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Original poster

I keep putting off potty training - help!

182 replies

ChiccaD · 30/07/2024 13:45

Dear clever MNs. Please tell me how you went about potty training your children.

I keep putting it off and at this rate we will be in primary school before we are out of nappies.

OP posts:
45redballoons · 30/07/2024 13:49

How old is your child? Are they showing signs they are ready? Mine is just over 2 and starting to tell us when her nappy is dirty and wanting to take her nappy off and sit on the potty. We take her to the potty when she points at her nappy but she has usually gone by then. I took am putting off doing it properly!

cerealfantasist · 30/07/2024 13:50

Now is a great time to do it, when you have summer holidays and hot weather meaning they can run around outside with not much on. Winter is a nightmare with the endless heavy layers!

TemuSpecialBuy · 30/07/2024 13:52

How old is your child?

honestly I just got time off and committed.
it was a Friday AM to Monday PM job.

it was nerve wracking and tiring 48-72hr were the worst and when I wanted to give up and I have never watched my child so intently…

but honestly by Tuesday we were there ish.
I few accident la since but she’s 2.5 and potty trained.

definitely do it in summer.
now is the perfect time tbh.

TinyYellow · 30/07/2024 13:52

Talk about it A LOT, like how you and Daddy go in the toilet, read books, go shopping for pants and then just go for it. Lots of praise any time something ends up in the toilet. Personally I didn’t bother with a potty and went straight to a seat on the regular toilet because adding a potty just seems like a pointless extra step.

kikisparks · 30/07/2024 13:54

How old? We had a week off work and just decided to go for it with DD (aged just over 2.5). I read up on lots of methods and did a mix of them- talked to her about how nappies were only for night time now, then no nappy or trousers day 1 and stayed home, watched her like a hawk and took her to toilet or potty every time she had an accident, celebrated like mad when even a tiny bit of pee got in the potty and built up on it from there. On day 4 we’d had so many accidents we were on the verge of quitting but we kept going and 4 weeks on she will now let you know every time she needs to go and hasn’t had any accidents in last 2 weeks.

CableCar · 30/07/2024 13:56

DC1 we did it cold turkey... First 3 days were hard, but once it clicked he got it. We didn't do any of the 'potty every 30 minutes just to try'... We just waited and if he started to wee we'd say 'wee goes in the potty' and take him to the potty to finish. By day 4 it'd clicked and he knew the feeling that he needed a wee and we were sorted. Nights shortly followed after that and he was dry at night the next month. DC2 was the same for days, but took longer for nights - it wasn't until they were 5 that they were dry at night. I'd recommend going cold turkey. Have a potty nearby, lots of puppy pads, and just try it. I personally don't believe in the 'visit the potty every 30 mins' as they don't learn what the sensation of a full bladder feels like then. At least with the cold turkey method you learn the feeling that precedes suddenly weeing.

GreenPandaB · 30/07/2024 13:56

Just go for it. I would try for a few days mostly at home. IMO the best thing you can do is just stop with nappies or pull ups. The accidents in the car etc are all part of the learning process and the “just in case” pull ups only serve to delay the process.

Just commit and aslong as your child isn’t distressed by it crack on. Chocolate buttons were useful for me as rewards. Neither of mine needed more than cheering etc.

GreenPandaB · 30/07/2024 13:57

45redballoons · 30/07/2024 13:49

How old is your child? Are they showing signs they are ready? Mine is just over 2 and starting to tell us when her nappy is dirty and wanting to take her nappy off and sit on the potty. We take her to the potty when she points at her nappy but she has usually gone by then. I took am putting off doing it properly!

Just do it. Both my trained just after two and by 2.5 had nailed it. Youngest has just turned 3 and his friends all going to preschool panicking, as they need to be trained.

Cas112 · 30/07/2024 13:57

Age?

Seaglassandchampagne · 30/07/2024 13:58

Took off nappies

Showed him how to use the potty

Gave him a chocolate button each time he did it

Maintained resolute cheerfulness in the face of adversity

Took about 3 days

Blisterly · 30/07/2024 14:02

We did it at 2yrs old. Bank holiday weekend, naked in the garden, lots and lots to drink. They were trained by the Tuesday for nursery. A few accidents, but we never used a nappy again (apart from bed). No pants, just loose bottoms so it doesn’t feel like a nappy. A few accidents when we introduced pants, but otherwise fine.

Original poster
ChiccaD · 30/07/2024 14:10

2 years 4 months to answer the age question

OP posts:
SarahLHs · 30/07/2024 14:13

You've got plenty of time age wise, however it's much easier to do it in warmer weather. Just let them run around naked from the waist down. I was advised not to put them in pants for the first few days as it can be confusing for them and lead to more accidents.

M340 · 30/07/2024 14:17

I'd give it a crack now OP, perfect weather.

We didn't bother with the potty and went straight to the toilet as it's one less thing to do and cuts out the middle man.

I know babies won't be ready but this whole 'wait until they're ready' I think is slight rubbish. Children need to be taught things. Much like eating, getting dressed and whatever else. Teaching them will help them be 'ready.'

