any link between potty training and intelligence do you reckon?

[deaconblue]

I (in clearly a very biassed way) think ds seems pretty bright for his age (3 on Monday) so assumed he would be easy to potty train. Has been a nightmare and we're still a long way off. My cousin's son who was only 2 in Feb has been trained in just two weeks. Do you reckon that means he's particularly bright or is there no link between the two in your experience?

As a complete guess I would say you'd be unlikely to find a link between the two.

Some very intelligent kids might get potty training early, other very intelligent kids might use their bright little minds to say "ha, I'm going to rebel and do what I want, I like my stinky nappies" (or something similar).

Although obviously the fact that my mum had me potty trained at 18 months is a sign of my intelligence

me too. Apparently I was such a genius I travelled by train from Peterborough to Devon without going for a wee at 18 months How many times do you reckon my mum has dragged that one up while commenting on 3 yr old ds' nappy status?

I don't think DS will ever potty train due to his high tolerance for discomfort. He can splash in puddles and fill his boots with water and carry on walking for ages, it would not bother him.

The same applies to damp pants, sadly

I'm afraid my DS may turn out the same as yours Marmaduke, he really doesn't care about wet clothes/dirty nappies etc. He's only 16 months but I'm dreading trying to potty train... think it may be a long haul.

Sadly I would say no link.

My DTDs are top of the class but didn't potty train until nearly three (although to be fair we didn't really try properly until they were nearly 3).

And I can top you Peterborough to Devon - my DD3 travelled from Calais to The Vendee (about 7hrs+) without a wee so Nerr (albeit at about 26m).

she is a true genius. Perhaps we should start a new thread - how far can your dc travel without a wee?

No link...one of the brightest kids I know didn't train until nearly 4..maybe she was just stubborn or maybe she just couldn't get it. I know another that was fully trained in the day by 18months and is not outstandingly clever. Maybe more of a physical link than an intelligence link or a personaility connection...who knows!

Dd is pretty bright but I totally despair of her potty training. I don't know about intelligence - but i think some personality traits interact with PT. Dd has a very 'tight' personality - she is very controlled and controlling and she is over-controlling with poo. She's 4 in July so school in sep She will go to school reading and writing but unable to poo in the toilet - aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!

no link

The thing is potty trianing is physical development. The nerves that sense when you need a wee don't exsist until somewhere between 18 months and 3years old. Those nerves don't control reading or maths skills, they just tell you to wee. No connection at all. It's a different part of the body. This link is like trying to connect height to intelligence.

I am potty training DS at the moment and talking to lots of other parents about it, and I'm discovering that most children don't actually finish training until they are 3.

My brother is just finishing his PhD and wasn't dry at night till age 12 - so nope, no link. It is purely physical - neurological connections. it's like walking. our bodies do it when they are ready. I feel sorry for kids whose parents badger them for months on end to train when they just aren't ready

DS1 - very intelligent (even though I sy so myself ) finally potty trained just after 3 and wore night time nappies til nearly 7

DS2 - also very intelligent - potty trained and night time trained well before 3

who knows?

It's not always just physical. Dd can do it perfectly well if it suits her - but some of the time she chooses not to. Very frustrating.

My 2 year old like the currently run around the house naked, but puts a nappy on when she needs a wee or poo

I take this to mean she still needs nappies.

I didn't mention before but my DS has SN (mixture of low muscle tone and spastic CP,severe language/speech/communication disorder, metabolic and genetic conditions) and he is 4.5. He doesn't even have the muscle tone to balance and stand and pull up pants or PJ tracksuit bottoms.

HV rang to ask about school records just now and I grilled her about my problems. She says call neurologist to discuss with him if DS has the ability to do this now - arrrggghh!

He is too big to get bottom and willy into a potty, have only found one thing he can sit on and it is too big to carry around when we go out - we did have a trip to the dentist yeaterday, luckily he was dry during his sit in the big chair!(as had wet twice before we left the house and 3 changes of clothes shortly after, so just luck) He is too big to ge to the loo quickly enough, his muscle tone is too low to sit on a normal loo seat, the inset loo seats we have that fir securely (and do not wobble) are too small like the potties. I am tearing my hair out here.

I know when I get downstairs there will be a puddle. I know it is hard for him, but it is hard for me too.

He is within average IQ for non verbal testing, so in this case it is not linked to intelligence was my point - but I forgot to sa that!

Well...dd has taken a year to train (day only) and is considered pretty bright in most other respects, my friends dd is very intelligent and refused to train til she was 3.5 but then got it straight away and my sister is a genius and was still wetting herself aged 6!

OTOH plenty of other intelligent children I know have really gone for it and trained quite early and easily.

So no, I don't think there is necessarily a link and like nelly says some will use their intelligence and get it straight away, others will use their intelligence to avoid it

i dont think there is a link at all - my mother is convinced i was fully potty trained at 18 months and i am quite think really!
i also know my dd is very very bright and potty training her has certainly been a challenge to say the least! we are getting there now though!

i mean i am thick - not think!!
(speaks for itself really!)

One very intelligent kid I know was potty trained in a day when he decided (at age 2) that he didn't like nappies any more.

My dd, who is also pretty intelligent, took ages.

There is quite obviously no link whatsoever between what most people deem to be "intelligence" and when you are potty trained. It would be more interesting to find out whether there is a link between early potty training and sporting ability! At least then there is a SORT of link between the skills. But since potty training isn't just about physical readiness, but also about emotional readiness, I seriously doubt there's a real link there, either.

Apparently I was almost 4 before I was potty trained Yet I was an early talker, ridiculously early reader and went onto becoming a reasonably educated (if you count an arty farty degree!)indidual.

I just wanted to poo behind the curtains...I told my mum that it was 'easier' than using the toilet

I'm 43 now and have mastered the art...even the flushing bit.

haha! theres hope for us all yet then!

Hahah - I mean 'individual' not indidual...told you it was an 'arty farty' degree