What age to Potty train????

[Meandmyjoe]

OK, this is a bit premature as my ds is only 8 months old but I was wondering what is the best age to start potty training. I always thought that it was 18-28 months but I was a bit confused when my mother in law seemed a bit suprised that we don't have a potty yey

Apparently she potty trained dh at 8 months and by 11 months he never used nappies at all.

Admittedly, dh did walk and talk very very early but I don't see how or why I would start to potty train so early. My ds can sit very well but is not yet mobile and clearly doesn't understand when he needs to wee. I don't understand!!!!

ah yes, MIL-speak

my kids both trained themselves, as did a lot of their friends (hippy friends ). They were mainly between around 20 months (dd) and around 4. They all got there.

Don't worry about it.

8 months is ridiculously young.

That's what I thought cos at this age he doesn't even understand if I asked him if he needed to use the potty and he certainly couldn't respond!! I can only assume she sat dh on the potty and just left him there til he did a wee or poo but surely that's not potty training as it's not enabling them to learn to control it or ask for the toilet. I really fail to see how it would would even be possible!

I asked my dad and apparently me, my brother and sister were potty trained about 15-18 months which seems a little more doable!

im going mad all the people in the world are telling me different thing! iv tried the more conventinal ways but nothnig is catching on plz moms i need your help how do i potty train my 2yr old son?? He is my 1st and only chikld and i just want to get it wright!!! help xxx

maybe he isnt ready yet - my dd was just under 2 1/2 and my sister's ds was closer to 3 before he was ready

we didn't potty train ds until he was nearly 3.
You have to start when they are ready.
Start reading books to them about using the potty and see if they get interested.
Also it is a good idea to wait until the summer when they can run around with no pants on

to the OP - your MIL is being ridiculous.

2 is very early to be thinking of potty-training, Imamile.

First things to look for are an awareness that he is weeing or pooing - he might grasp himself as he wees, for instance. If he doesn't even know that he is weeing, he is nowhere near being ready.

The next stage is the one where he will be ready to train - when he shows an awareness that he needs to wee or poo. Once he recognises the signs that mean he needs to go, you can explain to him about using the potty or the toilet.

Other things that you might like to think about are whether he can manage to take himself to the potty ... if he can't take his trousers and pants down and pull them back up again, it is more difficult than if he is able to do this.

Children are often not ready until they are nearer to two than to three. And until he's ready, you'll just be making more work for yourself if you try and train him.

Oh, and the last thing ... ease up on yourself. There is enough pressure on parents to "get it right" as it is, without you adding to it yourself. You don't always have to get it right. And there's no one right way to do these things anyway!

Spot the deliberate mistake

Children are often not ready until they are nearer to three than to two is what I meant to type.

Gah!

meandmyjoe - I know parents who use a potty for their babies from birth. This is a method called elimination communication and with effort can be successful I know a little girl who was dry day and night by age 14 months due to this method.

I used conventional potty training methods and dd1 was potty trained at age 23 months and dd2 aged 18 -19 months.

Keep an open mind.

also-I can scarcely remember when ds and dd1 were potty trained. And they are 4 and 2.

grandparental memory is notoriously unreliable, and errs on the "my kids were astoundingly advanced because of my brilliance" side. IME.

My grandma had similar comments about why we hadn't potty trained ds (who is 2.10). Said in her day people started at a very young age but it had taken her a year to potty train my mum - and this in the days of cloth nappies and no washing machine, why on earth did she put herself through that?!

I think grandparetns had a huge incetive to potty train earlier - cloth nappies that had to be hand washed.

It's far easier now with disposibles or washables taht can be washed in an efficient washing machine - so why on earth would we bother trying to potty train 'early'?

We use ECing. i.e. Offer the use of a toilet/potty to our 20 month DD, so she has the option of remaining clean and dry (NB. This is not toilet training)

We introduced a potty at 10 weeks and she was clean and dry consistantly by 12 months. I think she was out of nappies and in trainer pants/real pants full time at 9 months. It is not perfect system and we have the odd wee accident but that is the exception rather than the rule. But ECing is not about perfect control but communication with your child and letting your child decide when and where to eliminate.

Grandparents tended to do a harsher version of ECing, tieing offspring to a potty after a meal until they did a wee !!! But it had similar quick results.

As to 'why bother', because some babies strongly object to sitting in soiled nappies, my daughter certainly did. Hence I had to change nappies the instance they were wee/poo in, so it was a tiny step to popping the child on a potty 30 seconds early and just stick the clean cloth nappy back on again.

That said that is just one way of teaching your child about toileting, of course many mums opt for the 'wait until they pick it up themselves' method and the children do so happily. So your MIL shouldn't pressure you to introduce a potty unless you want to.

our parents' generation in my experience often-ish put pressure on our generation to potty train earlier than comes naturally to us- for reasons belgo sets out. apparently i was dry even when in the womb.... you will probably know with your own child whether they are ready by how aware they seem to be of bodily functions and how much interest they show in your toiletting etc....

