Does this seem right?

Question

I have a friend that has two kids. Her oldest is 4 years old and her youngest is 3 years old. They are going to be starting head start this year but the youngest is not potty trained. My daughter started head start when she was 3 years old and they told me that she needed to be potty trained before she starts. Well needless to say I had her potty trained when she was about 2 1/2. What makes me mad is that my friends youngest son is not potty trained and she told me that she put them in a school that will potty train him. Do any of you think that it is because they do not know that he is not potty trained or are they starting to accept children who are not potty trained and potty training them?

Answer 1

I know for a fact where I live that there are schools that potty train kids. My sis-in-law actually sent her 4 yr old (unpotty trained) kid to one. That's where he was potty trained at. I personally believe that children should be potty trained any where from 18 mths to 2 yrs, and by a parent/guardian.

Answer 2

No, you are correct. Before a child can be enrolled in Head Start, he/she must be potty trained for both bowel and bladder. Although the school officials recognize that accidents will happen on occasion (which is why they request a full set of clothing to be left at school), the child needs to know when he/she needs to go to the bathroom. If your friend is saying that her child is accepted, she has most likely withheld the fact that her child is still in diapers. You might suggest to your friend to begin potty training. There is a book available either from the bookstore or local library called "Toilet Training in Less Than a Day". It is a method that really works, provided that the child is physically, emotionally and psychologically ready for toilet training. Trust me, I've used this method for all 6 of my children. Your friend will encounter problems and be asked to withdraw her child from the program until the next start-up if the situation goes uncorrected.

Hope this helps.

Answer 3

I've never heard of a school that potty trains. Usually they don't want to deal with that, unless it's a daycare-type setting. I'm surprised that he's not using the potty at 3 years old anyway.

Answer 4

I think that your friend is in for a rude awakening! I can't see them doing the potty training at school. Maybe she lied to them and told them that her son is already potty trained just to get him into head start. I'll bet that her little boy won't be in head start very long. That's sad. I don't understand why a 3 year old isn't potty trained already.

Answer 5

It all depends on where you take your child. If it is just a part time school like a preschool, headstart, or ECEAP, they usually don't accept children that are not fully potty trained. Some places will accept potty training children, espically if they are a childcare facility/preschool or childcare/headstart. I work at a childcare facility with preschool and we work with potty training the children. You just have to look around and see whats available in your area and what they accept.

Hope this helps! :)

Answer 6

Have you told her that when your daughter was in head start that she had to be trained. Teachers have enough to do without having to potty train.

Answer 7

No that doesn't seem right because when all four of my children were in headstart they had to be definitly potty trained no if ands or buts about that. so it does seem a little fishy. So i feel that these teachers do not know that her children are not potty trained at all, and they are definitly not going to accept kids that are not potty trained, so it seems to me that your friend is yanking your chain.

Answer 8

I think most schools require kids be potty trained. I know the preschool my little boy is in does.

By 3 they really should be trained. That should be the parents responsibility. I know my sister in law had her sitter train her daughter. Very classy!

Answer 9

If they qualify for Head Start, at least in our state, for developmental issues, they do not have to be potty trained. If they are eligible for Head Start due to no developmental delays but because of financial issues, they MUST be potty trained. If there are developmental delays or medical issues that might delay potty training, then yes they are and should be allowed. But by golly, if mom doesn’t discipline herself enough to potty train little Tommy, then no she shouldn’t be allowed to put little Tommy in a preschool/daycare program that is paid for by my taxes. It would make me angry as well if I was in your situation and there is not justifiable reason for her not to have potty trained her own child.
Just my two cents worth
RR

Answer 10

My son's school says that they have to be potty trained by 3.4 years old. Boys take longer than girls to train. Your friend shoud not expect the school to train him, though, that's wrong and unfair to the other children in the program. However, maybe once he sees how the other children are doing w/ training, he may do it alot quicker. That's what I'm hoping for me.