My mum started potty training @ 3 months...should I?!

[felicity10]

Don't laugh. Well ok, chuckle a little, because i have! Yes, my mum tells me she started with putting me on the potty for ten mins after each feed from 3 or 4 months. DD is now 3.5 months and i am wondering if it is worth a go.

Apparently i was dry in the day by 11 months and at night by about 13 months.

So is it madness, or is it worth a go, anyone had any success with this early training?!

many thanks!

Give it a go! Some kids get it some don't.

There are quite a few MN who have tried early potty learning. I put my 8 month old DS on the pot each nappy change - but no joy yet. My DD was using a potty by 11 months and dry day and night at 22 months.

If you want to put yourself under this amount of pressure then do so - but I think it will only make you resentful, feel under pressure and look like DD is a pfb

By putting her on the pot after each feed will not make her potty trained any earlier than if you don't - does your mum think you were potty trained or she was potty trained at 11 months - ie did you make it known you needed the toilet or did she just catch you at the right time after having 7 months worth of looking out for signs

not madness at all; tis now called elimination communication and there are threads on here about it as well as lots of information available online!

Have a search of the archives; I'm sure you'll fond something useful

My gran was actually telling me the other day she used to do the same with my mum and aunty when they were small.

Sat the potty on her lap, baby on the potty at least 4 times a day from just 2 months old.

Seemed crazy to me, but apparently it works!

Up to you, but bear in mind that the older generation were more worried about early potty training as they had washable nappies. With disposables, it is so much easier and so there's less pressure to move them on.

But at 3.5 months I just felt I was getting my sanity back so I personally would have gone for the easiest option!

i tried this with my ds1 after seeing a lady on 'this morning' who did it with her children.

tbh it wasn't really potty training, it was just knowing when to set him on the potty. he had absolutely no control over when he went so it was hit and miss and really it took the same amount of time to do that and wipe him as to change his nappy. also, i still had to keep him in nappies because i didn't always time it right so really i think you would be giving yourself a load of grief. you would be fooloing yourself to actually believe it was 'potty training'

Hmm, thanks ladies, some good points there! Think i might read up a little more and then take a view - agree wonderingwondering though, i too just about think i may be nearing sanity!

xx

go for it - you only have to scan all the posts on here about 3 years olds refusing to sit on the potty to realise that starting earlier might avoid that. Tis not putting yourself under pressure if you just take a laid back approach. Dd also have no poo nappies after about 7/8 months, nappy free by 15 months but totally dry during the day well before that, just couldn't really believe she didin't actually need the nappies! Who cares whether it is potty training or not , your child will be so much happier in dry nappies all the time or at least being given the opportunity to use potty, takes no longer. We just sat her on potty at each change. Folk thought we were wierd but hey ho, didn't care!

My mother in the 40's had to have my sister dry day and night by 18 months or buy a whole new set of nappies for me. My own two (70's) were encouraged to sit on the potty, for five minutes at change time as soon as they were able to sit unaided - dry in the daytime by about 14 months and at night by 2 years. My oldest 2 granchildren are doing fine with potty training now (3 & nearly 3). Most of their playmates are at the same stage.

Interesting that the wheel is turning yet again and we are heading back to starting young. Only problem some of my generation have is that we need to 'go' when we hear running water or sit on something cold, because our mothers used the cold enamel or china potties and turning the tap on as triggers to encourage us to wee.

My SIL did this with both her DCs. It worked brilliantly. They both started to do their poos in the potty almost immediately and the vast majority of wees too. She still kept a nappy on in case of accidents as she had no interest in clearing up poo or wee but most days the nappy would be clean and dry. I have 3 DCs and did not do this with any of them and have always felt a slight nagging guilt due to the pile of disposables I created destroying the environment in comparison to her... hence I started to use washables as well as disposables.

Give it a go. People may laugh but judging by all the threads worrying about potty training three and four year old children, it's very sensible to try a different method!

Ds is 20 months and has recently started weeing in a potty. He is still in nappies as he is not reliable but it's useful to save on a couple of nappies a day.

