Not everyone. Just you.
Let me start this conversation by saying I am the most reluctant potty trainer you have ever met. Having done my part to potty train other people's children, in at least this aspect of parenting I have an idea of what's in store. I have seen the future, and it is gross. It is full of concrete park bathrooms and trying very hard not to touch anything while listening for a tiny splash to signify victory. It is deciding where to put my other child, who will be sitting but not crawling, while I balance the first precariously on a public toilet, lunch and shopping bags unmanned in the restaurant booth. It is poopy pants instead of poopy diapers. It is wet blue jeans and tears. Boo, I say. Just give me a diaper.
However, I will concede that if my children are still in diapers in junior high school, they will not exactly experience the full measure of joy seventh grade can give. At some point, I'm going to have to plough through one of the messier phases of motherhood and potty train my children.
But I thought I had another year. Little boys take longer to physically develop, right? That's my understanding, and every little boy I know has been closer to three than two before using the potty.
Except.
Asher has started telling me when he needs to poop. "Mama! Poo-poo!" and then he'll find a corner. As much as I would like to postpone this phase, it occurs to me that when he is spontaneously telling me what's about to happen, I should probably put him on the potty. At least, this is what I think. Or am I asking for a year long disaster by introducing the potty before he turns two? I don't know. What do you think?
8 comments:
I agree 100% and there are still days I MISS the diapers.
Pooping in the potty is the hardest part of potty training. I say when he says he needs to go, sit him on the throne. You don't need to delve into the scare realm of Under Roos just yet though ;-). Woo hoo! Potty Time!
Good Question!
Andrew would tell me when he was going pee pee and pooh pooh starting at about 17 months. I'd make a big deal about it (clap, dance, hooray, etc.) I'd then ask him if he wanted to go to the potty. Finally, when he was 19 months he went pooh pooh and pee pee in the potty.
For about two days.
Then he didn't want to go on the potty anymore. He no longer says he is going pee pee, but still tells me when he goes pooh. Except, now when I prompt the potty, he says, "NO, MOMMA! Pooh pooh in Andrew's Diaper!"
So, I think I introduced it too early and now we've got a lot of work to do...either that or I didn't go through with it hard enough. I don't know...We'll see what everyone else says!
I would say DON'T. It was months and months and MONTHS after KB first showed an awareness of going potty before she was actually ABLE and WILLING to do it all the time. If you have a potty seat, I'd pull it out, let him sit on it sometimes, get used to it. He MAY go poo in the potty, but like Jamie says, it will probably only last for a day and then you will spend the next 6 months wondering what you did wrong and why won't he go poo anymore. =)
of course, you can always try and see what happens, and he might be different! =)
Baby Bean is a girl so this may not be applicable advice. I started with her at 18 months while she was still in diapers. Every time I would change her we would go to the potty. Even when we were out. She went very well (both pee and pooh) but never really progressed. I blamed this on me not pushing her more. So when she turned two the diapers disappeared completely. It took her about 2 weeks to master peeing in the potty 98% of the time and about 2 months to master poohing in the potty 90% of the time. Every now and then we have an accident but not often because she hates the feeling of it in her big girl panties. She is still in pull-ups at night but not during nap time. Pull-ups will probably disappear from night time when she turns 3. About 5 days a week currently she wakes up with a dry pull-up.
Well, since I have absolutely no experience in this area (and am dreading it myself), I'm just going to go with my gut and tell you what I think I'd do.
Since I've become accustomed to taking cues from my child about when she's ready to start something different, I'd go ahead and start putting him on the potty. But maybe hold onto the diapers for awhile. Because even though they are more trouble to get off and on than pull-ups or underwear, they are cheaper. And then accidents aren't such a disaster. I have a feeling he'll let you know when he's ready to abandon them for good.
well, first off, you are cracking me up. I'm in round three of potty training & let me say, it really loses whatever charm it may have once held. Even so, I am making an effort at being a good mother.
I think there are multiple windows of opportunities for this potty training gig. I had a couple of "almost trained" moments that passed us by, after which we reverted completely to diapers. But new windows of opportunity came around the next corner.
You probably can't do much harm in trying. I found the best ever potty training technique in the book by Harvey Karp, "Happiest Toddler on the Block." It was genius & didn't require going cold turkey with diapers. And my middle child trained like a dream with that technique & he is disabled with a speech delay. So, I'm assuming it's gonna work fine for kid #3.
good luck. invest in hand sanitizer.
I believe in introducing the potty early. That way it won't freak them out when they are older. HOWEVER, that doesn't mean you ahve to potty train. Just b/c he goes on the potty once or twice a day doesn't mean you have to put him in underpants all day long. Just keep him in diapers and use the potty too.
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