Potty Training???

Melanie - posted on 08/18/2009

I am sorry now but i have to voice my opinion on this. Yer children or should i say BABIES are still probably trying to figure out how to walk which is a huge mile stone. Why are so many mothers caught up on the next step yes they have conquered walking next potty training next law school. i know that sounds a bit stupid but why do we feel the need to rush these things. i mean they are still babies. i know i dont want mine to grow up that fast. I have a three year old also and time flies and besides so you really want to start putting pressure on your kids so early on wont they have enought of that through life. I know I wont be even attempting to try my little on on the potty. I am just enjoying having fun with her and letting her figure out things for herself at the moment. When the time is right I will know but this early on how does she know when she needs to go pee pee or poo poo. to much pressure too soon. That just my opinion. Each to their own.

Kirsten - posted on 08/15/2009

my little girl, also turned one on 21st may, has been sitting on her potty for the last 6 weeks, and has gone a few times on it. i disagree that it is too early, tho each child is different and you may just have to perserve, but my daughter knows exactly what a potty is for!! she loves watching elmos potty time dvd, and has a girls potty book!! another trick we have learnt, is to put water in her potty, just like the real toilet!! she likes to go when there is water in the potty!!

Carlita - posted on 07/17/2009

I never thought to use flushing as a privilege! Thats a great idea!

Sabrina - posted on 07/17/2009

No it is never too early!! My son turned 2 on may 21st & was 95% potty trained. I would talk him to the potty sit him on my lap & say "ooo mommy is peeing good job yaaaa" & then flush the potty. I started under 6 months & he just thought I was so funny. Well at 17 months he started telling me he had to go & at 21 months he was 90% trained... now he may have a pee accident but its not all the time & its only if hes busy placing outside the home. But we drove over 4 hours one trip and stopped once or twice and he had a dry all day. It can be done i promise!! They say boys are the hardest but really its the parents. Dont let her flush unless she did something. Some use cereal & my mom told me to pee on the frog and I thought is was funny and peed everytime! I hope one of these works for you!!

Carlita - posted on 07/17/2009

I don't think it's too early to start! They understand a lot more than we give them credit for! Our girls were born on the same day :) What I'm doing with my daughter is changing her diaper in the bathroom every time so she will start associating that with the bathroom.. I also take her with me to use the bathroom as much as possible, tell her what I'm doing and let her flush the toilet. Within the year she will be ready to get up there and try it herself even if she just sits there ;) Good luck!

Brittania - posted on 07/15/2009

I realize that you have already gotten many posts on this. You really can start introducing the potty this early but don't expect results. Just let them know that it is there and let her sit on it and get used to it. Once she starts showing you the signs that she is ready to use the potty go ahead and try it. Let her start sitting with no pants on and do it in steps ... it helped me... my first little girl lillie was potty trained at 18 months.. I let her do it at her own pace.. just dont get frustrated with it..

Megan - posted on 07/15/2009

I worked at a daycare and we would start girls around 18 months and boys around 2. We would start by just sitting them on the potty at every diaper change and at bath time. We would reward children for sitting on the potty and for going to the bathroom on it.

Cathralynn - posted on 07/13/2009

I also heard another sign kids are ready: when they let you know they have a dirty diaper. When your baby has an aversion to being messy they might be ready. If your kid poops and then sits in it and keeps playing, maybe not so ready. We aren't at that point yet. My daughter squats to poop and then goes right back playing. I've heard you can make the process take longer if you force training when they are not ready. But if you follow the signs that they are ready, you can do it in a matter of days! All just hearsay since this is my first.

Shelley - posted on 07/09/2009

Quoting Jessica:

I just got my daughter who is almost 13 months a potty. I just put it by the "big potty" and see if she sits on it. If so, great. If not, no big deal. I don't think its a bad idea to at least get them familiar with it.

snap!!!!