Elimination communication does work with a non mobile baby. I tried with my daughter. However I found it went wrong when she started nursery. Unless you are able to stay at home with your baby for at least two years then ec is very hard to do.

Now my daugher is mobile she has no desire to sit still for a second. It looks like we will have to take the more traditional potty training route.

If you want to try ec then hold your baby over a potty after each feed and on waking from a nap.

Elimination communication is great, but don't put yourself under pressure. If you try it and find it works for you and is easier than changing nappies, go for it. If you try it and baby hates it or it's too much work for now then let it go and don't beat yourself up over it.

I tried it with DS but he always hated the potty so I gave up - didn't want to stress him out over it at all. Just got him a potty again at 20 months and he sits on it sometimes but seems to prefer to wee/poo standing up, on the floor! Oh well, he will get there when he's ready.

I know people who it worked for though and I must say I prefer the idea of rinsing out a potty to cleaning up after a pooey nappy, but it just isn't happening here.

Reallytired - my friend who is practically an expert in EC has always gone back to work full time when her baby is four months old. She still does EC.

Bertie- I'm quite happy for my ds to wee in a special designated container- he doesn't have to sit down!

Haven't attempted the poos yet though.

belgo: What does your friend do for childcare.

I am sure ec would work if you had childcare that is prepared to go with it.

Maybe it depends on the baby. Prehaps my daughter can't cope with ec at home and nappies at nursery. Poor thing is only 13 months and prehaps isn't clever enough yet.

I think there is tendency for people who have tried ec to not admit problems.

the baby goes to a creche, where they don;t do EC.

I think my friend is exceptional, she is vert determined to do things her own way and very strong in her beliefs. She'll carry on against all the odds even if most other people will give up.

I'm glad it's not just my mum yapping on constantly about potties!

Apparently I was toilet trained by a year old. I didn't walk until 18 months so can't work that one out - presumably I just yelled to be taken to the potty rather than go and sit on it myself .

Personally I'd rather be out and about enjoying life with my baby, rather than hovering about the house with a potty and a j-cloth all day!

I have read several times that children under 18 months can't control their muscles to be actually potty trained, it is more luck when you sit them on the potty because they will not be aware of when they need to go.

this Times articles mentions EC, good and bad points. Very honest article.

I've started this recently with ds1, now 17 weeks and it's going really well. I have him in nappies when i want, and then nappy free when convenient for me,ie, at home with out too much to do. When he's nappy free I hold him over the potty every half hour or so and after naps. I make a psss sound and he wees. Since starting all his poos bar one have gone in the potty. I know people say it's about predicting your lo's need to go, rather than them holding on, but i just don't quite believe this. I never know when my ds is going to poo. He's bf and frequently goes days without pooing, and gives no indication before he does. But now i put him over the potty for a wee, and he relaxes and before i know it there is a poo. Maybe it's the position? It certainly is not either prediction or coincidence. Wee is more hit and miss. If certainly goes nearly every time i offer the potty, but he sometimes goes inbetween aswell . It doesn't bother me. Wipes up easily and doesn't smell. Think it's pretty much sterile too.

I started a thread re this on here called elimination communication/early potty training (sorry, on phone so can't link to it but it's on the potty training page with yours! ) . If you have a look you will see that i was clueless and not completly convinced to start with. I've already asked all the stupid questions so you don't have to! people have been very generous with their time and experiences there so i really suggest you have a look.

So far it is definatly working for us. I just think why not? Even if you just pop your lo over a potty as you change nappies, they may have a cleaner nappy for longer, and they're not getting used to soiling their clothes. For me if we can catch most poos (esp by the time he's on solids...yuk!) that in its self is a massive advantage.

Either way good luck!

Thank you so much for all your answers, think it might give it a go and see how it works, we're off on holiday, so doing it somewhere with tiled floors and both of us to give it a go, might be the way to go. thanks MoonFaceMama , i'll find your post and take some tips!