Need Early Potty Training Advice

Hi A.,
I'm with you, I have two boys and a girl...another boy on the way! My boys took a while to potty train, so I just let that go as they wanted to. Having a girl was a completely different experience for me, as you may know? :0) My daughter is now three. She started going pee on the potty before her 2nd birthday at her own will. One day, about a month later, I said 'let's go potty' and she wigged out. She didn't want to go anymore. So, I let it go for about a month; I really didn't push it. A month almost to the day, she decided she wanted to go on the potty again because she wanted to wear her underwear. She just started doing it all herself; pee and poop! I only intervene when she requests help, otherwise, she's so self-sufficient. I hope that helps!
C. B

My daughter just turned 21 months. She is basically fully potty trained. All I have to do is remind her during the day to use the potty, but I don't buy pull-ups anymore except for nights. She occasionally has an accident at night, and it's just easier and more sanitary b/c she doesn't wake up when she wets the bed.

She comes and tells me when she has to poop, but I also know what time of day she typically goes and that if she lets go a stinky fart it is time to put her on the potty. I can go all day every day with just asking her if she has to tinkle or poop. If she says 'no' then I don't put her on the potty. If she says 'yes' or runs to the bathroom when I ask, then I know she has to go. Sometimes she has trouble going right away, and I say "let me hear the tinkle!" and she makes an effort and begins to pee.

It took some effort and flexibility to get to this point, but she was showing interest at 18 months. I am 8 mos pregnant, so it was important to me to get her potty trained before the new baby arrives, but it is also physically taxing to have to help her get on the potty every time, wait until she goes, wipe and wash hands, and help her pull her pants up. She is starting to be able to pull her pants up and down by herself, but they get stuck on her little chunky butt, and then she gets frustrated and decides it is better to go without them.

You have to be committed to it and stick to a routine, and if you find that something that was working, stops working, then you have to be creative and figure out what will re-engage her.

Start by taking her to the bathroom with you every time you go, and letting her see what you do. Praise yourself for doing a good job whenever you tinkle or poo. Then let her sit on the potty, pants down, and get comfortable there. Put her on every 1/2 hour or so and let her sit for a few minutes. Praise her when she goes, but don't reprimand her if she doesn't. Keep her in skirt and loose-fitting clothes or just underwear. No onesies, they just get in the way.

We started my daughter off on her personal potty, but when the novelty of potty training wore off, she wanted to get up and walk away before she emptied her bladder. I moved her to the regular toilet with a toddler insert and she liked that much better especially b/c she can flush the toilet on her own, and her tinkles make a big tinkle sound. Now I don't even bother with the insert, she just sits on a regular toilet seat. I have no issues with her using public toilets either, she loves showing me that she can go anywhere!

Oh, what you have to look forward to. The first time my daughter said "Poop! potty! Poop!" and we were driving in the car, minutes away from any bathroom, and she was not wearing a pull-up. Fun! that was a mad dash. She has more control over her bowel movements now and can hold for a few minutes while we get to the bathroom, but initially, they don't realize that their going until it's coming out.

Good luck. There are many conflicting opinions on this, but I think earlier is better. Better for the kids to not get used to the feeling of having their waste against them. Better for the environment to not have all of those diapers in land fills, and better for you to not have to change those diapers.

Hi there! My son started potty training just before his 2nd birthday, and it went really well. On the day he first pulled at his diaper and said "mine pot-pot" we helped a doll go potty and started reading "Grover Has to Go" on a regular basis. Everything just kind of fell into place from there. Several close friends & family were skeptical, and we did not force him...he was just ready. Hope this helps!

prior to the onslaught of disposable diapers most childern were potty trained by age two. If she is ready make a point of being consistant. I think it's hard when you have other children and need to taxi them to other places. But have patience and it will all work out.

My daugher trained before two but she had a lot of accidents. She was also smart enough to change her own pull ups in her bedroom, which was expensive with how many we were using. I don't know if it was worth it because when she wouldn't wear the pull ups anymore and just wanted underwear the accidents were very stressful especially if we were out.

