Hate potty training. What's the method that worked best for you?

[Londonlady92]

I have 2 children and hated potty training with DS now DD is 2.10 years old and I know its time (been putting it off) I found waiting till this age helped the process but what worked best for you? Letting them feel wet and figure it out for themselves? Putting them on the potty every half hour?

Need wine.

Haven’t read all the messages, but I totally understand you hating it, it is my most loathed part of parenting. My eldest (dd) did it without me really noticing, my DS was an absolute nightmare and I feel we left it too late, which put the fear of God into me about leaving it too late when it came to our third. I tried the oh crap method with him when he was just over two and it seems to have worked pretty well so I would recommend that book. Easy and funny to read and I like being given a structure, useful language to use that makes things consistent and helps them understand what you’re trying to achieve etc. But I appreciate it’s probably not for everyone.

We had a great day yesterday. No accidents at all and she was taking herself to the potty. Fingers crossed it keeps like this.

It was different for each of my three. With my first, the MIL insisted he needed training at 15 months old ("because that was normal when I was a mother") - bought him a potty, kept asking and asking "have you started yet?" - back then I had no idea, so tried and it was a horrible disaster. Tried five times up until he was about 2 and a half, almost three, and it came with age and understanding for him. Just went cold turkey one summer, no nappies apart from bedtime pullups and it took him a few weeks but with lots of praise, wiping up accidents, rinse and repeat he finally nailed it. Middle one I started when she was 2 and a bit and bam, that kid got it in just 2 days, only 2 accidents. It was a shock after how hard the oldest was, and our first naive inkling that all kids are different. The third we tried at about 2.5, and it only took her a week, did the same as the others, lots of praise, no nappies at all during the day, repeated taking to potty every 20 mins then lengthening the time. I think having watched siblings do it really really helped the younger two understand it faster.

I wished I had told my MIL to back the fuck off and leave us to it, my son would get it in his own time (but didn't have the confidence/don't give a fuck back then).