potty training?

Question

What is the best age to start potty training? Is there an age that is too young? Does anyone have any tricks and hints on how to approach this? I am a first time mother so anything will help!

Answer 1

Each child is different, and girls are usually (though not always) ready before boys. The most important thing is that the child knows when they need to pee. Babies don't, and until they learn that feeling (which can be as early as 18 months, and can be as late as three-and-a-half) there's absolutely no point doing anything about the potty. It would just cause stress.

If you leave it, rather than attempting 'training', many children will start to tell you when they know they're going to pee. But that's just a starting point. You could then buy a potty, or a trainer seat for the toilet (depending on the age of the child) and also some underwear with their favourite cartoon character or favourite colour - or ask them to choose something if you go shopping together. Explain that as they get bigger, they'll be able to give up on nappies/diapers and use underwear like big boys and girls. But make it very low-key - the decision has to belong to the child. They must learn that they are in charge of their own bodies, and not feel coerced in any way.

Some children will be keen to try at once, and may then have a few accidents - which you should mop up, then give the child a hug, and offer sympathy. But if they are in control of the whole thing, it shouldn't be more than a week before they are reliably dry in the daytime.

Other children may decide to keep their nappies, and that's fine too. As they see other children going to the toilet, sooner or later they will want to do the same.

Answer 2

i would say about 3 is good 4 too and all kids develope different from sitting up to walking talking crawling and potty training.... my brother and his wife bought there daughter a really cute potty chair and got alphabet stickers and spelled her name on the lid, and they have an evelope taped to the wall with a bunch of stickers in side it and on it and everytime she used the potty chair she got to put a sticker on her chair and on a chart they made her so she could see how many times she used the potty and it seemed to work well! Good luck, oh well when i was taught they didn't do anything like that, but I remember liking to go because my dad always had me wave bye to my pee lol :P

Answer 3

Children are ready when THEY are ready (not when their parents want them to be trained).

I started my daughter out at 2 yo and she wasn't ready, I waited another 4 months and she still wasn't ready (you can tell), I tried her again at 2 years and 6 months, she still wasn't interested/ready, I tried again at 2 years and 8 months and presto! in a day was potty trained because SHE was ready.

If you try to train them before they are ready, you're only giving YOURSELF headaches.

My son, on the other hand, was 3 years 8 months. Boys develop slower.

Do yourself a favor and do not believe all of the hype about pullups, they're a waste of money and make for a longer training period.

I went to the store and bought the old-fashioned training pants with the rubber pants over them that way they could "feel" if they were getting wet.

Good luck to you!

Answer 4

Both of my kids started before they were two. Buy your child a potty and put it in the bathroom. Give her some time to get comfortable with the new object and let her watch you (or your husband if it's a boy) use the potty.

Make it a fun and rewarding experience! My kids also love the "Elmo's Potty Time" video.

Answer 5

I potty trained my daughter at two but even when you are doing everything right, little girls just have a mind of their own. My daughter loves The Potty Stool http://www.thepottystool.com I started by just setting it at the toilet. This stool makes every toilet kid-sized. My kids immediately climbed up on this stool and discovered that they could safely and securely use the toilet. This got them very interested in using the toilet and they were potty trained very quickly.

My kids like to use what they know mommy and daddy use. And it really is wonderful having your kids independently use the toilet on their own. The handles and sides make all the difference! My son and daughter felt very secure and the sides makes them feel comfortable and closed in when they use the toilet. With this stool, your daughter will love going on her own. I hope this helps you.

Answer 6

Actually I am going to potty train my 2 yrs and 10 months old daughter now.I've tryed before and I've failed big time.She learnd everything, from putting the seat down, washing her hands,wipping herself off but... never went pee!
So I am going to try this method that I saw on the internet-How to potty train in 2 days.
Here is the link to the article.http://www.momadvice.com/parenting/potty_training.aspx
Good luck!