Ready to Start potty-training?/How Well Is Your 2Yr Old Talking?

My 2 1/2 year old is just now starting to show signs of wanting to use the potty. My now 5 year old wasn't potty trained till she was almost 3. We had tried so hard, but she just wasn't interested. Finally in one day everything just clicked. I guess she had her own timing. Just don't force the issue. If she cries, maybe let it go for a while. You don't want potty time to be a struggle.

As far as speach, my now 5 year old didn't talk much until she was almost 3. I was also worried. Seems like all the said was "that" and pointed to things. Then it seems all of a sudden she had this huge vocabulary and could say anything. Now she won't stop talking! LOL

My 2 1/2 year old talks a little more, but still not as much as other kids her age. I know she is understanding so I feel she'll talk when she's ready.

I'm still working on the potty training thing with my 22 month old boy but he's really only recently started talking to where we can understand him. At first we thought he may have been autistic because he was so quiet or couldn't get his words to come out or it was only sounds. Now he's saying things like "eat", "sammich", "juice", things of that nature. If you are really worried about her speech development, you can talk to your doctor about it and see what he/she says about it. One thing you can do to get her to learn communication though is find the "Signing Time!" DVD set. It will teach her sign language (as well as you) to teach her how to communicate and you will be able to understand better what she wants even if she can't voice it yet. Hope it helps!

Hi N.,

I have b/g twins. Neither one talks hardly at all and they turned two on April 13. They say no and the basic dadada on purpose and nana (grandmother's name)and then sometimes mamama. I actually just have fun with it because they understand everything and interact and pat the couch when they want us to sit down. Or they will bring you anything or do anything you ask them to do - throw something away or go get something on the floor. So, I guess do what everyone tells us (you probably already know this), which is to enjoy the quiet. I honestly can't wait to hear them talk to me, but that was after I got over being nervous. :)

As for the potty training - we are in the same boat. I don't know what to do! I am at my wit's end... well, even more so when my son took his poopy diaper off today and just looked at me as if that was not supposed to be on him. We tried to put a doll on the little potty and my daughter on the big potty - that worked for a bit for us. You could try that.

Hope any of this helps or lets you know you are not alone. I hope i did not ramble, but I have a big proposal to write, but wanted to email you.

S.

I am a speech therapist. I can tell you that using a paci can effect her speech. For one thing, she won't talk if she has a paci in her mouth. Get rid of it as soon as you can. A two year old can be hard to understand. However, if you can't understand at least half of what she says of if you are concerned (and it sounds like you are) I would consult a speech therapist. The TN Early Intervention program serves kids until their 3rd birthday for little or no cost (based on income) and will even come to your home to do therapy. There are also several good private clinics in the Chattanooga area. Good luck. Let me know how it goes.

As far as potty training goes, she may not be quite ready yet My daughter trained in about 10 days just a couple of months before her 3rd birthday. My son trained in a week about a month after his 3rd birthday. With both my kids, I just had to throw away the pull-ups and go straight to panties/underwear. Plan to stay home for a week or so. Good luck.

Just start or keep narrating how you go pee and poo on the potty so you can keep your pants comfy and dry.

Sequester them in the kitchen or easy clean up floor surface and have bottomless time...

The little boy taking his own poopy diaper off is a great sign.. if he is uncomfortable wearing it - that shows awareness. You want him to be aware of that... start talking about how if he poops in the potty he won't have to feel poop against his skin.

Course if I had a penny for each time I talked about this- I would be able to retire now...

No gems on the speech...

Hello,
First question, I have twin boys that are almost 3. I put their potty chair in the kitchen where they had to see it from where ever they were in the house, and with that I put them in underwear all day long, until nap time and bed time and then a pull up it is. I know the kitchen is kind of "not" the ideal place, but if they are in big boy underwear, and see the potty chair, they just started using it, yes I was dumping it all the time and soon they were dumping it in the trash, (which became messy at times) It worked for me.
Second question neither one of my twins were talking either when they turned two. It's only been about in the last 3 months that it really took off. They will be 3 on June 1st and the language they have now, is unbelievable.! Their are days when I think to myself "when did you learn to talk?" (their are also the days, I think to myself it was much nicer before they could tell me what they want, in addition to being bossy about it ! :)
When it comes to potty training, I think you just need to explore different tactics and see what works best for you and your daughter, the most important thing is that she is comfortable, and don't worry about her talking yet, it will sneak-up on you,
Good luck
R.

I'm a little older than you, I'm 50. I've potty trained about 26 kids and I can only tell you about me. I never use pull ups. To me, it gives them permission to pee in their pants and not get wet.

Go to Kmart and buy some thick training panties. They are the only place that I know of that still sells them. Get about 6 pairs. Then make a big deal about how big your little girl is now and that she is going to wear big girl panties. Take her to the potty chair (not the toilet because some kids are scared of it) and pull down her big girl panties and sit her down. Then run the faucet so she can hear the water. If she doesn't wet, brag on her anyway for trying and go back to what you were doing. Give her some juice in a sippy cup. Wait about 30 minutes to an hour and try again.

If she wets her panties, she is going to feel it run down her legs. Say, "that's why you need to use the potty, because now you are going to get wet when you pee pee." Change her panties and try again in about an hour.

It takes a lot of patience, but she will get the hang of it.

