Baby Potty Training: When Is the Right Time?

Talk about a contentious topic. A million people have a million different ideas about baby potty training; from the 3 Day Potty Training Method to Dr.

More videos on Momversation ... Browse all 347 videos

Showing the Latest of 15 Comments

Isabelle
1 years ago

I put my baby boy on the potty when he was 10 months old...I only did it that late because I got sucked into what everyone else is doing, trying to get the best earth friendly disosable diaper instead of thinking about moving away from diapers!! I was potty trained myself at a very young age, my mother used elimination communication, and so did every mother to their baby back home! not that we don't have access to disposable diapers, but because it's socially unacceptable to wear diapers when you are over 2;), plus it's much easier to potty train a younger baby and cheaper. When I put my baby on the potty for the first time I made sure it was just after he woke up from his nap, we read couple of his favorite books, and after sitting on the potty for a very short moment I checked and miraculously he peeped! I was so happy, I pick him up and we danced around the kitchen;) I showed him what he did and we clapped our hands and I gave him a sticker to put on the potty to make it pretty. Now we have almost no space left for stickers! It's been two months since we started potty training and now when I say "let's go on the potty" and make the sound "psspsspss" he looks down at his peewee and smiles! Many times he sat on the potty without producing anything...and of course he plays with it when he's not sitting on it! He loves the thing:) Im planning to move him to the big potty soon, just as soon as he starts walking, which will be very soon. As you all know now, Potty training babies at an early age is not a new thing. All my mom friends, except one mom who's not from here, don't even consider the idea, in fact one of my friends who just started potty training her two and half year old son was surprised when she found out I was already training my baby, she said " I think it's amazing, is baby M able to go??" I was proud to answer with a head nod.

acm
2 yearss ago

We've put our baby on the potty from around 6 months, basically because she has a couple of predictable times and because her grandma (who does childcare partime) wanted to do it. So she'll sit, she understands what it's for and will try to go, and there are games there. However, I think they need some degree of awareness of their functions before you can really "potty train," and right now we have just a little after-the-fact awareness ("poop!") but nothing really beforehand. So, at 21 months, we're not pushing beyond the current routine. I think there are practical issues here that aren't really being discussed. For example, to go "no diaper" requires a high degree of attunement between caretaker and baby, and that is just really unlikely to survive the introduction of multiple caretakers, let alone daycare or any other group situation. I don't think it's really fair to ask, and my visceral reaction is to feel like this is just another way to make moms into the slaves of their kids, for which there is already far too much pressure. But then again, there are kids who only poop occasionally, so maybe it's workable for some folks without much sacrifice. I definitely find it hard to believe that there's long-term scarring to worry about, unless you're getting into major battles and/or punishment around the potty, which could definitely have odd results. Just introducing the concept, encouraging potty use over diaper use, celebrating success and making no big deal of when the diaper gets used -- how could these be bad?? Every kid is different, so I imagine you can tell pretty easily what is and isn't possible . . .

Talon
2 yearss ago

I was potty trained when I was almost four. The reason for this is varied, but it is mostly because my mother never made a big deal out of it. She didn't mind changing diapers, and frankly I was awfully stubborn and had she not had a very relaxed attitude towards potty training, it would have likely become a huge power struggle. And I say this from experience. My daughter was almost four also before she was potty trained. We had a little potty and a potty seat for the big potty. But the summer she was three I had my first big UC flare. And that was not conducive to potty training at all, as we have only one bathroom and I was in it most of the time, bleeding my guts out. (sorry for that) Also, before this it already HAD become a power struggle because amazingly enough Ripley is AWFULLY stubborn. And I've since discovered as an adult who was diagnosed with Aspergers a few years ago and knowing Ripley is also firmly on the spectrum, that this sort of delay isn't at all uncommon. That year we spent Christmas in FL with the husband's mother, and we let her potty train Ripley. Because it was Grandma Mary and not Mom or Dad...it happened very quickly with very few incidents. And we drove back home to Michigan from Florida with Ripley completely potty trained. All that being said...many of the diaperless developing countries aren't quite so civilized about how they potty train their children. I've seen some pretty horrifying photos, so it isn't something that I myself would likely do. There is also the fact that I need the bathroom. I have inflammatory bowel disease (NOT to be confused with Irritable bowel syndrome) and there's no way I could watch a six or seven month old for cues and also make it to the bathroom my ownself. For me, personally potty training is like breastfeeding or sleeping in your own bed. I follow the child's lead. If my year old kid showed a serious interest in the potty, then on the potty they go with all the encouragement and positive praise I can give them. If, like Ripley and Ripley's Mom, they're just NOT interested until they're older? I just can't be arsed to worry about it. It's one of those THINGS. Things like...you won't be able to JUST breastfeed, (advice from an aunt...Ripley was exclusivly b-fed for more than 6 months, refused a bottle with ANYTHING in it), if you let your kid in your bed they'll never want to leave, (pretty much everyone...Ripley moved out before she turned three...of her own volition), if you don't potty train her soon, she'll be going to kindergarden in diapers...(We homeschool. We're not worried about it.) Those things. I think every parent knows their child better than anyone else. If your kid is ready to poop in the potty early, that's fantastic. If your child isn't ready to potty train until they're 3+? That's also fantastic. In my opinion of course.

jasmin
2 yearss ago

Potty training isn't something I've had to deal with...yet, but if there's one thing my 13 months of parenting have taught me, is that every child is an individual with his or her own schedule. What works for one child isn't necessarily going to work on another.