Eng - posted on 07/09/2009

Quoting Julie:

We have potty trained seven children and this is still one of my least favorite activities. I think most are not completely trained (no accidents) until closer to age three. I have seen exceptions but they are few. I have also watched moms start at the "magic" age of two only to struggle for close to a year. Who wants to clean up all those messes for a year? With most of our children we have waited until they were truly ready and it took about a week to go from diaper to real underwear without accidents. I was under pressure with my seventh to be trained by three and we pushed him before he was ready. Result - he wasn't trained until 3 1/2 and we had a rough seven months. We will wait with this one until she is ready. Signs your child is ready: she can pull her pants up and down by herself, she can go all night completely dry, she can tell you she needs to go.

Hi Julie, for the signs u mentioned, were they taught to the child or the child will pick these skills up naturally?

Julie - posted on 07/09/2009

We have potty trained seven children and this is still one of my least favorite activities. I think most are not completely trained (no accidents) until closer to age three. I have seen exceptions but they are few. I have also watched moms start at the "magic" age of two only to struggle for close to a year. Who wants to clean up all those messes for a year? With most of our children we have waited until they were truly ready and it took about a week to go from diaper to real underwear without accidents. I was under pressure with my seventh to be trained by three and we pushed him before he was ready. Result - he wasn't trained until 3 1/2 and we had a rough seven months. We will wait with this one until she is ready. Signs your child is ready: she can pull her pants up and down by herself, she can go all night completely dry, she can tell you she needs to go.

Eng - posted on 07/08/2009

I started my girl around 9mths but that was only for the poo. She'll hv this funny expression on her face whenever she's pooing. Upon seeing the expression, I'll carry her to sit on the potty just to let her get use to it. She does not know how to tell or hold her poo yet. It is just to let her get use to the idea of sitting on the potty for pooing. When she's done on the potty, she'll know to stand up and walk away though :).
It's never too early to try but don't bank on the child picking this skill up fast.
Now that she's 14mths, she still doesn't give us any signal that she needs to go. Have fun!!

Kayla - posted on 07/08/2009

yeah its a little to early i think they say the more you push it the harder it is to potty train

Nikki - posted on 07/07/2009

I actually got on this website just to check if anyone else was thinking about this! My daughter knows when she goes to the bathroom and she knows what i'm doing when she see me in there! She also freaks out and has a fit when i try to change her diaper now all of a sudden. She won't stay still and hates to lay down and get changed. She also knows about and loves to be praised for doing something new, so i'm thinking why not sit her on it, wait for her to go and praise her and get her excited to do it again? I say why not try?!

Cheryl - posted on 07/07/2009

My sister-in-law trained my neice at 10 months and there is a growing movement to train at just a few months old. But trust me (I have a 6dd, 4ds, and our May08 dd) the baby is not going in, taking off their pants and sitting down- that's my definition of potty trained. The baby knows a signal to tell you to take them into the bathroom, take off their pants, and help them go. Now, if you want to reduce your need and expense for diapers- you CAN do it! But it's more work for you to do and with older ones running around, I don't have that time. I'm content with her coming to me and telling me when she needs a new diaper (that's what we're working on).

Caitlin - posted on 07/06/2009

I have thought about putting my 14mo old son on a potty chair, if anything, just to get him familiar with it. He's showing us signs that he knows when he's poo'd or is going to, such as clenching his legs when trying to change a wet diaper so I can't change it. A little bit later, he poo'd and then let me change his diaper. I dont' think it's too early to start them with the familiarization as long as you dont' expect them to get it right away! Good luck!!

Casey - posted on 06/29/2009

i dont know what time is a good time to start since this is my first child. but i have heard that 2 years is the norm or whenever they show interest. my friend recomended to use the book once upon a potty to help spike the interest. my daughter loves books and i am thinking about getting it for her just to look thru and getting her a seat to spark her interest.

