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Original poster

Day 1 potty training - to persevere?

41 replies

Charl881 · 02/06/2022 18:56

I decided to give potty training my DS a try this weekend, I have five days off in a row and he seemed to be showing all the signs of readiness despite only just turning 2.

It’s been a fairly unsuccessful day. He did his first wee of the day in the potty no problem. Second wee I he did on the floor when I nipped in to the other room. Third wee nailed the potty. Since then every one has been an accident, including two poos. He did just do the last wee of the day on the potty but literally just because I saw him about to go and shoved him on.

I’m really conscious that 2 is pretty young to potty train, especially for a boy.

Is today a sign he’s not ready and to wait a couple more months?

Or does this sound like a normal first day and I should persevere?

The last thing I want is for it to take longer than it needs to or for it to cause any long term issues. I just didn’t know how to see if he was truly ready without trying it.

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Original poster

Charl881 · 02/06/2022 18:59

I should add his accidents didn’t seem to phase him which makes me wonder if he’s not truly ready.

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CottonSock · 02/06/2022 19:00

That is pretty young. I've done it closer to 3 with 2 x girls. One of them I gave up as she got upset. The first two days are usually pretty poor so maybe see how you both feel after tomorrow.

Shmithecat2 · 02/06/2022 19:04

Try for another day or two. If there's no improvement, leave it for a few months and try again. It really should only take a few days if they're ready. He's very young.

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hullabaloney · 02/06/2022 19:05

Normal first day really but too early to tell. He is young, yes

Original poster

Charl881 · 02/06/2022 19:09

Maybe he’s just too young 🙈 I didn’t want to miss the boat if he was ready what with having a long weekend, I won’t get this long in a row off until Christmas. Will take it day by day, I’m petrified of causing a long term issue.

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WhatNowwwww · 02/06/2022 19:09

I don’t think you can tell after one day. I’d persevere if I were you.

MolliciousIntent · 02/06/2022 19:15

He's not that young! DD was 20m, and I know lots of people who did it around that age.

First day is always a disaster, give it at least 3 days and then see how it goes.

greenbirdsong · 02/06/2022 19:16

I would try for a few days (2 or 3) and if no improvement then wait and try again in a few months.

I thought my son was showing signs of being ready at 2.3 and we tried it but he really wasn't ready. So we waited and tried again at 2.8 and he nailed it within 4 days so it was worth waiting and trying again.

2 is very young.

Original poster

Charl881 · 02/06/2022 19:16

@MolliciousIntent My niece was around 20 months I think so I know it’s do-able but seems to be exception rather than the rule. I honestly was not expecting the first day to be so stressful! Not even just the accidents, more the watching him like a hawk.

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Original poster

Charl881 · 02/06/2022 19:17

@greenbirdsong how could you tell he wasn’t ready when he started? Was he refusing to go / upset etc? Finding it hard to tell the difference between not being ready and normal potty training.

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COL1N · 02/06/2022 19:45

@Charl881 it was really funny reading this post as Im in exactly the same position! Started potty training today with my DD, she is abit older though, coming up to 2.5. Ive had a couple of wees in the potty & lots on the floor plus 2 poos on the floor 🤦‍♀️ I was glad to get a nappy on her for bed to be honest!
Im going to take the advice here too & persevere this weekend, see where I am with it Sunday. Are you just planning to stay around the house all weekend?

Original poster

Charl881 · 02/06/2022 19:50

Unfortunately we have plans tomorrow and Saturday afternoon. So I’m thinking nappy free at home until nap time, offer potty after lunch time nap, but then nappy on while we’re out. I know that might confuse him but I will probably stress too much otherwise.

Sunday and Monday no plans so pretty much just going to stay in the house and then see where we’re at.

If he’s really hating it tomorrow and Saturday we’ll stop though.

It’s difficult isn’t it because there is so much conflicting advice and info out there. I guess every child is different!

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NewMum0305 · 02/06/2022 19:55

We tried at 20 months and my daughter had a few successes but more accidents and we were all stressed and unhappy.

Tried again in 6 months and she got it pretty much straight away and was a lot more ‘on board’ with the whole process (stickers for wees and chocolate buttons for poos worked wonders for us)

Princesspeony · 02/06/2022 20:10

This sounds like a very normal first day to me. For the first few days it’s common to have lots of accidents as they’ve been used to doing the toilet anytime anywhere their entire lives until now so this is a huge change for him.