MillaTimes.com
2 yearss ago

i was born in a developing country and, according to my ma, was potty trained by 10 months. so were my sister and cousins and everyone else in the family. no horrifying methods were employed and no psychological damage has resulted. it's a simple method, where my ma just put me on the potty after meals and play and made certain noises to indicate number 1 or 2 as they happened. in no time, i was coming up to her and making the same noises to indicate i needed to go. eventually, there were no diapers, no mess, no power struggles. certainly there were still accidents, but there was no trauma around them. of course every child is different and the rest of that jazz and i should disclose that i don't have children of my own, but when i do have them, my plan is to potty train as early as possible. i'm sure my ma will help.

Barbasaurus
2 yearss ago

I have a non-answer: The right time to potty train is when it feels right to you. Meaning, you'll get cues from your child. I really don't think it's a big deal that some kids are potty-trained at age 1 and some at 3... what's the point in stressing it? On a side note: I don't like portable potties. I think there's something gross about letting your child sit on a pot in the living room (or wherever). I think bathroom breaks need to happen in the bathroom, no matter what age. Starting around age 18 months, we started putting our kids on the potty that sits on the toilet. We help them hop up there, or they use a stool to climb up, and both (a girl and a boy) took to it well. (Maybe too well--my 6-year-old daughter will sit there for an hour if I let her!) We went diaper-less with our daughter just after she turned 2, but we figured out pretty quickly that she wasn't ready for that. We tried again when she was 2-and-a-half, and that's when it clicked and she was done. Our son is 27 months, and while he hasn't pooped in his diaper in months and months, he's not ready to go diaper-less yet. And I'm not going to rush it.

bwankel
2 yearss ago

The only thing I've read so far in regards to potty training is that a) boys are tougher than girls to train and b) when they become interested in the bathroom and what you do in there, then it's time to broach the subject with them. I have a son, so I had already succumbed to the idea that he's going to be tough to train anyway, and I'm probably not going to have success until he's at least 2. (And for the record, I don't know ANY children who were potty trained before about age 2.) He's 18 months right now, and has no idea what's going on when I sit on the toilet. He has no interest, he doesn't say "poo" or "pee pee" like some of his peers, and he's still pooping in the tub, peeing on the changing table, etc. with little or no warning for me. The diaper-free thing sounds great, more power to ya, but that absolutely would not have worked with my kid. He's always been a little bit "late" developmentally, totally within the range of normal, but on the later side of things. And I'm thinking potty training will be no exception. I think this is something each family needs to figure out for themselves, and there is no magical time to start or method to train that will work for everyone. When this video first started, I was like, crap! That kid was doing this and that by 18 months, that one by 13 months, that one by 6 months, I'm doing this all wrong! But seriously, they all get trained eventually. I'm going to continue to not stress out about it. For the time being :)

EmmieB
2 yearss ago

Our plan right now (5 weeks before I'm due) is to introduce a potty as Bunny develops head/neck control. We're not going completely diaper free (that's just not hygenic enough for me) but at changing times, before/after eating, and before/after sleeping I'll set him over the potty and cue him with a "sssss" noise and the word "poop" and see what happens. If we just get so that there's a regular schedule I'll be thrilled. Just as a note - we'll be using cloth diapers the rest of the time, and we're learning sign language (there's a genetic processing disorder in our family) so we'll teach him the "potty" sign. I'm hopeful that at least by the time he's old enough to consciously sign he can signal to me that he's in need of a change rather than just fussing/whining.

katieladyTX
2 yearss ago

We are currently potty training my 2.5-almost-3 year old, and I'd say we are 95% there. And we had NOTHING to do with it. He goes to preschool full-time, and they told us one day a few months ago to bring pull-ups for him, he is wanting to potty. Of course, we'd tried it prior to this point, and have a potty and a potty chair for the big potty, and he'd sit on it, but no dice. He was seeing his friends at school go potty, and he wanted to try it. And he totally got it. Another reason I think being around other kids on a regular basis is fabulous for a child's developmental skills, but that's another topic for another day. I firmly believe that the child needs to be ready, and like others have mentioned, some are just not interested early on. We are still having issues with pooping on the potty, mainly he holds on to it and won't go, but we are dealing with that as best we can and giving positive feedback and rewards, as that's what works best for us right now. I do agree that asking a child-care provider to constantly watch your child for cues is just not realistic, as I don't think I could even ask that of myself.

Heather Sellers
2 yearss ago

Ok, so my twins are 5.5 months old and I can assure you that there is no way we could go diaper-less. My children do not give us any clue as to when they are going to go #1 or #2 (no grunting or red faces, just a sudden smell). Also, I think saying that just because other places are diaper-less all the time means we should be too, is a little broad. My husband and I both work and my 68 year old grandmother watches our twins, I don't expect her to go running into the bathroom with one or both of them because she "thinks" they might have to go, that's just to much for anyone that is taking care of someone else's child/children to do, in my opinion of course! Here are my thoughts, as a mother and as an aunt with 4 nephews and a niece. It is different for every kid and parents just need to deal with that concept. I have two nephews that are only 2 weeks apart. They both just turned three. One is pretty much fully potty trained, while the other goes on the potty when he feels like it and goes in his pull ups when he feels like it (he also uses it as a weapon because he is smart enough to see that his parents get frustrated). I truly think the only thing we as parents can do is be consistent. In that I mean, if you tell them that you are going to wear "big girl/big boy" underwear and not go in them, then don't put them back in a pull up the second they have an accident. I am honestly hoping that my twins (a boy and a girl) will just get it, and that if one of them doesn't they will want to do what the other is doing. You know that whole sibling competitive thing?

Baby Potty Training: When Is the Right Time?

Showing the Latest of 15 Comments

Post new comment

Sponsored Links

Panelists

We Work With 40 Contributors Meet Them All

Express Yourself!

Momversation is the place where real women share personal insights into the issues that affect us.