Similar to BabiesEverywhere but started using potty around 6 months I think. Not trying to EC, just used it first thing as DS would always wee or poo then. Gradually frequency of use increased, he seemed to save all his poos for potty & he progressed to using toilet too. I can't really remember when he became dry at home, probably when he could say 'wee wee'and asked to go. Stopped using a nappy at home and accidents were once in a blue moon. Only recently got round to real/trainer pants out and about and at nursery, and he was clean and dry at just under 20 months. Has been fun, no bother at all! If know they are about to poo makes sense to catch in potty/toilet if they don't mind sitting on it IMO, its quicker than a full nappy change as bum much easier to wipe!

Tried to start when DD1 was 2, even though she was showing no signs of actually wanting to be trained but was getting fed up of "Oh, she's still in nappies then", decided to stop as she would become very distressed and would refuse to go anywhere near either a potty or toilet. Had a few more attempts but again with no success so decided to leave it up to her.
She was 3 last week, on Sunday she decided that she wanted to wear big girls pants, has had no accidents and today was taking herself off to the toilet, just 3 days later.
Still expecting her to have the occasional accident but I am going to do exactly the same with DD2(only 8 months so not even contemplating it at the mo!)

Similiar to BabiesEverywhere and maygirl. I started ECing from birth rather half -heartedly but got serious about it when dd was 6 months (she's now 9 months). She is dry most of the time and we haven't had to clean a poo-y nappy/scrape stuff off her bum for about 8 weeks. She's in knickers for two hours a day and we hope that we can extend that to the whole day by the time she's 1, so that she's only in nappies at night. But if that doesn't happen, then it is not a big deal, it is just something to aim for as the communication improves. But it gives her a bit more freedom of movement now she's started to crawl as well as being in a more breathable material than a nappy.

I love EC-ing - it's a gentle method of introducing your baby to a potty and saves washing up (particularly good with those weaning poos) or landfill - as well as the knowledge that your baby is not sitting in soiled nappies. It's also great to have that extra level of communication with a young baby and potty time is fun - lots of clapping and singing!

It really doesn't take much effort at all - just putting your baby on the potty for a minute or so whenever you would normally change them (after feeds/naps etc.) and the results are really impressive and very quick (quicker, the younger the baby, I understand.)

My mother had my sister and myself potty trained by 1 year by this method even in disposables which were new at the time, so I asked her about it and she said it was just accepted as the norm then. Babies habits haven't changed that much in that time, so I thought I would give it a go and I am so glad I did.

Saying that, I can't be that dogmatic about it - particularly when other people keep saying that I must be nuts to be trying it at all, I think it is really up to you; but I would say that if you give it a go for one or two weeks, you'll probably be hooked, because suddenly there is this other message your baby can communicate to you - and that is so rewarding.

We've just potty trained our nearly 3 year old. It's taken a while but I think we can safely say we're there now. At last. But I do know someone who had just potty trained her not yet 2 year old. So, it can be done, apparently. And ours is a girl and hers is a boy (if that matters)

granny swears my boyfriend was potty trained at @8month.she is gives us jip about this imo they are ready when they not when you,granny,the postman fancy them being ready

What aload of tosh. At 8 months the sphinta? ( spelling ) muscles aren't ready yet.
Most people do it at 2.5-3.
We had a potty for a while, ds was keen. at 2.7, He decided one day that he wanted to wear "big boy pants" and that was it. 1 accident, we were sorted within a week.
Why are people so pre-occupied with doing it early ?

DD2 is 2.4 and asked to use potty, she was also telling us she 'need poo poo' and 'need pee pee'.

She's been doing very well.

DD1 has SN and is not potty-trained and nearly 5.

When they're ready, they'll let you know.

do what you think is right. I personally think that putting them on the potty early may eliminate potty phobia etc. My ds1 was pooing on potty at 18 months and asked for no nappies at about 26 months. with dd2 (8 months)we sit her on the potty at each nappy change and when she looks like she needs to do a poo. As to having no awareness of weeing etc, she definately does as she grins when she wees on potty! it is probably trained by our reaction but she definately knows she is doing something. she is often dry after a nap so putting them on after a nap is a good time to catch a wee! I am not preoccupied with doing it early, just think it is not very nice having wet/dirty nappies on and the longer you 'train' them that that is ok, the more comfortable they get with it. We are not'potty training' just letting her go if she wants. result=fewer wet/dirty nappies which can't be bad!

2.5

I have potty trained 2 and currently have a 15mth old.
Ds was 2.2yrs and DD1 was 2 the week before we trained.
DD2 is very familiar with a potty and will sit on and make weeing sounds, she is walking and talking and will say wee or poo but she is not aware of it or capable of being able to pull her trousers up or down etc. I think until they can dress/undress themselves then there is not much point as you will basically be either sitting them on the potty all day or running up and down to the loo making funny sounds.

Just to throw a spanner in...there are a good many children who do train before two years, and , we should note Papmers/Huggies vested interest in sending out 'Parent Info Packs' and the like, implying that to even think about potty training before 2.5 is outdated, foolish and even cruel.

My DD trained at 2.2, DS between 16 months and was totally dry at 22 months. He is now dry at night - 26 months.

On the pther end of the spectrum, I'm sure there are children who are not ready until 3 or 4 years.

I'd say have a potty about from about they time they start to walk, and just see what happens. I think it important to train based on readiness, rather than age.