Kylie - posted on 06/26/2009

We've been putting Calais on the potty every night before her bath for about 20 mins since before she turned one just to familiarise her with it.. Its winter atm so im not about to go into full on toilet training mode (plus im 30 weeks pregnant) but I dont think its too early. 20 years ago it was the norm for a child to be FULLY toilet trained but 18 months old. The trend to hold off it because people use disposable nappies these days and so its less of an inconvience on them to keep bubs in nappies.

Jessica - posted on 06/23/2009

I just got my daughter who is almost 13 months a potty. I just put it by the "big potty" and see if she sits on it. If so, great. If not, no big deal. I don't think its a bad idea to at least get them familiar with it.

Ariana - posted on 06/22/2009

I'm looking to buy a little potty for my daughter who is 13 months right now. I plan on putting it in the bathroom as she follows me in there anyway and seeing if I can't get her to sit on it. But I don't think it's really going to take so I'm not getting my hopes up.

Jenny - posted on 06/19/2009

My daughter just turned one on May 6th and I had been thinking about trying with her as well. Then I thought about it some more and realized that she would have no clue what to do with this thing I was putting infront of her. So I decided not to even try yet until she is closer to 2 years old. With my first daughter who is 6 now, she started potty training when she was 2 so I think that's the norm, GOOD LUCK!

Alicia - posted on 06/18/2009

I have heard of people trying potty training VERY early, like 9 months. Not sure if it really works but what I've heard is that it is more training YOU to bring them to the potty once you realize the pattern of when they need to go. I think being able to walk and sit and stand on their own is probably important too. My son is 13 months and he always walks over to me when he has a messy diaper so there is some level of awareness. But I don't know that at this age they have the "fore knowledge" to "hold it", etc. Maybe read up on it and see. Who wouldn't want to stop diapers sooner!!! I think not forcing it when they are not ready is a BIG issue, at whatever age you start. Would not want to make it harder in the longrun.

Alicia - posted on 06/18/2009

I have heard of people trying potty training VERY early, like 9 months. Not sure if it really works but what I've heard is that it is more training YOU to bring them to the potty once you realize the pattern of when they need to go. I think being able to walk and sit and stand on their own is probably important too. My son is 13 months and he always walks over to me when he has a messy diaper so there is some level of awareness. But I don't know that at this age they have the "fore knowledge" to "hold it", etc. Maybe read up on it and see. Who wouldn't want to stop diapers sooner!!! I think not forcing it when they are not ready is a BIG issue, at whatever age you start. Would not want to make it harder in the longrun.

Susan - posted on 06/15/2009

Probably a little early. My daughter started to show interest in the potty about 14 months. We got a couple from her cousins and put them around the house. She actually started to go on them occasionally but then lost interest. My son then was born so we didn't worry about anymore. When she was about 22 months she showed interest again and we were successful. Girls are easier than boys. Most girls won't be able to control their muscles enough to be able to pee on demand and be able to hold it until they are at least 18 months but you can always try. Don't be surprised if she makes progress but then regresses. In our case - Jarrett being born. Good luck!

Renee - posted on 06/14/2009

I would also agree that it is too early to start with the potty training...One of my aunts got my son a little potty chair for his 1st birthday that sings and makes noises and what not. He likes to play with it, but has no clue what it is for. If you have older children that your little one follows around, sometimes they learn the whole potty thing earlier by watching their older siblings. Don't push the issue though. She will let you know when she is ready.

Tiana - posted on 06/12/2009

i would say yes its a little too early to start but only you know if she's ready. My advice would be to wait about another 4 months then start introducing her to the potty but even then dont have high expectations. Whenever she does start to go make sure you reward her somehow every time she goes( it makes them wanna go more and more so they can keep getting treats)

Frances - posted on 06/12/2009

Hi I'm not an expert but they say to start potty training about 2. I think it is a bit early as they need to understand needing to go to the toilet. If you go into psychology then some dr believe it can affect development, but who listens to them anyway lol and theres always someone with the opposite view.