22 month old wants to go on the potty - but parents not ready! WWYD?

[microserf]

we'd planned to wait until summer to properly potty train dd, at which point she would be well over 2 years and we thought ready.

best laid plans etc - now she has moved up at nursery to a room with potties, and she is completely obsessed with them. she is pulling her clothes off around the house and walking around saying she will only pee on the toilet or in a potty. despite my misgivings, dh tried her yesterday with no nappy and despite numerous trips to the potty, all the pee ended up in little hiding places in our (carpeted) lounge. communication is not her strong point - she still hides when she needs to do a poo in her nappy and will deny that she's done one despite all the evidence.

i know this sounds awful, but we're not ready - i have a nearly 3 month old, and i've been sick now for a month with a chest infection - can barely get out of bed to chase dd round the house most days.

can we put the genie back in the bottle and wait until spring/summer or should we seize the moment?

[NightLark]

Can you start kind of softly-softly, rather than all out potty training?

I honestly think you can be quite laid back about it. And totally understand that you do NOT want to be chasing around with a potty when you feel like death!

I did a kind of half-hearted approach with DS and it was fine, am planning on repeating with DD.

With DS, I started at around two: when he stood in his bath (this makes them wee), catching the wee in a little cup and broadcasting my praises for his weeing in said cup (even though it had very little to do with his own efforts!). Basic idea was just that he should connect the feeling of needing a wee with the action and the result. He PTd very easily at 2.6 and was quite happy with the bathtime weeing an occasional use of the potty before then.

DD is now nearly two and wants to PT as well - just like yours, ripping off nappy ('too scratchy' apparently), adoring potty and then weeing on the carpet, though she did take herself to the potty yesterday and have a wee there. I'm just taking it slowly.

[microserf]

Can we do that? i was a bit nervous all the advice was to go for ASAP and get it over with. That would be my preference, as DD is really struggling with the actual peeing on the potty - sits on the potty for like a second then goes off to widdle in secret god knows where!

[NightLark]

I think so...

I know the advice here is 'boot camp', but DS never seemed confused by a mix of nappies and potty. I guess I had some element of routine to it - potty just before bed, that kind of thing - and we never switched between pants and nappies, just bare bum or nappies. If you're not in a rush, you don't need to get it over with!