What's the rush to potty train?

I'm honestly wondering? Yes buying and changing diapers is annoying, but having to take the kids to the potty everywhere you go and them waking you up at night because they have to go must be way worse... I'm so not looking forward to that!

Anyone else planning on taking their time to potty train until they definitely show signs that they want to use the potty?

 

ME! I think people like to believe that their kids are advanced and ahead of schedule as far as milestones go. I know someone IRL that started trying to PT at 18 months old.

I bought a little potty and the girls will sit on it (fully clothed) when they are in the bathroom with me when I am using the real toilet. That's as far as it's going to go until they are giving me signs they are ready.

 

I plan on trying in October. My girls will be around 20 months. My main reason is, I believe there is a window of opportunity to potty train and if they're ready, you should take advantage of it. Granted, I have not PT'ed twins before only singletons so I know this will be a lot different. However, my daughter started PTing at 18 months b/c she was showing signs of being ready and she was done by the age of 2. Not b/c I pushed her but b/c she was ready and had the bladder/bowel control. I personally don't think there is any harm in at least trying instead of just assuming they will do it on their own. One of the big plusses for me, besides the cost of diapers, is no more rashes. And honestly, I don't think taking the kids to the bathroom in public places etc is such a big deal. You just go prepared like you would be prepared with a child in diapers.

 

I've been wondering the same thing! I did try the first time when they were two and as much as I had wanted them to be ready, they weren't and from my experience, when they are ready, they get it fast! Much less frustrating for the mom toos! :blush:

 

Alice is so ready, but I'm not. So we're holding off until after we move to our new house. I'd rather travel 20 hours in a car with two in diapers than have to stop extremely frequently to allow her to potty. And who knows when Royce will be ready. . .

 

I bought two potties for them to mainly practice with, mine are nowhere near ready, they don't give any signs or anything. I'm not looking forward to PTing.

 

I am in no rush to pt at all! My mom asked me the other day, when I was going to start - and I honestly thought she was crazy for even suggesting it this early! My kiddos know when they poop and they do tell me, but that is about it. And, they are so good, they come right over and lay down so that I can change their diaper! So, I think we will easily be waiting until between 2-3yrs old - I honestly don't see the rush for us. I am a big fan of the "when they are ready they will do it" club, so I will wait until then. Changing diapers doesn't bother me at all, so I guess I am not really motivated to pt.

 

There is certainly no rush, you all need to be ready for it. You do it when the time is right for you.

But I have to say, being on the other side of things now...taking kids to the potty is waaaaay easier than changing several diapers a day!! :good:

 

Just because some of us have posted about it doesn't necessarily mean we are rushing to PT. I'm someone who likes to be educated about stuff and I want to learn about it before I need to deal about it. I have bought potties for the girls and I am fully aware that they are nowhere near ready. However, I see no harm in being prepared for when the time comes. I'm the same way with timeout, etc. I've posted questions, I'm reading a book, but I know my kids won't get it yet, so we are waiting.

 

People are excited to get past this particular milestone and they are frightened by it all at once. The reaction to this can vary from over-preparation to complete avoidance and everything in between. I don't know that anyone is in a rush to potty train but they might be experiencing some signs from their kids and they aren't sure whether those really are signs or not. I know I was ill-prepared for the non-traditional signs I was getting so I try to help others who have a similar experience. I also think there's a big push to wait until kids reach a certain age and that just discourages parents from paying attention to when THEIR kids are ready. I was told to wait when my kids started showing signs ridiculously early and it took me 6 months of cleaning urine and feces from floors/walls/cribs to realize they were screaming at me in their own way that they were ready. Oh, how much easier it was when I listened to my boys instead of my friends!

 

Oh my gosh Debid thanks for that image, lol!

Yeah I guess the day my two keep taking their diapers off I'll try to rush PT, lol.

Becasquared it's one of my worries too... the countless pee stops when driving.

 

I think people also just have different preferences about what they'd rather deal with. Like you, I didn't really mind diapers. But I dreaded the anxiety of potty training. We took it very, very slow. We actually started kind of early putting them on the potty (around 18 months) because their friends at daycare were doing it, and we made a big deal of it when they peed or pooped, but we tried not to put any pressure on them to wear underwear. They went through some phases where they barely used the potty at all, but since they were still in diapers, it wasn't a big deal. We started offering rewards for using the potty around age 2.5, and occasionally asking if they wanted to wear underwear. Amy decided one day at 2y9m that she was ready, and Sarah stayed in diapers for another few months and then decided she was ready too. Once they were in underwear, they hardly ever had accidents and it was all very low-key.

I do have to say that having them in underpants is not as stressful as I expected. Occasionally we have to rush to a potty, and sometimes when we go out to dinner we spend a lot of time in the bathroom , but in general it is pretty easy, and nice not to have to carry diapers & wipes around all the time.

 

I don't think I'm in any rush to start PT the twins but it was so easy with my oldest that I'm hoping to follow the same trend. She was sitting on the potty around 20 months and completely PTed by 2 years, night and all. She definitely gave me signs she was ready. She never woke up wet from nap or bedtime. That was a huge sign to me. Anyway, I plan on getting out the potties for the twins around 20 months. Their sitter is willing to work with them throughout the day like DD's did. So hopefully it will go as smoothly. Put I'm tired of buying diapers and wiping *****!

 

I had posted the other day about PT partly because I found some potty chairs on sale and wanted to buy to have when are ready. Then the past couple of nights I have been putting the girls on the potty before bath time just to start introducing them to it. My one dd pee'd right away and has every night since, then one night while in the bath she started grabbing herself and wanting to stand so I asked her if she had to go peepee and she said yest so I put her on the potty and she went...I don't think she has all the signs but so I will probably keep it at this for now and get the potty chairs so I am ready to go when the time is right.

