when did/will yu start potty training?

rodiesmum · February 2011

my co worker advised me to strat potty training already since she did it with her DD when her daughter was LO's age (7 months) justg curious about other people's opinion on this. Thanks

KellBell88 · February 2011

7 months?? I wouldn't have a clue how to even start potty training at that age. I would say she's pretty frickin' lucky if her daughter was potty trained that early. I'm thinking anywhere around 2 would be fine with me.

InLovewSB · February 2011

Well, I've been thinking about it with my two year old. The wisdom is to potty train between 24 - 36 mos for girls, a little later for boys. The articles say that your child should be able to vocalize that they need to use the restroom, be able to remove their own garments, and give an indicator that they are pottying in their diaper. It's also a good time to potty train if your child has longer dry diaper periods, starts to vocalize that they want a soiled diaper changed, or soils his/her diaper at predictable times each day. I was reading today that the brain doesn't tell the bladder to hold pee at night until around three years old - then getting through the night dry is more successful.

Otherwise, if your child can't vocalize that it needs to potty or remove his/her own garments, who's really potty training who?

RachaelMarieB · February 2011

Seven months seems incredibly early. I think typically potty training is started around 2 or so. I can barely get my 8 month old to let me change his diaper sometimes without writhing and trying to crawl away I can't imagine holding him on a potty chair until he goes.

rodiesmum · February 2011

thank you ladies. I was a bit alarmed when she told me this morning i though i was being too lax. again thanks!

stephogirl · February 2011

Depends on how long you want to potty train for. If you want to do it for a couple of years, start now. If you want to do it for a month or so, wait until your babe is at least two and showing solid signs of wanting to be dry. Worked for me with my first...hopefully will work with my second as well.

Good luck!

MrsBalletStar05 · February 2011

You know that's bat *** crazy, right? No need to ask opinions on this.

KelsoXOXO · February 2011

haha! Potty training at 7 months....

MrsBalletStar05 · February 2011

I wouldn't even know how to try and potty train my 8 month old. He doesn't even sit up by himself, let alone stand. HTF is that supposed to work? I want this lady to come over and show me, because apparently I am behind the times...

katcarls · February 2011

KelsoXOXO:
haha! Potty training at 7 months....

This. I would think sometime between 2 and 3.

shirls · February 2011

7 months is crazy! I won't start until at the very least 2 years old.

I met this mom who told she me she would hold her 3 month old over the toilet every time she pooped. She said she could tell when she was going to poop so she'd run to the toilet and hold her over the toilet seat. I definitely don't know what she thought she was accomplishing doing that, but I guess to each their own.

MrsBalletStar05 · February 2011

shirls:
7 months is crazy! I won't start until at the very least 2 years old.
I met this mom who told she me she would hold her 3 month old over the toilet every time she pooped. She said she could tell when she was going to poop so she'd run to the toilet and hold her over the toilet seat. I definitely don't know what she thought she was accomplishing doing that, but I guess to each their own.

There is actually some kind of name for this. People look for the baby's cues and then run them to the potty and hold them over it, and pretty much never use diapers. I would think that would be so difficult though!! And it's different than the kid being potty trained or doing potty training.

cheerleader.08 · February 2011

I actually introduced a potty at about 9 months. I was going with the idea of having the potty be a part of our home he was used to seeing rather than a brand new idea when he was older. I really wanted my first out of diapers by the time my second came along. DS1 was trained about 6 weeks after he turned 2. But at about 18 months, he would tell me he needed to pee and use the potty at home. So to answer your question - potty training at 7 months is a little much to me, but I think introducing the potty early does work well to encourage early training.

shirls · February 2011

MrsBalletStar05:
shirls:
7 months is crazy! I won't start until at the very least 2 years old.
I met this mom who told she me she would hold her 3 month old over the toilet every time she pooped. She said she could tell when she was going to poop so she'd run to the toilet and hold her over the toilet seat. I definitely don't know what she thought she was accomplishing doing that, but I guess to each their own.
There is actually some kind of name for this. People look for the baby's cues and then run them to the potty and hold them over it, and pretty much never use diapers. I would think that would be so difficult though!! And it's different than the kid being potty trained or doing potty training.

