Do you HAVE to potty train just because the child wants to?

[Wills]

My toddler is ready, more than ready she's desperate. BUT life at the moment is blooming hectic and although we've started I'm finding it really difficult to focus on her. So although Sunday was great, 1 miss & 2 success, yesterday and today have been disasterous. In 4 weeks time we will be going away for a 3 week holiday. Do you think it will be ok to leave it until then? She wont be happy (she's been wiping her nappy off and putting her trousers back on without them for 2 weeks now).

[annh]

My advice would be to stick with it, if she is so keen. DS2 potty-trained just after he turned two, although like you, I was going to put it off because of moving house,holiday, family wedding etc etc. A friend told me not to be so ridiculous when he indicated that he wanted to get down from lunch to go one day so I stuck with it and he was all done and dusted well before we encountered any of the events what I was postponing the training for! Four weeks is a long way off if your dd is keen, she could be completely dry by then. Why do you need to "focus" on her? Just bring a potty and a change of clothes everywhere you go?

[Wills]

More that she has hollow legs! and she's a little bit nervous of the sensation. She can hold for 5 hours despite me giving her copouis drinks. But the moment I take my eye off her she goes. I have 3 other kids and last night trying to deal with piano lessons, cook dinner and keep an eye on her was a complete disaster! I feel for her though cos she's really close to doing this.

[Tonksforthememories]

DD2 decided to train on 27th December 2007. She was 2.4. Right in the middle of the Christmas/ DD1's birthday saga. She was clean and dry in 3 days.

DS however decided two weekends ago that he wanted a go. He's clearly not ready and is now refusing to go at all. He's 2.4.

Could you gently remind her to use the potty whenever you can? Or try some kind of reward system? You used to be able to get little pictures that disolved when you got them wet, popped in the potty they worked wonders for DD1! :) Like this

[iwouldgoouttonight]

We put off potty training DS when he was clearly ready and asking to wear pants, because it was just before DD was due and we didn't think we could cope with potty training and a newborn. So we left it until WE were ready and DS really didn't want to do it at all. We really struggled with it and it took a long time. So with DD we went with her, when she asked to wear pants we let her (even though I had wanted to wait until the summer!) and she seems to have got it much quicker (touch wood!)

With a young family there is never going to be a perfect time when you can devote all your time to her so you could keep putting it off - I would just follow her lead and let her try.

[Wills]

Yes your all echoing my fundamental feelings on this BLAST! The more kids you have the less convenient everything is!

As for rewards, she gets a chocolate when she does a wee in the potty - worked on Sunday but then there were two of us juggling the kids and so I was able to spot when I knew she'd need the loo and sit with her encouragingly.

[NellyTheElephant]

Like the others have said I would go for it while the enthusiasm is there. My DS (DC no.3) decided to be potty trained a couple of days after his 2nd birthday. It was a disastrous time for me as we were moving house the following month and so I was preparing for that, trying to pack up etc. I was going away 10 days later and he was going to be staying with my mother and so my heart sank at the idea of doing potty training, but I thought, well why not since he's so keen and within a couple of days he was trained without a great deal of input from me. So glad I let him go for it when he clearly wanted to, I see so many friends struggling with reluctant toddlers and so in retrospect I think I was v lucky that he made the decision and I let him go with it. When he went to stay with my Mum 10 days later I sent a load of pull ups in case she couldn't cope with it, but they were not needed and he was totally fine. It was lovely to move to the new house with no nappies.

So go for it and hopefully you'll be through the worst very soon since she is clearly keen.