I keep putting off potty training - help!

I didn’t feel quite so comfortable having two kids stuck in the house for the 3 days or so.

I did the exact same with my two. My eldest had to be pretty bored for a couple of days and a bit more screen time.

My nursery were so so supportive. I think 4 days should be fine. I sent loads (and I mean around 8-10) spare pants, trousers and socks in. I also think that’s an advantage of training before 3 whilst they’re in the toddler room and the ratios are lower.

For my eldest it was easy. I was on mat leave with my youngest so took my eldest out of nursery for the week. It was a bit more challenging finding a week spare with my second. I need my AL entitlement for school holidays and I didn’t feel quite so comfortable having two kids stuck in the house for the 3 days or so.

We did it when DH had a couple of days off too so we could divide and conquer a bit and one stayed home and the other out with the older child. Fortunately DS2 cracked it in a few days. But it was harder to find the time!

It's unfair on the child and on the nursery to send them in with only 2/3 days training imo

We just told them we were going to try over the weekend and evaluated on Sunday night. The first time we tried, we realised no chance he could go to nursery in pants as he was just having too many accidents. He wasn't really trying himself to use the potty so it wasn't fair to expect nursery to deal with that. The second time when it stuck, we just told them how good he'd been at the weekend and they went from there.

Nursery expect to deal with some accidents during early potty training, but you have to get the child to a decent point first imo.

At 2.5 yrs bought her a potty and every now and then she’d show some interest. She turned 3 a few weeks ago and tbh I was waiting for the summer weather to make life easier given she wasn’t that fussed and I have a young baby. Her nanny bought her some knickers a month or two ago and she woke up one day, announced she was a big girl and didn’t need nappies anymore and has been dry day and night since then (we had one accident). I couldn’t believe it tbh but waiting until she was ready just meant we didn’t actually need to train her at all.

I literally spent 2 weeks at home with him to get it done. Only took 2 weeks for him to be totally dry in the day, he was 2 and a half years old. You just have to put the effort in and not take the easy route of sticking a nappy on, be prepared for accidents and many changes of clothes.

Some kids just become more resistant the older they get.

Yes plenty, my first found poos really tough.

Honestly it's not that stressful if you just crack on with it - lots of good ideas on here.

The recent idea that you need to watch for sigs of being ready is just nonsense - most NT kids do get the basic hang of it fairly quickly from about 2 or 2 and a half.

By all means trying your best want to, but sounds young to me. We did it at age 3 with no problems. Boys generally do it older than girls. Why the rush?

Did over a weekend with my DD, she went back to nursery (also 5 days a week, also same age as yours) but the room she was in, she was the only one doing toilet training, so it was a bit stop and start. She basically holds on until she can’t anymore, rather than actively using the potty. Since she’s transitioned to a room where loads of them use the potty, she’s not having any accidents at nursery anymore. It’s all a bit trial and error, but worse in your head than the reality I think!

You technically can. My DD cracked it over a long weekend using the naked waist down method. We then went to baggy shorts, no underwear for a couple of weeks. You do however need a very understanding nursery/ child care provider who is willing to help with the frequent accidents for the first couple of weeks until they get the hang of it. Lots of changes of clothes in the bag. I know quite a few nurseries around us are very reluctant to "potty train" children and will tolerate a couple of accidents a day but are very quick to put pull ups back on children due to "staffing" or "health and safety". I'm fortunately very part time in the family business so I was able to have the time to transition from naked, to baggy shorts to pants.

Honestly?

I started mine around the age yours were now, and after two accidents I just stopped. Back in the nappies.

All three of my boys were trained by 3 years and about 2 months IIRC - that was when they actually knew what to do when the urge happened. No accidents right off the bat. Wees anyway. My older two were devils for withholding poos and then having accidents, I don't care to remember how many times I was brought to tears because they'd sworn they didn't need to go only to shit themselves the second we were far enough away from home to not be able to do much about it.

Also we didn't have a garden? Lots of people don't. Yes I let them have naked bums but only when I was reasonably sure my carpet wasn't going to get ruined!

Night dryness is physiological. It can't really be 'trained'. Some babies do happen to go dry day and night at the same time, but a lot don't. I wouldn't worry about it. Just put a pull up on and leave them to it at night.

We had a couple of wee accidents. She didn't poo for 2.5 days as she was holding it but when she really did need to go she used the potty and was fine after that.

With regards to nursery we started training on the Friday and she went back to nursery on the Tuesday. Had one wee accident and was dry after that.

We did a fortnight of dry nappies before removing them at night

Can I ask how many of you took nappies off for the night from the beginning? Trained by daughter just after 2, dropped evening bottles etc but soaked and dirty overnight nappies still (2 3/4) so haven’t dared remove overnight.

But some annual leave though? Potty training is an inevitability, not a surprise

@pizofaz because my employer doesn’t give me endless annual leave.

Summer time with this weather is perfect. Naked from the waist down, out in the garden as much as possible. It generally takes around a week. Currently re-training my DD after a severe bowel impaction which has led to lots of bladder leakage.

What's the issue with taking a week off? Doesn't annual leave cover it?