I wouldn’t worry too much about causing a long term issue as it doesn’t sound like you are forcing him or anything and until disposables were invented most children were potty trained around 18 months and it’s still the norm in many countries around the world.

If it doesn’t work out this time that he’s fully potty trained after a few days then it doesn’t have to be all or nothing either. Show him you tipping his poo down the toilet so he knows where it’s meant to go, taking him to the toilet with you when you go etc can all help give him the idea. Encouraging a little sit on the toilet/ potty first thing in the morning/ before bed/before bath/ at nappy changes etc just as part of your routine can just normalise it and makes it less of a big deal next time you try.

WooNoodle · 02/06/2022 20:12

That's really not young. Lower your expectations though

Original poster

Charl881 · 02/06/2022 20:18

@Princesspeony Thank you that’s really useful. I think I feel pressured for it to be all or nothing. Definitely wasn’t forcing it, he kept asking to go on the potty so thought it was worth a shot. Think he likes the idea of it more than the reality, probably because it’s all so new to him like you say.

@WooNoodle I definitely need to lower my expectations, you sound like my DP 😀

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AegonT · 02/06/2022 20:50

That sounds better than our first day with my daughter! We got her mostly dry after a few days and completely accident free after a few weeks. We're glad we persevered.

20viona · 02/06/2022 20:54

I'd leave it. I tried at 2y 2m it was a waste of a day. Done it just at 2y 10m and she's nailed it in 10 days completely dry, day and night, potty and toilets public and at home. I'm so pleased that I waited.

gorzelwummidge · 02/06/2022 20:58

I'd persevere for a few more days.
I started potty training my son when he was nearly 2 and he did really well if not wearing any bottoms, but if he wore pants or trousers he wasn't so good. I waited another few months and tried again and he got it perfectly.

IDontDrinkTea · 02/06/2022 21:04

I successfully potty trained at 21 months and that sounds like the first day. She was dry by the end of the week. However your plan to put him in nappies while out sounds like it would confuse him and set you back quite a bit

UpToMyElbowsInDiapers · 02/06/2022 21:21

Day 1 is always a shit show (…ha ha)

Try for 3 days and see where you land. We potty trained DC 1 at 27 months, after a failed attempt at 22 months. She was successful within 2 days, and never had any issues from having had a false start. (She’s now 4.5 and has had maybe a total of 4 accidents in the last 2 years).

DC 2 was potty trained at 26 months, but then was very unwell a few months later and regressed. We just re-potty-trained him at 3 and it was actually a lot harder the second time round. He’s still having an accident most days, weeks in.

I’ve read that the sweet spot for potty training is 20-30 months. You’re definitely within range! I wish we hadn’t left the do-over with DC2 so late. :-(

Original poster

Charl881 · 02/06/2022 21:22

@IDontDrinkTea our problem is tomorrow we’ll be out for a good couple of hours, including car journeys. I feel like that’s just a recipe for disaster on day 2. I’ve been avidly reading past MN threads tonight and seems a real mix of opinion on whether cold turkey is best or a gradual approach.

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GiltEdges · 02/06/2022 21:23

DS potty trained at about that age, got it after a couple of days. He then completely regressed 6 months later and ended up back in nappies at nursery's insistence due to the amount of accidents he was having there. We tried again when he was just 3 and he got it within a day, never had an accident since.

Personally, I think if you have plans that are going to take you out of the house and plan to put him in nappies anyway then he's not going to have a clue what your expectations are, so I wouldn't bother. Wait until you have a few days you can spend solidly at home to dedicate to it.

Original poster

Charl881 · 02/06/2022 21:24

@gorzelwummidge yesh I think that could be a problem here, as much as he is excited to have pants. When I ask him what we do with them he explains how we pull them down to wee/ poo but I don’t think he truly gets it yet.

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Original poster

Charl881 · 02/06/2022 21:25

@GiltEdges do you think it matters that that’s not until Christmas? Obviously I don’t care what age he is potty trained, I just don’t want to miss the boat and inadvertently make it harder for ourselves. Have used up all my annual leave already you see 🙈

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