ Rara Avis ~*~
PREMO Member
Report: Don't Rush to Toilet Train Tots

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Starting toilet training early may help children go diaper-free sooner than otherwise, but there can be such a thing as too early, researchers said Monday.

In fact, children whose parents started intensive toilet training -- defined as asking the child to use the toilet more than three times a day -- before they turned 27 months took longer to toilet train and did not complete the process at an earlier age than children who started training later.

So while the right time to toilet train may differ for every child, parents might want to postpone the process at least until the child is 27 months old, according to Dr. Nathan J. Blum and his colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

"There doesn't seem to be much benefit to doing it for kids who are that young," Blum told Reuters Health.

"They don't toilet train any younger, and it takes a lot longer. You're going to be working at it a long time," he said.

But Blum added that the current findings apply to intensive toilet training, and do not suggest that parents ignore toilet training until their child reaches 27 months. Rather, he said that gentle introductions to the concept of abandoning diapers -- perhaps showing children a potty and describing how to use it -- could be helpful, even before 27 months of age.

"If your kid's really taking to (the potty) and wants to use it, I certainly wouldn't discourage that at any age," Blum noted.

Previous research has suggested that children who start toilet training at an early age finish at an earlier age than those who start later. However, other studies have suggested that starting kids on the road to full-time toilet-use can increase their risk of constipation and other troubles.

Blum and his colleagues obtained their findings by following 406 children between 17 and 19 months old as they went through the long process of toilet training.

To track their progress, the investigators phoned parents every two to three months, asking them if they had asked their children to sit on the toilet and how often their children had actually used the toilet when urinating or defecating.

Blum and his colleagues discovered that starting training early did enable children to complete the process at an earlier age than others -- except if parents initiated intensive training before children reached 27 months, that is.

In fact, starting toilet training before 27 months only lengthened the entire process, the authors report.

Despite the difficulties linked to early training, the authors did not find that early trainees were more likely than others to experience constipation or willful symptoms such as withholding stool or refusing to use the toilet.

In an interview, Blum explained that previous fears that early toilet training could cause problems in children stem from periods when experts were recommending that parents begin toilet training before children turned one.

None of the parents in the current study started the process of toilet training in children less than one, he noted, and the findings suggest that as long as training doesn't begin too soon, early onset will not pose a problem.

"Other than taking a long time, early toilet training wasn't associated with any problems," Blum said.

He added that judging when a child is ready to begin training can be very difficult for parents. Many experts have offered recommendations of signs that show the child is ready -- such as when he follows a parent into the bathroom, or generally wants to please -- but none has been "universally accepted" as proof of readiness, Blum said.

"If you find that you have to work (hard at toilet training before 27 months), wait until your kid's about somewhere between 27 and 33 months of age," Blum recommended.

"It still takes a while -- six months or so -- but it doesn't take a year, like it does if your kid's a lot younger," he said.

SOURCE: Pediatrics 2003;111:810-814.
 

Sharon

* * * * * * * * *
Staff member
PREMO Member
I'm a super duper pooper.
I know when I have to go.
Take a bow
I'm a big kid now.
I'm the best pooper you know!


It's the type of song that sticks in your head. Staff members at Stupid Headquarters are walking around like idiots singing the song to themselves.
:lmao: :roflmao:
 

JabbaJawz

Be about it
Oh Lord, what will they come up with next!? I'd want to smack the pee out of Mac if she ever sang a dorky tune like that!
 
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