Was your child potty trained by 3?

[Cherrysherri]

I did a previous post. Really struggling potty training our 2y9mo but next weekend think I may just set a tough weekend aside and try it again

im so worried about the age thing and just went on the Eric site and got into my head

i I think it’s achievable by the time he’s 3? Around 3

But just feel so guilty that he’s over 2.5 and potty trained

anyone in the same boat or was in the same boat

My DD was 2

My DS was 3.7 and I was so stressed. Now I realize he just wasn't ready before then. We tried everything, rewards, stickers, staying in for hours so he could run around pant free - but nothing worked. I'd get really frustrated, he'd be sad & confused 😔

Lots of wise people kept telling me to chill, that it would happen.

Then one day he said "I need a wee", my dh & I looked at each other and he took him to the toilet. He was right, he did need a wee.

Genuinely, since then he's not had a single accident (he was dry already at night).

He just took a bit longer to get there

Saying this gently, but he's not, not trying to crack it. He's just not ready yet

First DD started at 2.4, took a few weeks and it was difficult.

Second DD started at 2.2 and it was easy. I think she is less opinionated and we were more consistent.

We took nappies away and did Oh Crap but not properly with DD1 (used reward stickers and cloth training pants when out with her, DD2 we followed Oh Crap to the letter). We didn't night train, that just followed.

My girls were out of nappies by two, the older one I bribed with Chocolate Buttons, the middle one just announced she wasn't wearing nappies anymore if her sister didn't, and the youngest one followed their example. I did walk around with a pottette folding potty / seat just in case for about a year though. Pull ups instead of nappies at night made the younger one feel safer though, but she rarely needed it.

Just wanted to say thanks for all the tips, encouragement etc :)

I also wanted to address some things:

1. yep it’s lazy if parents don’t even try to potty train and say they’re waiting for their child to be ready. I am trying and I will actively keep trying while he’s young. I will not leave it.

2. discussions over the 80s/90s. You could also smoke in public places during this time with kids around. It wasn’t some perfect time and not everything people did then we do now. My mum advised me to potty train my son on holiday aka leave him naked - on holiday in front of strangers ? So no not all tips are fantastic. And like another poster said - no not ALL kids were miraculously trained with 0 accidents during this time

3. I do really hope my younger child is one of the kids who just decide they don’t want nappies 😆😆

But as we’re away for an overnight stay, we are actively training next week. We are preparing him saying no more nappies next week (I know he won’t get time frames l) but we have potty’s in, undies (will get spares) a Bing sticker chart and I’ll stock up on chocolate buttons and raisins lol. I thought it’s best to be home fully and do it rather than start go away and start again

And when I say laziness above I mean like don’t even try and asses if the child’s ready. That’s what I mean parents who use readiness as a blanket excuse. But I do think all kids have elements of readiness

my son couldn’t communicate much at 2 so there was no way he’d say wee poo , or even yes/no if we asked him. He didn’t have the understanding

Toilet trained, yes. Potty trained, never. I am surprised potties are still a thing (mine all adult now ranging 31 down to 16)

It is an extra, un necessary step.

I waited til 2yr, 7 month with all mine.

Told them they got one sweetie (and i bought a megga big smarties tube and kept it high out of reach) for every pee on the loo (they did have a plastic loo seat to stop falling in)

And - 2 for a poo. They understood that system right away and were trained within 24 hrs.

Apart from my DS with autism and learning diff. I left him til 2yr, 9 month as his comprehension was poor. He got the wee thing fast but he would not poo on a loo!!!

Til he was FOUR!!!!

It was a sensory thing, he was scared of the feeling of it falling out of his bum! We just had him ask (and his way was a grunt and point!) for nappy pants on for a poo. And that worked.

Eventually, we bribed him with a Shrek dvd for his first poo on the loo.

Bribary does work. I trained my boys to stand for pee from the outset too. So much easier.

Yes. She was 2.5 pretty much on the nose. I think we could have done it earlier but I was waiting until after we got back off holiday so as not to stress about aeroplane toilets and stuff. Cracked wees in a few days and poos within a week or so. Didn’t need to night train as such, she just stopped weeing at night so we finished the pack of pull ups we had and didn’t get anymore.

We tried with DD1 at 2.5 and she got so upset we stopped:l. Tried again 3 months later and she got it in a couple of days.

DD2 was 2 in June and thinking about starting her as she's a lot more keen to sit on the toilet etc. than DD1 ever was. But no idea how it will go or if we will have to wait a bit!