I tried one other thing that I saw on Dr. Phil one day, when I was potty training my grandaughter. She had just turned two. I went to the store and bought a potty chair that played, "how dry I am", a baby doll that had a potty chair (I found it at Big Lots) and she had a bottle. I got balloons and a cake and I told my "Jade" that were were going to have a "Potty Party" and that her baby was the guest of honor. We had the cake on the table, the balloons blown up (Jade helped me) and we filled the babies bottle up with water. We took off her panties and sat her on the potty chair and Jade could hardly wait. She wanted so bad to sit on her potty and pee, but we let the doll go first. She would drink water from her bottle and sit on her potty and pee and then we'd all clap and act silly. Jade loved it. Then we put big girl panties on her (Jade) and she sat on her potty (In the living room where the party was) and she peed in her potty.) We all clapped and made a big deal out of it. She never wore diapers again (except at bedtime) and she learned in one day. You might want to try it.

My second grandbaby turned two in April. We tried the potty party and the same things we did with Jade and she isn't ready yet. She would go sometimes, but she thinks that she is only to use the potty when she has on panties. The other day she went into the bedroom and put on a pair of her big sisters panties and then she went to her potty chair and she pulled them down and she went. We clapped and told her how big she was. A little later she wet her panties. Her name is Cheyenne.

I tell you this because Cheyenne doesn't talk much. She can say severl words but she doesn't talk much. She is really smart and just like her Mama was.

My first child, Johnny, was talking sentences at 18 months old. People would ask him how old he was, and he'd say, "I'll be two in July". They'd look so strange and ask me how old he was and I'd tell them he would be two in July. Then came Christie. She started talking a little before two and I babysat kids and one little girl wouldn't talk. She was the same age as Christie. Anyway, Christie shut up and didn't talk until she was well over two years old. Then you couldn't shut her up. Johnny is the quiet one and Christie never hushes to this day.

If your little girl is developing and talking a little, don't worry. She knows she has other ways of getting you to give her what she wants. The voice will come when she is ready. By the way, Christie was over two when I got her potty trained, so don't worry.

I would definatly stop using the pull ups. To me, it gives them permission to keep using their panties and not use the toilet.

Hope this helps.

K.

If she is pulling her pamper off, hiding behind furniture and squating. I would say she is ready, what worked for me is that when I bought my daughter (18-months) a potty chair I let her sit in it for a couple weeks, like in front of the TV or at the dinner table or something so she could get comfortible with it and for her to know that is just for her (Her own little potty) she started going. But keep in mind every child is different you can't compare. Your second question: Have you got her ears checked? My cousin was like that he didn't start talking til' he was 4 cause he couldn't hear he had to get tubes in his ears maybe check into that.

My son didn't get fully potty trained until after he was 3. He did not want to, but to get him into preschool we HAD to. Your daughter may just not be quite ready to start, yet. What we did with my son is we bought a potty seat that you sat on the potty (so he would be used to sitting up high) and we turned him around so he faced the tank and bought some cheap plastic toys (animals since he LOVES animals) for him to play with. That was the ONLY time he got to play with them. We'd spray them with Lysol or bleach after each time, and pop them into the dishwaher every so often. We wanted to play with the toys, so he started telling us when he wanted to potty and then after a few days we turned him around the right way and a few more days after that we took the toys. Also we took away his pullups unless it was nap/bed time. Now the only time he wears them is night time. We put him in "big boy" plain white underwear with plastic covers to start. Then we bought some of the fun underwear with characters on them and told him once he stopped having accidents during the day he could have them. The rest is history!

Also, my son has speech problems too. Everything we read said not to worry until he was 3. His comprehension is fine, it was just getting his words out that he had (and has) problems with. Right before his 3rd B-day we had his Pediatrician set him up for a hearing test and then called the local school and set him up for speech therapy classes. Once he started headstart he was already familiar with the speech path. and has improved greatly. I recommend just making sure you're using "grown up" speech with her, and always make her try to say what she wants even though you can read her mind. Give her incintive to speak.

I hope somthing helps!!!

Hi! I don't think you should worry too much about her talking yet. My daughter had a few words before she turned 2 and it seemed like soon after she turned 2, the words started flowing! She is almost 3 now and says more than I ever thought she would be saying! She gets along better with older kids too because she talks so much more than the 2 and 3 year old kids she knows. So don't worry too much yet. But I would suggest getting her off the paci soon because that can cause a delay especially if she uses it all the time. Good luck!

N. ~
As to your first request: maybe she's just not ready? My older two children (one girl & one boy) were both completely trained w/ease by their 2nd birthdays. A breeze. HOWEVER, my youngest (another boy) was extremely difficult. We tried a sticker chart. We tried pennies for a small gumball machine we got @ Dollar General. We tried singing a made-up "Potty Song" w/a dance (silly fun). We even threw a "Big Boy Party" complete w/cake & balloons (I still feel a bit of chagrin when I look @ the pictures). Nothing worked. It was a power struggle. Finally, we just told him that the Big Boy Underwear was in the drawer & he could wear them when he wanted. Within ONE week, he was completely trained. Let it go & don't push it. She won't be heading off to college in diapers! (ha)
As to your second question, that's more serious. My degree is in Speech-Language Pathology. I can tell you DEFINITELY that your daughter's pacifier will DIRECTLY affect her speech; please try to remove it ASAP. Also, you should be able to understand at LEAST half of what she's saying to you by age two; ideally, she's to be using two word phrases that people OUTSIDE the home can understand at least half the time.
It may be that since she has older siblings she isn't having to speak as much. Are they speaking for her? Are you allowing her to just point to things? If so, have her SAY the word ... ie: if she points to juice, say "Oh, you want milk?" She'll shake her head no. Say, "You want JUICE?" She'll nod her head yes. Hold up the juice & ask her to repeat the word, then praise her. It takes time & effort, but will be worth it.
If you're really concerned, check w/a local university. Many of them have early childhood speech programs for little or no cost. I know in the Nashville area we also have the Robertson Academy which offers speech services for young children. An initial evaluation will take a/b 2 hours.
BEST of luck w/BOTH of your endeavors!