Toilet training age?

[Workinmom]

Hi Everyone!

I have a 2.5 year old boy and we are being encouraged to toilet train him by his nursery. I will definitely get to it but he is going through some change right now with childcare so I don't want to do too much. What ages did you all toilet train your kids and is 2.5 years old late to still be in nappies?

He always goes somewhere quiet to do his business so he is very aware and I think he will be ready soon. He has a mini toilet-potty at home that he sometimes sits on but he isn't overly keen. I just didn't want too much change in his life right now until he's settled with his new childminder. I'm going to take a week off work and crack out the toilet training.

I used to strip mine off while the bath was running and encourage them to sit on the potty. Some times they did something and we got very excited about it, lots of clapping and what a clever girl/boy, sometimes they didn’t.
Get a potty upstairs and down, and put some undies on him and see what happens.

I was always told the summer of their second year , then they can have accidents outside and run around so less pressure .Seemed to work for both of mine but it meant they were nearly 2 and just over 2..

Hi 👋 our little boy is 2.9 months and we started a few weeks back. He did not want to sit on the toilet at all but he's got the hang of it and now he is making dry the day. Although because of covid apart from nursery we aren't going out so that will be the real test! So no I don't think it's too late at all and I agree waiting until you haven't got a big change going on. Good luck

I've been told 2/2.5yrs is a good age to start so he's not too old at all! I'm starting to introduce my nearly 2yr old to a potty and she will not sit on it so watching with interest for any tips to get started!

My little boy was 2 years 10 months before we even tried - and that was mainly due to the panic buying to nappies last April. So we used lockdown to toilet train him. I don't think he would have been ready beforehand. He understood the concept but didn't really show interest.
My daughter on the other hand will be 2 in April and she is desperate to stop wearing nappies. We introduced the potty this week so she got familiar with it and whilst she doesn't wee on it, she definitely knows what it is and what to do on it.
I don't think you can rush a child. It sounds like your boy might be a bit longer. The more ready they are, the quicker you can expect them to 'get it'.
Good luck.

DS1 was very nearly 4 but cracked it and had only 2/3 accidents. He was just a bit lazy and happy for us to wipe him!

The book "Oh Crap!", mucked loved on here, reckons 20-30 months is the sweet spot but it was too early for both mine.

Yes I’ve just read oh crap, was surprised at the 20-30 month recommendation as I thought most people did 2.5-3 and I’m always amazed if I hear of under 2s doing it!! Was planning on doing the summer when my daughter will be 2y4, instead I think I’ll attempt it at Easter when she’s just 2. (Teacher so big holiday will work best for us.) Likely we still won’t be able to go anywhere which will work well, hopefully by summer we might be able to go out more and I’ll resent another week or 2 stuck at home!

My DS was 2yr 10m (picked it up very quickly). My DD we started before she was 2 as she wanted to be like her brother, but then had a few attempts and finally cracked it when she was around 2.5

Most of my friends I’d say on average between 2.5 and 3

The norm is the Summer of their 2nd year.
All three of my kids were well on their way and doing the majority of poos and wees in the potty by two. It was built into their routine: 15 minutes after eating we'd go and read a story on the potty. Usually a wee or poo would result and the kids got lots of books read to them (a win: win).

Beware advice from nappy companies: they have a vested interest. They want you to keep buying disposables for as long as possible.

DD was 26 months, we found the pants off option didn't work, she'd just wee anywhere, she was much better with knickers and pants. We also got a doll that weed and that seemed to really help her understand so dolly would sit on her potty and have a wee and so would DD. She also got a sticker everytime she used the potty/toilet for the first couple of weeks and that seemed to really help encourage her and as other's mentioned-the big fuss, clap aren't you clever etc.

Mine is 3 and he screams every time I make him sit on the potty or toilet. He refuses to do anything then as soon as I give up and put his clothes back on he does it in his nappy. I don’t know what else to do!

My boys were 26 months, 28 months and 30 months. Back then in the 90s most people toilet trained around that age. It was very unusual for a child to still be in nappies at three. Between two and two and a half toddlers tend to be eager to please and willing to have a go. It didn't take long with any of mine, especially the youngest who was sorted in a couple of days.

Check out Oh Crap. I used the method in that book and trained DS in a week or so, from memory. He was 26 months old, I believe. We took advantage of lockdown 1!

DD was 3. Tried at 2 and 2.5 and she didn't get it at all. Started the week after her third birthday and we had one day of constant accidents, and then not a single one since. I'd say 3 is a little bit later than average but not unusual. Children go at different paces.

We did DS1 at 18 months old. He wasn’t shoring any signs of readiness but we had the long Easter break and it just seemed like a good time to give it a crack. No expectations and fully intended to stop if he struggled. He actually did really well. Worked poops out very quickly, it was a relief not to have to change dirty nappies any more. Wee was a bit more hit and miss for a little while, but far more success than accidents and his nursery agreed that he was doing well enough that we should keep going. He was definitely at the earlier end though, his nursery usually don’t start potty training kids before they move into the 2yr old room.

With DS2, I’ll see how he goes and decide. It might have taken a little longer with DS1 being younger but it was nice to be nappy free a year or more sooner than his friends. That said, he had a language burst at 20 months and I think it would have been easier to wait until then. So with DS2, I might hang on a little longer until his language is better.

I definitely wouldn’t say 2.5 yrs is late though! It’s a pretty standard age and actually a very good age to do it I think.

I did it at just turned 2. 2.5 seems pretty standard!

We did it at 2y 9m. He was dry at night when we were taking the nappies off so he clearly had the control.

Took a few weeks to get used to as he was trying to hold it but all in all it was ok.

There is no 'normal' age. We had tried to toilet train DD from the age of 3, and it was incredibly stressful for her and us. She was actually 4 when she finally came out of nappies , but the whole process was stress free, and she had nailed it in 24 hours. We didn't make a fuss either, none of these sticker or reward charts. We just told her one morning that there were no more nappies and that was that. I think making a big deal of it can make it more stressful!

WIth Ds we tried at 2.5 and it was a disaster. THen DD arrived so we left it. He was 3.5 when we next tried and he got it within a couple of days. It was another year before he was dry at night.

DD was obviously ready at just gone 2, she said she didn't want nappies any more. Dry at night straightaway (forgot to put one on at bedtime!!)

Dts were 1 week off turning 3. It took two days. Tbh I was lazy and the thought of dealing with double the accidents put me right off until they were truly ready

If he's going through some changes, I'd probably wait a bit when things level out.

My first boy wasnt really ready until before his 3rd birthday to take the full "no nappy" plunge. We started around 2.5 with just introducing him to the potty (when he woke up and took his nappy off, before baths, before bed etc). Then before his 3rd birthday, he was ready and decided for himself to wear pants to school. We tried a few times before then by doing "naked weekends" where we stayed at home and just put him on the toilet constantly, but he just wasn't ready.

My second boy decided one morning just after his second birthday that he didn't want nappies anymore and that was that. They are all so different, if he needs some time, don't feel pressured to do it now.

I also found it helped when they were in the "big kids room" at nursery, rather than the baby room.

26 months for DS we was fairly reliable within the week.
24 months for DD but took a little bit longer for her to be reliably dry.

Our DS was 21 months, we used the book oh crap. He was done in about 5 days then dry at night the following week.

Really get the book, it's brilliant if you really follow it,

Oh Crap! worked very well for us (and I’d been dreading toilet training). DS was around 29 months, so towards the end of their suggested window.