 

I have a friend who potty trained her DD at 18 months. My DH is on the toilet a lot! I got the boys potty chairs so they could sit in there with him and get them introduced to it. I have no expectations of having them trained by any certain age, but they both pee on the potty before bathtime. Jake now grabs himself when he pees and I think we will be more consistent with it. I'll be giving the boys a choice for a few months. I need them to be potty trained by 3 so I can take them to preschool.

I think I will probably save about $50 a week in diapers and wipes too. That is my motivation.

 

My twins are not quite a year yet but I will wait until they show signs of being ready before I try.

 

My DH thinks the dudes will be faster at PT then our oldest (who just turned 3 when he was potty trained) because they don’t go poop when we are out, not on walks or at the mall or even at birthday parties… I leave my diaper bag in the car these days as I have never changed a poop “remotely” as DH call it… But the moment we walk in the front door… they get quiet and then its stinky… and they will walk up to me and start pulling on their shorts… or if I ask, whose poopy, the other non poopy twin will point at his brother… NOW, I do I think they will be easier… I am not holding my breath… it will happen when it happens… I am one who is in no rush…
It will be interested to see what they do when we take a road trip….

 

When my oldest was 2 we were told by our ped to start thinking about pt.. I had no idea how much work that entailed! We tried the potty chairs and those didn't work for us. I could not handle cleaning out a toilet seat! So we moved up to the big seats with one of those little seats on top and that worked great. However when we first tried (a couple months after 2y) I realized that we needed more then him telling us he had to go. He needed a toddler bed... I was not going to get him out of his crib to go potty, he needed to be able to pull his pants and underwear up and down (he was a pro at taking them off but not so good at putting them on), and then there was the talking factor. I needed him to be able to tell me, no matter where we were that he had to go potty. A lot of the time he was so distracted that he forgot!
We then tried when he turned 3 and it took all of a day!! 2 night accidents, no day accidents and he helped me pack up the "baby diapers" and give them to our neighbor with a baby. It was so incredibly easy!!
So I'm not pushing it, I'm hoping to learn from my first mistakes and take it nice and slow and wait for them to be ready. But I did rush my first and I understand the hopes and pressure. I also understand and applaud those that make it work that young! You rock! I wish my kids were like that, and maybe it's me being lazy and not wanting to follow them around but I think it's all about what you want to do and feel comfortable with.
I'm also pushing it out because I'm hoping BEYOND hope, and yes probably DREAMING, that I can get my youngest to pt with them :lol: I can dream right ?

 

No rushing being done here! I did Lara at just over 2 years when she started taking off her nappy and peeing in the garden! We used that as a sign and she just used the toilet instead - she was very easy to pt. Going to wait until the boys are ready - Elliot is showing signs as they watch Lara say i need a pee pee and we go to the bathroom but I'm not ready yet! Will start around 2.

 

With some kids there is a window of opportunity around 1.5 to 2 before the hit a negative stage (everything is no unless it is the child's idea) so it is a bit easier to encourage them to give PTing a try at that time. Just one theory.

 

I personally am not eager to PT but I have tried a few times just to see what might happen. We've had no luck so I am patiently waiting till they are ready, but I will also be glad to PT when they are ready.

After all, I am eager to drop the expense of diapers and the aggravation of squirmy Jack's diaper changes! :good:

 

I am reading up on potty training & getting a game plan together b/c I want to start within the next few months. I'm really hoping to get the girls PT by the time our new baby comes!! I don't know if that will happen or not. A LOT of people I know IRL have potty trained their girls by 18 months, so I feel like why wouldn't my girls be able to do that as well (even though now they're 19 months lol)?

 

My pedi also gives a handout that states between 18-24 months is the ideal time to start training. Kids are physically ready and that if they are taught positive behaviors starting at around 12 months (by reading books about the potty, teaching them the correct words- pee, poop, wet, dry, dirty etc) and are able to use potties in their play area etc that they should transition fairly easy.
My peds literature also states if the child reaches 2.5 and is resistant to PTing to ask for the handout that handles that The literature says it should take between 2 weeks- 2 months and that daytime training will happen before night.

I myself was an early PTer (at 18 months), I have 2 in diapers and a 3rd on the way. Dh & I are currently reading them books, bought them potty chairs at 1 to get used to, switched to cloth diapers at 1 so they can FEEL the wetness, and we are planning on potty training during the winter around their 2nd birthday. Right now they like to sit on their potties, they know how to sign for a diaper change. When DD & DS see me dump the poop from their cloth diapers into the toilet they both say YUCK-A! its cute.

We're looking forward to packing less for outings and not washing diapers/wipes. For us PT is exciting just like them learning how to do anything else and we want to help them reach that accomplishment.

 

I love learning from everyone. I hadn't heard of the "window of opportunity" between 18 & 24 months... ours are 15 months... and while it sounds like a bit of work to PT... it would be nice not to have to wash cloth diapers... so .. I'll have to start looking for signs of readiness and reading up on it myself.

 

Honestly, I had more trouble when I waited with my oldest than starting early with my girls. Part of that is difference in personality, part of it is lowered expectations on my part, but I think the biggest thing for us is that toilets aren't foreign and scary to my small girls. They know what they are, what they're for, how they're supposed to use them (not that they always do) and now that they have all that knowledge they're starting to get into the "I'm doing what I want to when I want to and you can't stop me" mentality, which I think would make toilet training even more difficult if we were just starting (and was something that we struggled with when we were toilet training my oldest). Plus they are visibly more comfortable when they wear underwear than when they wear diapers. My vote is for early toilet training.