Potty Training

My B/G twins are 16 months old (will be 17 months next week) and I was wondering when you all started potty training with your little ones? We got a small potty chair and have just been sitting them on it for a little bit before their baths each night just to kind of get them used to a potty chair. Well, tonight DD pulled out the potty chair and tried to sit on it, so I took her diaper off and she went pee-pee!! So I'm wondering if she knew that she needed to go and if that is a sign that she is at least ready.

Any suggestions??

 

No suggestions here...but Im wondering where the PT FORUM went? It seemed to disappear when the second year was created and now I have tons of questions. Thanks for posting this!

 

QUOTE(E&Msmom @ Apr 25 2009, 09:37 PM) [snapback]1288514[/snapback]
No suggestions here...but Im wondering where the PT FORUM went? It seemed to disappear when the second year was created and now I have tons of questions. Thanks for posting this!


I'm pretty sure they eliminated (ha ha) the PT forum and posters ask questions about PT in the 2-4 forum instead.

 

QUOTE(mama23boys @ Apr 25 2009, 10:56 PM) [snapback]1288528[/snapback]
I'm pretty sure they eliminated (ha ha) the PT forum and posters ask questions about PT in the 2-4 forum instead.

Jori is right. As for the OP, we have not started potty training yet but are planning to just introduce the concept of the potty to them over the summer.

 

We are starting TOMORROW! Wish us luck! Our guys are 16 months and 10 days.

We are heading out today to purchase our little potty chairs!!!

:yahoo:

 

With my older DD she trained right around her 3rd birthday. It was very smooth and easy and took her about 2 days to get it. The boys have been showing alot of interest as of the past couple of months, but they are not putting anything in the potty as of yet. They do tell me about going potty in their pants and wanting to sit but havent made the connection.

I would say since she put something in the potty go for it and give it a try. There is nothing wrong with having to go back to diapers if it doesnt work out.

 

One of my DDs started showing interest around 17 months. We got the little chairs and she went pee in them each time we put her on the potty. However, I wasn't ready to train her (bad mommy I know), so we are going to seriously train this summer now that they are both showing some interest.

Oh and yes the PT subforum was removed and PT questions are just in 2-4 now so more people will see them.

 

We haven't started. I'm hoping to start around 2.

 

I say if she is showing interest...keep with it and do it! All of my kids were pt before 2. And I did not push or harm in any way. My youngest ds did it the earliest...he was 18 months. The other two ds' took a little longer, but the girls were quite easy as well.

I'll tell you my quick opinion about it. If you get them before they get to that all out "do it myself and my way" stage, I think they are easier to persuade to try it. Now, if they really aren't ready when they are at that age, then it's not going to work. But, she is showing you signs of readiness...so I say go for it!

 

I started mine as soon as they could walk ... which was around 16 months old. It was very informal. They were fully trained at around 2 yrs 10 months.

 

QUOTE(E&Msmom @ Apr 25 2009, 08:37 PM) [snapback]1288514[/snapback]
No suggestions here...but Im wondering where the PT FORUM went? It seemed to disappear when the second year was created and now I have tons of questions. Thanks for posting this!

You can ask the questions here or in 2-4! We did away with it.

My SIL is training her son who will be 3 at the end of July. Until they recognize the feeling, it's YOU that's being trained. I'm sure there are people who train before kids are 2, but I'm not sure it will stick and might take a very long time to do. No matter what, good luck and keep us posted! :hug:

 

I waited until summer time and did our training outside while they ran aorund naked or just in panties with 3 of 4 of my kids. THat made things much easier for me

It does sound as if your dd is starting to get the idea but I do think waiting a little while is better. I think 24 months is a better age as they are a bit more capable and it will go faster and easier. I also trained them at night and day at the same time. I think this is also why waitig until a little older is better.
Good luck!!

 

QUOTE(twoplustwo @ Apr 26 2009, 07:25 AM) [snapback]1288823[/snapback]
I waited until summer time and did our training outside while they ran aorund naked or just in panties with 3 of 4 of my kids. THat made things much easier for me


So if we go that route (with summer approaching) what do you do when your DD pees and shes standing up and it runs all down her legs/feet etc. you just hose her off lol or wipe her down with a washrag. Im sure shes not going to stop and squat with her legs apart KWIM?

 

Forgot to mention that I started at 3 and when the weather was Spring-like to do naked and underwear only training!

 

QUOTE(E&Msmom @ Apr 26 2009, 12:09 PM) [snapback]1288853[/snapback]
So if we go that route (with summer approaching) what do you do when your DD pees and shes standing up and it runs all down her legs/feet etc. you just hose her off lol or wipe her down with a washrag. Im sure shes not going to stop and squat with her legs apart KWIM?


I plan on them wearing dresses while training this summer. We'll bring the potty chairs outside and they can sit when they like or if they haven't in awhile I'll have them sit on them. I guess I'll keep some wipes handy too. A little pee doesn't bother me much, and thankfully they tend to poop at the same time every day so we can prepare for that.

 

I trained my older one at 27 months -- I had never even introduced the concept before "the day," didn't have potty chairs, nothing. We used the method that comes with the Potty Patty doll, which is the same one that Dr. Phil touts, based loosely on an old book from decades ago -- Toilet Train Your Child in Less Than a Day or something like that.

It worked great. It wasn't exactly one day, but after about a week, she stopped having accidents. Pooping in the potty was a little harder, but she got it soon thereafter.

I'm going to use exactly the same method with my little ones, since it worked so well for Nadia. One of the keys is there is no "try" about it -- one day, you just announce that going forward, we're going to use the potty. You explain how to do it, show how to do it, and help them do it. Then, it's up to them....and if they refuse or have an accident, you do "practice runs." It's really a great method!