My son is 17 months and uses the potty during the day and diapers at night. We had bought it for him when he was almost one and let it be a regular part of his life.

When we would sit and watch TV in the living room he would sit on his potty because it was neat and fun. When he would 'accidentally' pee when he was on it, we would reward him and it became normal for him.

Since he could crawl well, he would go to a corner to pee so he knew the feeling/association and that was a great way to start. He also had really good control of peeing, if we told him to stop and hold on, he would--that started around 10 months.

Everyone teases us that our baby is an alien though.

My recommendation: Let her take control and don't push. Let it be there for her, and if she wants to take the next step, go for it!

My advice is don't push it.
If she is interested, show her how to climb on the "big potty" with a seat as well as the little potty on her own. Let her "take the lead".
My daughter, who will be 14 in a month, was fully trained by the time she was two. She has an older sister and wanted to be like her (down to tyeing her own shoes at three!).
I took her to buy "pretty underwear" (which she picked out) and told her she could wear them if she was dry all day for a certain number of days (one or two I think). I never gave treats for going on the potty, aside from verbal ones. I let her (and the other two) have the little potty near a TV so they could sit on it whenever they wanted to do that.
Good luck.

I had a young potty trainer too. She was in pull ups. I kept a potty in a corner of the kitchen, so she could use it on her own while I was in the room. This also made her more independent about it in the long run. I also kept a small basket of books near by. This helped if it was #2 and she had to sit for a while. My niece uses a chart with stars indicating how many times her son pees and poos. She keeps it right by the potty as incentive they can look at while going. It seems to work for her. Good Luck!

When my 2nd son showed interest & used the potty @ 18 mos., I remember my sister with an older son being amazed! I was low key because I knew it would disappear & it did. It was a phase, it was neat & interesting & he went for it...as did my eldest & youngest at that age. With my 1st, I thought we were on a roll & pushed it after that only to get frustrated, both of us! :-) The 2nd, I relaxed & he came around later...at just 3 yrs. old, we were there. My daughter was considered the bed wetter still wearing pull ups @ night at almost 5.......so much for "girls are faster", right..?

My advice is to relax with it all, let your child guide you & they will. They have to emotionally AND physically ready to use the pot & sometimes both of those just don't match up when we'd like them to ;-)

I am a mother of 4 and none of them trained before 2 but not long after. My son turned 2 in September and he is potty training now. The process was very simple BUT... you will be cleaning a lot of messy underpants ;0) My experience was just to keep up with visiting the potty every 30 - 45 minutes and of course a diaper at nap time and bed..it is at the point now where he will tell me he has to potty. Good Luck!

I'm actually struggling with the same problem with my 19 month old girl. I have been advised to start using the pull-ups that let them feel wet or cold to help transition. So far, though, she still only sporadically wants to use the potty, but usually with great results.
I have also been told to put her on the potty every 20 minutes to get her used to the positive reinforcement and as an attempt to get her to understand when to use it. So far I haven't had the time to try this one out.
I hope this helps!

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Hi! My youngest started potty training at about 19 months. We had it lucky b/c even as an infant, she hated to have a dirty diaper. I had her in pull-ups to get use to the pulling up/down motion. I don't think that they can feel anything even the ones that say that they can. She basically poop trained herself and then at 21 month I put her in big girl underwear. She had a harder time peeing in the potty b/c she had to get use to the feeling and stop play early enough to get there. I used a sticker chart where she could put stickers on both for peeing and pooping in the potty. I, also, (much to my husband's dismay) have the potty out in the family room where they are playing, so it is readily accessible. I think that if you daughter is ready, you should go w/ it. I was going to wait until this summer to train mine, but she had other ideas. Good Luck!

My 20-mo-old daughter has been going potty for some time now -not consistently, and mostly by my guidance, but once she sits and goes, she's pretty proud of herself. I read books with her and sing her songs for 5-10 minutes. If nothing's happened yet, I ask if she's all done. If she says no, sometimes we wait a little longer, and sure enough, she goes #2. Often, I even sit on the edge of the bathtub and read while she "reads" her own book. The best times to go are when she wakes up in the morning and from nap, and sometimes after breakfast or supper.