Good luck! DD cracked it at the exact same age and got there in 10ish days.
Don't be alarmed if not dry at night as it's a hormonal thing. We got lucky with DD but I know that's mostly due to hormones.

pizofaz · 30/07/2024 14:18

TemuSpecialBuy · 30/07/2024 13:52

How old is your child?

honestly I just got time off and committed.
it was a Friday AM to Monday PM job.

it was nerve wracking and tiring 48-72hr were the worst and when I wanted to give up and I have never watched my child so intently…

but honestly by Tuesday we were there ish.
I few accident la since but she’s 2.5 and potty trained.

definitely do it in summer.
now is the perfect time tbh.

Edited

This is pretty much it. Commit for a week at the absolute minimum. No messing about.

pizofaz · 30/07/2024 14:19

ChiccaD · 30/07/2024 14:10

2 years 4 months to answer the age question

Perfect age. Mine eldest was the same age, speech delayed and 'showed no signs' but we trained within a week.

pizofaz · 30/07/2024 14:20

M340 · 30/07/2024 14:17

I'd give it a crack now OP, perfect weather.

We didn't bother with the potty and went straight to the toilet as it's one less thing to do and cuts out the middle man.

I know babies won't be ready but this whole 'wait until they're ready' I think is slight rubbish. Children need to be taught things. Much like eating, getting dressed and whatever else. Teaching them will help them be 'ready.'

Good luck! DD cracked it at the exact same age and got there in 10ish days.
Don't be alarmed if not dry at night as it's a hormonal thing. We got lucky with DD but I know that's mostly due to hormones.

Agree about the readiness thing. We train far later than generations before us, and other countries still train early than we do.

I believe pampers started the readiness propaganda

Original poster
ChiccaD · 30/07/2024 14:21

Thanks for the responses so far. I assume you all had some poo accidents whilst they were running around naked as well?

OP posts:
Charlotte120221 · 30/07/2024 14:25

Just buy a job load of pants and go for it - much easier when the weather is good. Any poo accidents and you can just chuck the pants away if you need to.

chocolate button to reward anything done in the potty for about the first fortnight.

had a disastrous first week with ds but then it clicked.

BeautyAndTheBump1 · 30/07/2024 14:26

I potty trained at 2.4 years

Did completely bottomless for the first week. If we had to go out, I put him pants on with a pull up on top. Then if he had an accident, he could feel the 'wetness' without the faff of it going all over his clothes / car seat etc.

Sticker for a wee, chocolate for a poo.

Had no accidents bottomless for the week, then went onto just pants. He'd got the hang of running to the potty by that point and knew the sensation, once in pants he only had a couple of accidents in total where he hadn't pulled his pants down in time

Then that was pretty much it, just went from there. He stopped asking for stickers/chocolate after a week or 2 as well once the novelty had wore off and going to the potty just became the norm

pizofaz · 30/07/2024 14:27

ChiccaD · 30/07/2024 14:21

Thanks for the responses so far. I assume you all had some poo accidents whilst they were running around naked as well?

Yep! Get a basket with some kitchen roll, some Dr Beckman pet carpet cleaner and just roll with it

pizofaz · 30/07/2024 14:28

Charlotte120221 · 30/07/2024 14:25

Just buy a job load of pants and go for it - much easier when the weather is good. Any poo accidents and you can just chuck the pants away if you need to.

chocolate button to reward anything done in the potty for about the first fortnight.

had a disastrous first week with ds but then it clicked.

Don't wear pants for the first 1/2 days. The tight fitting pants can feel like nappies and muscle memory could take over making it harder for them to train

pizofaz · 30/07/2024 14:29

Completely bare for days 1/2 or until you get both a wee and a poo on the potty.

Commando for 2/3 weeks until you're virtually accident free.

Then pants.

FuzzyStripes · 30/07/2024 14:30

ChiccaD · 30/07/2024 14:21

Thanks for the responses so far. I assume you all had some poo accidents whilst they were running around naked as well?

No, never had any accidents at home. Only accidents were occasionally in the first week or so back at nursery which I assume is because there was a room of children and not enough people to keep checking.

On my experience a child who is ready just gets on with it and, as long as they have immediate access to a potty or toilet, won’t have accidents. If a child isn’t ready, then the parent or carer just gets used to cleaning up after them.

TunnocksOrDeath · 30/07/2024 14:34

Ours point-blank refused the potty, peed on the floor, cried, got themself wound-up. So we'd leave it and try again a couple of weeks later, same thing. Eventually DC was verbal enough to explain the potty was "too low" and uncomfortable. So we talked about it with them and went straight to a toddler seat on the loo, with a step to get them up, and straight into pants. They had a two or three accidents over the next month but have been basically dry ever since (we used pullups overnight for a while but they were mostly dry). What also helped was a visit from their cousin who was already in "big girl pants" which made ours was less apprehensive about ditching nappies.
Our DC did none of the usual stuff they "all" apparently do to indicate they're ready, by the way, and had zero interest in reward-based 'training' (stickers, treats etc). So don't get disheartened - it'll come good if you stick at it and communicate with DC.