I thought it was unusual for kids under the age of 2 to be ready for training? But, I see a few posters on this thread had kids trained that early. I know Kevan and Karina are not ready, although I think Karina will be ready this summer.

I'm hoping Kevan shows an interest after he sees his sister using the potty. I think some naked training might be really effective for him, because I often let him go bare-bottomed to clear up diaper rash, or after a bath, etc. -- and he has never once peed or pooped when he wasn't wearing a diaper.

 

Girls are often ready to train before boys; it seems common ages are 2 for girls, 3 for boys (though it can, of course, vary). I agree with the pp - you can start really early and have it take a long time, or you can start when they're absolutely ready & have it be relatively quick & painless.

 

No personal experience here...but my friend just told me yesterday that a sign they are ready to potty train is they go the entire night without wetting their diaper. Not sure if there is truth to it but I sounded feasible.

 

QUOTE(ca2pa2005 @ Apr 26 2009, 08:09 PM) [snapback]1289234[/snapback]
No personal experience here...but my friend just told me yesterday that a sign they are ready to potty train is they go the entire night without wetting their diaper. Not sure if there is truth to it but I sounded feasible.


That could be true, but it doesn't always work that way, unfortunately. Lots of kids are easily trained during the day, but still wet at night -- it has more to do with bladder maturity than anything. My older DD was potty trained at 27 months, but she still wet a pull-up at night for a couple of *years* after that!

 

we bought potty chairs a year ago because they were "announcing" when they had to go - they both peed once and that was it - for months...my DD trained herself (really) at the beginning of last week and it took 2 days...she's not even in diapers at night or naps as she's dry...

DS really isn't ready - he asked for underwear yesterday so I thought I'd try - I put him on the potty every half hour for 2 hours and he did nothing...and then about 15 minutes after the last "try" he peed and pooped in his pants and then asked for his pull ups...so he's just not ready...

 

Wow. Just goes to show the difference in kids, I guess. My girls are 16 months old and are no where near ready to PT. They are about 14 months adjusted age. They have no words that seem to have meaning...not even mama and dada, so I'm guessing PT won't go well until they can at least communicate verbally a little. My thought is that we'll start sometime after their 2nd birthday. Hopefully they'll be showing signs of readiness by then.

Your daughter does seem like she may be ready to try. Good luck.

 

I started PTing both of my girls 4 months before they turned 3 and they were both very quick to PT. Now DS, on the other hand, I started with him right at 3 (because I had heard from many people that boys are easier closer to 3) and he's still PTing. He has not been as quick as the girls were to pick it up.

 

We tried potty training a few different times and it was clearly not something they were ready for, so as of yet, we haven't. We'll probably give it another go sometime this summer, but if it doesn't work, we can always wait.

 

QUOTE(~* dfaut *~ @ Apr 26 2009, 09:17 AM) [snapback]1288754[/snapback]
My SIL is training her son who will be 3 at the end of July. Until they recognize the feeling, it's YOU that's being trained. I'm sure there are people who train before kids are 2, but I'm not sure it will stick and might take a very long time to do. No matter what, good luck and keep us posted! :hug:


I just want to point out that it is possible to recognize that they have to go pee earlier than most of us expect. My girls are 16 months, and will occasionally tell me (they don't have many words, but they do sign, or will do the universal "pee" sign of holding their crotch) when they have to pee. We started when they were about 11 months old, primarily just by having some naked time every day (which is not for everyone, I know, but has overall made our life easier). They will also sometimes just spontaneously go sit on the toilet themselves, or if they are wearing diapers will either point at them or take them off themselves.

One other thing that I have noticed is that sometimes when friends of mine have waited a long time before they potty trained, the whole process turned into a power struggle. It was no longer about whether or not the child was able to recognize the feeling or make it to the toilet, but that it was something the parent wanted them to do. And honestly, if I had waited until my son was three or older, the whole thing would have turned into a huge battle. Just something to think about.

 

OTOH, I thought my oldest was ready at 17 months and tried to do it . . . and then didn't have the sense to quit when she didn't get it well in the first week. So we had two YEARS of power struggles, accidents (no pull-ups, I had her in cloth) and general misery before she was finally really trained at three and a half. DS was only 15 months younger and I was too worn out to bother with him; he decided he wanted to use the potty shortly before turning three and figured it out with little intervention over a couple of months as he gradually moved from diapers to covered training pants to underwear. (And had a grand total of one accident that wasn't in the process of pulling his pants down.) For the twins, I'm definitely waiting until they beg for it!

No matter what works for someone, it turns out badly for someone else. My guess: it has as much to do with the mother's personality as with the child's. If your child is aware of what's going on and YOU are someone who is good at monitoring what's going on with them, taking regular trips, etc., then early potty training will probably work. If you or your child are not very aware of surroundings, or if you're just not that into controlling what they do, then waiting for a larger bladder and strong personal motivation is probably going to work much better.

 

QUOTE(E&Msmom @ Apr 26 2009, 08:09 AM) [snapback]1288853[/snapback]
So if we go that route (with summer approaching) what do you do when your DD pees and shes standing up and it runs all down her legs/feet etc. you just hose her off lol or wipe her down with a washrag. Im sure shes not going to stop and squat with her legs apart KWIM?

we had a little potty outside so I would be playing with them and then every half hour or so have them sit on the potty for a few minutes. If they didn't go, they get up and continue playing. If they do go...BIG hooray's and a treat to reimforce the behavior. If they pee while running around, yup, wipe their legs off and sit them on the potty and explain to them they should have sat there and gone pee pee on the potty. My girls HATED pee pee to run down their legs so they caught on VERY quickly. My ds's would spray away from them which they quickly learned is so fun so it was a bit harder for them. I tended to keep underwear on them to eliminate the fun of them doing their personal watering of my plants.