When did your child potty train?

[Usingthings]

I have tried a few times now but he doesn’t seem ready. What I’m wondering is how I know when he’s ready - will he just ask to use the toilet or potty?

I’ve just been saying this to DH, but I don’t know. I’ll ask nursery what they think. Just a bit worried about causing issues either way!

We didn't 'potty train'

Put a potty in the downstairs loo and one in the living room. Told DD fairly regularly and without any real emotion, when you're ready to do all your wee's and poo's on the potty, there it is.

She played with her dolls and teddies on it. Sporadically did the odd wee, which we congratulated but didn't make a huge deal out of. She would sometimes ask for knickers but we said when youre ready to do ALL your wees and poos. Then eventually (just over age 3), she decided it was her time and did it. Never had any accidents.

visiblechild.com/2015/09/20/toilet-training-in-one-simple-step/

You have to teach them, they will never be ready for something they don't know how to do

DD was 2

2 years 4 months to be precise

Tried a couple of times around the 2.5/3 mark with zero joy. Was about to try again in summer hols (when he'd be 3.5) but he came home from nursery just after his 3rd birthday and said he didn't need nappies anymore and that was it - he just started using the toilet

@cornonthesnob i have been trying. But evidently not very successfully.

Take the pants off. Naked from the waist down. Put them on the potty very frequently, watch them like a hawk. You have to put in a lot of effort for a few days but it’s so worth it.

I personally think all the ‘signs of readiness’ is a load of tosh, used an an excuse for 3/4 year olds still being in nappies (obviously assuming no developmental difficulties). Yes it might be quicker to train a 4 year old but surely it’s worth putting in the effort at 2 and being nappy free.

3 years 4 months. He was accident free in 2 days and dry at night from the off! It was deffo worth waiting. (We tried at 2 years 8 months and it was an ordeal for all of us as he clearly wasn't ready!)

Am surprised and refreshed by most of these posts,as recently there was a similar posting on here,where people seemed to wait until children were nearer 4 and expected to suddenly request to use a pot or toilet. All mine were almost bang on 2.3 months. I always used Terry towelling nappies as well. When my oldest 2 were born in the 70s, they weren't accepted into nursery or play school unless they were out of nappies. My youngest DD (32) had a gorgeous baby girl in September,is sitting her on a pot,so she gets used to it.

I’ve tried thanks @Newmummy46 and haven’t really got anywhere. He will wee on the potty when you put him on it but there’s no self drive or initiative to go. And he just poos his pants

@Nannyfannybanny my DD is a bit older and can’t sit independently.

and these posts are what I’m most worried about

surely it’s worth putting in the effort at 2 and being nappy free.

which clearly implies that it’s because I can’t be bothered - and I know we’ll face that judgement in real life too.

Using things, obviously if there are developmental or physical health issues, this won't work. You didn't mention any. Children aren't born,'knowing', how to use a pot or toilet. Ironically my DD with the baby,has 2 older children,girl first,boy a year later. He watched his sister, removed his nappies, started using the pot, very occasionally had an accident when he was fast asleep. It was amazing and funny.

Have you tried getting rid of the pitty altogether and just using the toilet with an insert? That's what we did and it worked a treat!

I didn’t mention any because there aren’t any - that I am aware of anyway. But maybe there are because we are on week five now and are not making any progress at all.

That’s been even less successful because it’s more ‘effort’ to go to the toilet. We do have an insert but it’s difficult because the downstairs toilet is tiny and he starts messing around with loo roll and turning taps on and off.

My first was 2 years and 3 months. My second 2 years 6 months. I needed to time it when I had good time off work, so both were trained in Christmas holidays. Took about three days, then no accidents.

My eldest he was often dry for long periods during the day just before 3 so started and he was trained after about a week. Night time dryness was about 3 months after that. We started with my middle child in the summer holidays so he was almost 3. It's now been 5 months and we are still having accidents every day. However he is ND so we are working with professionals on the assumption that he and his body are infact ready- his brain is just so often somewhere else. We have days where he will be dry, use the toilet even without me taking him (so he is aware of the feelings of needing a poo or wee) and then we will have a run of days where he is soiling himself multiple times a day.

I think the key is with toilet training, is once you've started you just have to commit and keep going as long as your child is not distressed by it all.

So going by this thread, it would seem DS is quite significantly behind in this area.

My next question is where to go next. It may well indicate general delays and problems which is my concern really.

We found the toilet easier and the potty more effort as we had to empty / clean the toilet and show DD how to flush it down the loo etc.

On day 1 we sat her on the toilet every 20 minutes. Day 2 we sat her every hour, by day 4 she would ask to go.

It saves further training transitioning from potty to toilet at a later date and makes it easier to leave the house without dragging a potty with you.

It's less effort using the toilet imo as it cuts out the middle man.

You misunderstand me. I meant DS, not me.

And I am very, very overwhelmed and upset at the moment so I am risking this sounding awful but why are you replying with day 1, 2, 4, etc?

I have explained we are into our fifth WEEK with no progress.

So either DS is developmentally delayed or I am doing something very wrong. I don’t think I’m doing anything that wrong, but it’s possible I’ve inadvertently put too much pressure on him. I’d still expect to see some progress though?

Because I'm trying to give you advice because you've posted on a forum?

What you're doing isn't working, so I'm giving you some alternate ideas that worked for us.

No need to get so upset. Take a different approach. Your son playing with taps etc is just an excuse.

Stick him on the toilet, be consistent with it. Toilet training is effort, no matter which way you do it. But as I said, you're weeks in and it's no better. Change your approach.

Basically, start again, use day 1,2 3 etc as a fresh start. Use the toilet and bin the potty.

Of course I’m going to be upset if my son has developmental delays and/or learning difficulties

I realise you may think you’re helping but we are a long way past day 2, etc, and I don’t think I am in the wrong to point this out to you. Your last paragraph is exactly what we have been doing and it isn’t working.