Such an age range and range of initial success rates in friends with kids that age/nursery kids too.

Both of mine were just over 3 and it was easy with both of them, they got it in a day or so. I felt a bit guilty with DD as she was obviously ready a couple of months earlier but we were due to go on holiday and I didn’t want to be potty training during this, so I left it a few weeks. However, she was brilliant and there was an added benefit in that she went dry at night at the same time.

Ooo yes I’ll be grabbing a toilet seat I think. That’s a good point as he’s nearly 3 so may as well get him used to toilets.

and my DS loves food so I think bribery with snacks should be a good way lol

but we definitely will be trying to train and will keep hammering it as like my initial post was I want him trained around 3/before

as he is showing some signs. But is so stubborn I think he just wants to call the shots🤣

Do agree to an extent I think this is why some parents hold off and hold off. The whole “cracked it in 3 days” is often BS as it takes longer for a child to progress to taking their own clothes up and down, going from potty to toilet, wiping own bum etc. all these things take time

No, he was 3yrs 4 months. No SN but a house move and a new baby so we waited to avoid regressions. When he was ready he took 3 days to crack it with confidence, and was more or less dry at night too within a couple of weeks (we still use night nappies but he’s dry 9/10 nights)

Two and a half, lots of accidents on the way. Never made a big deal about the accidents or anything. Honestly don’t worry about it. Aslong as you are trying every few months. They all get it eventually!

Yes. About a week before his 3rd birthday, DS said "no more nappies mummy" and refused to wear them during the day. He only had an accident after that if he was poorly (and then got very upset about it).

We kept up with nappies at night for about another 9 months.

Hi op, one of the best tips I was given is that peer pressure can be a good thing! I had to have one of my dds potty trained for nursery and despite trying consistently, she wasn’t quite there yet. But as soon as she was in nursery she just followed what all the other little dc did. Good luck!

We’ve been doing it over the summer with a 2.5 year old. It hasn’t been easy. You really need to stick with it and keep going. We still have accidents. A little less than once a week now.

If it helps, my oldest 2 trained very naturally and comfortably by 3, they were well to grips with it by the time they started preschool at 3.5.

My youngest, who just started school this September and is 4y 9 months, literally only got the hang of it over the summer holidays. I was honestly so stressed, counting down the months and then weeks we had.

To be fair, he knew perfectly well from a very early age how to use the toilet in the house, and skipped the potty phase completely. But he refused to leave the house without a nappy, would get so upset if you tried, and I didn’t want to make it into a big worry for him.

Over the summer we became gently determined, and he just got the hang of jt.

They will honestly get there, but my opinion on this stuff is to not make it into a big deal. My own experience and the majority of posters I read say that when their DC are ready, it’s a fairly quick and painless process. IMO, if your DC is having lots of accidents and misses, especially with poos, they are not ready.

Oh and DC3 also was almost there, then we moved house which was a disaster. He was also a COVID baby and there were no places at his preschool after the childcare extension so he didn’t get in.

All these things probably have something to do with his late start but he got there in the end!

Started in January this year when DD was 3. Went ok at first then slipped back into having loads of accidents or holding it in all day. Got loads better after going on holiday last month. She's 4 in a couple of weeks.

Well a bit of a positive update, we’ve had causal no nappy time as we got ready this morning and he said “mummy his name wee wee”

I said quite causally oh let’s try your potty while I grab a nappy - he just did his first ever wee on the potty!

How funny after last night panicking ge does that it’s major and he’s had lots of praise

but I think another sign to hammer it next week when we’re home and I feel so much more confident now that was a sign I needed from him

He’s just done another. I’m not half kicking myself that we’re away tonight!!!!

but do I take the potty and keep practicing for when we’re back in our hotel room? Then next week do the proper training

Mine was 3 years 11months. But he has ASD and had poor language skills at that age, so communication was challenging.

Congrats! Definitely take the potty and keep going.

My DD was 2 years 11 months. She had a lot of anxieties around pooing/withholding etc so we had to address that first. She did amazing once we took away the nappies, I think being that bit older did help

Both mine were out of nappies before 3.

ds was 2.3 when we stopped day nappies and 2.9 for night nappies.
dd was dry day and night within a week of stopping wearing nappies at 2.4yrs old.

I work in early years and at one point a few months ago we had 17 over 3’s in nappies with only 3 of them with ASN. Thankfully we are down to 6 children (2 ASN )