Potty-training and getting those pants down in time.....

[gladbag]

Advice, or experiences please.

Ds is 2.3 and we're thinking of potty training in the next few weeks (sort of waiting for a bit of sunnier weather so most of it can be in the garden....).

I think he's ready. He knows when he's going to wee and poo, and already happily uses the potty first thing in the morning and during the evening when his nappy is off. He's even been naked ready for the bath and asked for his potty, which was downstairs, and immediately sat on it to wee.

His problem is that he really struggles to get his trousers down by himself (no pants yet as still in nappies). I've been encouraging him to pull down his pjs and trousers when he's getting dressed and undressed, and he finds it really difficult. He certainly couldn't manage them himself for a quick wee.

So.... my question is, will this hamper potty training, and should we wait, or is it a skill which just takes practise, and the potty-training itself should mean he gets enough practise to crack it, or do you end up doing most of the pulling down at this age anyway, so I shouldn't worry about it IYSWIM.

I realise that it's a ridiculous thing to get stressed about, but thought I'd ask anyway - the joys of motherhood!

I end up doing a lot of the pulling down (and up!) and my ds is 2.10, so personally I think you're worrying unnecessarily. With potty training, it's more important that he knows when he needs the loo and can tell you in time, rather than the mechanics of actually getting his pants off

I bought a size bigger pants and jogging bottoms so DGS could get them down easily himself.

I also made it into a game : pants go up, pants go down with actions. He now likes to strip off at any opportunity, and did it once in story time in nursery.

As Snafu does, i too do a lot of the pulling up and down, although now, 3 weeks after we started my dd is getting more confident at doing it all herself (it;s just the fairy skirts i need to watch... dangling into loo n' all....).

in the first days when we were home based, i only had her in knickers (as opposed to naked, so as to learn the wet/dry feelings) and they in themsleves are less trouble than with things on top... so it is just practice i think.

good luck, let us kow how you get on.

DD started potty training just before her 2nd birthday and showed much the same signs as your ds. I used to have to help her with her clothes but it didn't hamper things for us. After a couple of days she was completely dry during the day for 5 weeks much to my amazement . Go for it!

ds is only just 3 and has been fantastic about potty training, but USELESS about taking trousers and pant up and down by himself. I've done it for him until pretty recently. Increasingly he's doing it my himself.

We potty trained last August and for the first few days ds wore only shorts (no pants) which made things a bit faster!

Thank you - I knew those online checklists for potty-training readiness were just there to frustrate me (they all say that toddlers should be able to pull trousers up and down....obviously nonsense, and will rely on MN common sense).

Tips and encouragement all duly noted - we'll be starting soon then

That takes time all right. I let ds go naked in the house until he'd figured out when to go potty; when he had that under control I put clothes back on him again (he still loves being naked so sometimes that's hard!)
Still, avoid jeans and trousers with zips; trackies and loose styles only.