Should I let nursery dictate this?

[mumtobabygilrl]

Just looking for advice as a first time mum. LG is 18m she attends nursery FT. Dropping her off today they have asked me to supply a potty so they can begin potty training. I suspect this may just be to let her sit on it and get familiar, but need to ask to be sure. I would not have thought of starting this yet for starters LG can't walk unaided yet and speech is still very much a handful of words. She's far off being able to undress herself. I would have wanted to tackle PT when I felt she was ready so I could be consistent and really commit to it. I worry introducing this now is too early and will make the process more painful in the long run. The fact she's not walking yet makes me think I need to tell nursery to wait! I appreciate I need to work with them to a degree as DD is there FT but welcome your thoughts

It's not going to hurt her to get used to the potty or make things any harder when you're ready to commit to it. Might not do much good but it won't hurt.

Still to young IMO. I'm surprised they are suggesting this at her age

That does seem young; if you don’t want her to then just say that. I would say no to nursery just based on the fact that I want to start that process myself

Thankyou I was surprised they were suggesting it too. She's quite strong willed and won't do something unless she really wants to - still trying to encourage the walking is rather focus on that before moving on to PT

However I do also understand it may not do any harm - I guess I just don't want to rush her when I know she's no where near ready

Its not unreasonable to begin now or even well before 18 months. However if you aren't happy about let nursery know.

I guess I need to gauge whether my reaction to say not just yet is unreasonable ? Is this an age most start things off even if not walking yet etc

I’d speak to nursery about it. She might have expressed an interest in other children potty training and they think this might indicate that she’s ready to give it a go too.

If it’s that they just do it at this stage then tell them you’d rather wait till she’s fully mobile (sounds sensible to me)

My daughter was PT at 16 months.

Unfortunately, she regressed! She is now almost 4 and only uses a potty/toilet for the occasional wee and changes nappy herself!!!!! Point blank refuses to change.

God knows what I'm going to do when she grows out of size 7 Pampers

nursery are likely doing this because there are so many children at nursery who are not PT who should be. Parents should be teaching children about potty and toilet early doors so they learn instead of whipping out a potty when they are too old to embrace it and decide to choose if they are going to engage or not

I'd embrace it! She's there full time so they'll do most of the work. If she's showing interest, go for it and don't look back.

I’ve got 3 children all who have to nursery and in my experience nurseries wouldn’t suggest something unless they have a reason, and your child’s behaviour might be very different at nursery than at home. Your child might not be ready yet for potty training but they might be curious if other children are using a potty and they might just want to include them

I work in a nursery in the 2-3 room. I can't believe you have yo supply a potty! If every parent did this we would have 30 potty's lined up! We always take our lead from parents so if you said that you thought your child was ready then we would encourage it. Or if your child looked to us that they were showing an interest then we would chat with you about it. I would have a conversation with them if I were you.

It seems pretty young and she doesn't sound ready. I would want to know what their plan is as it can be more drawn out if started too early. Personally I'd wait until 2 or over unless showing signs of interest/readiness.

I had a potty round home for dd to get used to when she was that age, however didn't actively 'start' potty training until she was over 3 & she got it straight away.
I would ask them what they are planning to do as 18m is very young and if they have a different approach to it than you do at home, it's prob not going to help at all.

The reluctance to educate early may be why 3 year olds are still in nappies!!!

The reluctance to educate early may be why 3 year olds are still in nappies

What's wrong with that
At that age they are more confident and they understand= less accidents and more confident at school as opposed to pushed into it when to young.

I have no reluctance to start potty training based on age alone. My reluctance is based on ability and her understanding. She is not yet walking or verbal so cannot communicate to me when she needs to go and is also not ready to undress to use the potty. I am all for doing things as soon as possible but I think this also needs to consider as soon as able and my daughter is not yet able.

I have spoken to nursery and agreed to supply the potty so DD can get used to seeing it and sitting on it with no expectation as yet. I want to PT when she understands, is able, and we can commit to starting the process to see it through

Thankyou all for the helpful advice