When's the best time to start potty training

[kjq]

I've been trying for months to introduce potty or pan to dd1 (she's 26 mths)but she's still refusing. If i take her nappy off first thing she just screams her head off, then 5 mins later would happily sit on potty for an hour, still with no result. She then demands her nappy on until I can stand her cries no longer. I'm I doing it all wrong? Should I be training at another time of day or at the weekend when dh is at home? I really want her out of nappies before the summer.

summer's a good time to train though! they can walk around starkers for much of the time, cutting out on washing.

with my ds it was when he was taking his nappy off himself and asking to use the loo, he was nearly 3 and was dry day and night really quick with dd 27 mths she just climbed up onto the loo whenever she has her nappy off, she has done nothing in there yet, but def has the idea, we make it fun, read a staory, sing a song etc
I agree summer is better then bare bums are out for much longer!
Why the hurry to be out of nappies?

I tried to get my ds out of nappies at about 26 months, he just wasn't interested. After several more attempts at potty training, he decided that he wanted to wear pants at 33 months and used the toilet straight away. Only had a few accidents since not sure how long it will be before he's dry at night although he doesn't like having his pull ups on!! Good luck and don't worry if it doesn't happen straight away, i'm sure she'll do it when shes ready.

my dd is 28 mths and still not ready, she has no interest in it.

if like my dd your dd hates having a bear bum then buy lots and lots of pants (just cheapo ones) and she can wear these instead. she will have lots of accidents but if they are cheapo then you can just throw them out if too much to wash

I'm getting lots of agro from the grannies. They would have had her in pants before she could walk.

summer

2.5 to 3 year olds IMO

or when they want to

ignore them i get lots of that too. one aunt told me her daughter was potty trained a t 16 mths. later she told me she put her in a playpen with only a potty naked for hrs on end (this was many yrs ago)

plus its different now with nappies being so much more absorbent, children dont know what it feels like to be wet, and hardly notice wees etc so it takes them longer (i think)

I was told that in Switzerland they don't potty train at all .. they just do it when they're ready .. so it is common for 3 year olds to be in nappies but not common for 4 or 5 year olds

wonder if that's true .. anyone know?

Not sure about that philosophy entirely, Twiglett. Don't think there is quite the same pressure though. Some kids stay in the home until they start Kindergarten between 4 and 5 while others are in daycare from a young age. Many playgroups/pre schools still insist they are 3 and dry before joining. Think it is unusual to see to Under 3 out of nappies, at least, our paediatrician seemed surprised.

Yes, our parents had us out of nappies when we were very very little, and it was because they were fed up with washing them and we were fed up with having damp towelling constantly on our bums. I reckon our mums had a better idea about our weeing habits too - my parents change ds' nappy obsessively when they care for him (every hour!) because I guess that's what they had to do for us when we were in horrible went nappies.

I think the received wisdom these days is not to potty train until they are physically and mentally ready for it - which means that they have the ability to control their bladders as well as pull down trousers, communicate & follow instructions. I've seen lists of readiness indicators.

We're having fun with ds at the moment. He is 25 months, and has always lagged behind himself physically. For example, as a tiny baby he watched me clapping and clearly wanted to do it, so he managed to hold his uncoordinated hands together and then made a noise by smacking his lips together! So now he is doing things like refusing to wear nappies and saying that he is a big boy and wears pants. But he has no control over his bladder at all, and spends the whole time having mishaps! And like you, we are just trying to keep it calm and happy for him so that he doesn't get all hung up over it!

Hiya,

I'm a HV (but without all the answers ). My DS is 26 months too and like you I'm getting lots of well meaning comments from his grandmothers etc about potty training. I haven't attempted potty training yet although he does have a potty (mainly because he sat on the one my friend had for her little girl). He's no idea what it's for though - just rides it about the floor , wears it on his head and carries things around in it.
I'm going to go along with everyone else here and suggest summer - mainly because what I've heard from many parents is that it's far simpler to train them when they are mostly naked.

The latest research I've seen says that many children are not ready until 30 months and that girls often achieve it quicker than boys - so that means your DD should master the art before my DS then .

I think they do it when they're ready. See if she'll just play around with sitting on it while her nappy is on - perhaps in front of the telly and then progress to nappy off.

No useful advice really from me - just a repeat of what everyone else has said

Mandy

My daughter is 23 months old and loves doing wee's and poo's in her potty. She will even sit on the toilet with one of those step stool chairs.
I introduced a potty at around 18 months but she wasn't ready, so I waited for another couple of weeks and perservered that way. She's not out of nappies when we go out yet, but she did ask for a wee wee when we went shopping the other day and when I took her she did do a wee.
She spends most of the time at home with no pants on or a short skirt and seems to love the freedom. It's also so much cheaper than constantly changing nappies.
You have to expect accidents as they will happen and not to make to much of a big thing about it or upset your child when s/he does wee on the floor.
Once your child knows what the potty is for they will learn when they need to go and that is when all the fun starts!
I personally think introducing something earlier rather than later was better for us, but each child learns at a different pace.

no lockets, I don't think you are. As long as you are listening to dd and respond to her actions & emotions then you can only be doing some good. It's a case of following their lead, isn't it? The new baby might send her either way, though. We've been warned that ds might either go right back to not bothering about potties at all, or he might completely reject nappies cos they're for babies, and that again we should just follow his lead. It's nice to be in a position where you've got so much time ahead of you!

The 'average time for children to be potty trained is between 2-3yrs, under 2yrs (or close to it is quite uncommon) and over 3yrs is MUCH quicker (IME)

lockets, yes, but I've been signed off actually, with depression. I was just reading what you'd written on another thread about not having got up any excitement about the new one yet, and I certainly feel like that! It would be great to meet up, but at the moment I am not very good at planning things in advance as I seem to have no idea whether I'm going to have a good, average or bad day. Maybe we should set things up for a spur of the moment coffee in Books etc!

secondary.

yes, and I'm sure you know something of the school, too! I love it (usually), but I can see people's point of view that it probably isn't the best place for me right now!

no, not the posh new one. Will you CAT me, then?