Potty training.. where do I even start?

[Hardknocks]

First child, DD who is 2.5

We bought a potty 6 months ago, talked about it, let her sit on it etc which she did but she never did anything until last week when she just decided to pull her trousers down and go for a wee! I praised her etc, she seemed really proud of herself but nothing since. When I ask if she wants to sit on the potty etc she will say no.

So now I’m thinking ok, we have to actively go for this now but I have NO idea where to start. I work full time and have no annual leave left til April so I can’t take time off. She’s with my in laws one day, child minder for 2 days and myself and DH over the other 2 days.

Do I just take the nappies away in the day and pop her on it every half hour and ask everyone else to do the same? Does anyone have a good method? I have a week off over Christmas - is it worth trying then or is it the wrong time with all the other things going on?

Thank you!

If you think she is ready then yes just take nappies off, put knickers on and see where the week takes you. There will be accidents. I just kept asking my DD every half an hour or so if she wants the toilet and eventually we got there. Poos were another story!

Definitely don't do it over Xmas, it's not worth the added stress. We attempted that as both myself and husband were home. But the constant stream of family visits just meant DD wasn't at all focused.

I would say if it becomes obvious very quickly that it's going to be a battle and she is refusing to go on the potty then stop and try again in a couple of months.

We did it at Christmas and also with a new baby in the house! The time off was really useful. We used the Oh Crap! method and read the whole book before starting.

Mumsnet seems to love the cold turkey methods. That didn't work for us. I let my son go nappyless at home first. He got used to using the toilet at home. No potty, steps up to a seat on the toilet. But out and about and at nursery he wore pull-ups. Once he was confident with it at home (took 2 weeks) we told him it was time to wear pants out of the house too. He had no problem with it at all because he'd been given that time to become comfortable with it in his own home at his own pace. He transitioned so smoothly and never had any accidents whereas with the cold turkey method he was having accidents in public and becoming upset about it.

Thanks so much everyone! So I bought a carry potty today and she has done 4 wee’s in it since coming home a few hours ago, she even said ‘need a wee wee’ and then got on and did it!

The childminder wants her to have more dry days before going cold turkey, so I’m going to leave pull ups on when we go out but take the carry potty and encourage her to use it, and stay nappy-less at home until I guess she’s got the hang of it and then we lose the nappies outside..