At first, I thought she was trying to save diapers too or was anti-diaper. But she said they still always use diapers for pee. The mom acted like her LO was already sorta potty trained and advanced for her age. I agree it seems like it would be VERY difficult. You'd have to be watching your LO constantly or else there would be lots of accidents and stained clothing.

kaylakaylakayla · February 2011

While I will personally be waiting until 2-3 years when my baby is giving cues that he is ready for potty learning, I do not think it is crazy...or any of these other kind words women on here are using. A lot of parents these days are practicing Elimination Communication, sometimes from birth. To each their own.

MrsBalletStar05 · February 2011

shirls:
MrsBalletStar05:
shirls:
7 months is crazy! I won't start until at the very least 2 years old.
I met this mom who told she me she would hold her 3 month old over the toilet every time she pooped. She said she could tell when she was going to poop so she'd run to the toilet and hold her over the toilet seat. I definitely don't know what she thought she was accomplishing doing that, but I guess to each their own.
There is actually some kind of name for this. People look for the baby's cues and then run them to the potty and hold them over it, and pretty much never use diapers. I would think that would be so difficult though!! And it's different than the kid being potty trained or doing potty training.
At first, I thought she was trying to save diapers too or was anti-diaper. But she said they still always use diapers for pee. The mom acted like her LO was already sorta potty trained and advanced for her age. I agree it seems like it would be VERY difficult. You'd have to be watching your LO constantly or else there would be lots of accidents and stained clothing.

Weeeeiiiird! LOL yeah, the thing I was talking about, apparently people do it for both. So I guess she is not doing that. Whatever. Both are weird, IMO - LOL

Ruby_Soho · February 2011

We do Elimination Communication. It's not weird, it's different to what you choose to do. What's weird is training a baby to toilet in their pants for 2 to 3 years and then try to teach them to go in a toilet. And possibly bribe them with M&M's of stickers. Of course it's going to be difficult (but not always).

From when we got home from hospital with Felix we've gently been doing EC. He wears nappies. When he has nappy off time I'll sit him on the potty or toilet and if he needs to pee, he'll go. If not I pop him down to play and try again in 10 - 20 mins depending if he's just fed or not.

He has a noise he makes to let me know when he needs to poo. He holds it until I take him to the toilet and sit him down. I don't think he's had a poo nappy in 3 weeks which is great when he's on solids and wearing cloth!

Babies can communicate from birth when they need to toilet, we just ignore their signals. The point of EC is to keep that communication going as they grow so that when the time comes to potty train, they're most of the way there. A lot of EC babies are toilet trained at 18 months.

RitaT22 · February 2011

Ruby_Soho:
We do Elimination Communication. It's not weird, it's different to what you choose to do. What's weird is training a baby to toilet in their pants for 2 to 3 years and then try to teach them to go in a toilet. And possibly bribe them with M&M's of stickers. Of course it's going to be difficult (but not always).
From when we got home from hospital with Felix we've gently been doing EC. He wears nappies. When he has nappy off time I'll sit him on the potty or toilet and if he needs to pee, he'll go. If not I pop him down to play and try again in 10 - 20 mins depending if he's just fed or not.
He has a noise he makes to let me know when he needs to poo. He holds it until I take him to the toilet and sit him down. I don't think he's had a poo nappy in 3 weeks which is great when he's on solids and wearing cloth!
Babies can communicate from birth when they need to toilet, we just ignore their signals. The point of EC is to keep that communication going as they grow so that when the time comes to potty train, they're most of the way there. A lot of EC babies are toilet trained at 18 months.

Sorry, still weird to me.

kaylakaylakayla · February 2011

Ruby_Soho:
We do Elimination Communication. It's not weird, it's different to what you choose to do. What's weird is training a baby to toilet in their pants for 2 to 3 years and then try to teach them to go in a toilet. And possibly bribe them with M&M's of stickers. Of course it's going to be difficult (but not always).
From when we got home from hospital with Felix we've gently been doing EC. He wears nappies. When he has nappy off time I'll sit him on the potty or toilet and if he needs to pee, he'll go. If not I pop him down to play and try again in 10 - 20 mins depending if he's just fed or not.
He has a noise he makes to let me know when he needs to poo. He holds it until I take him to the toilet and sit him down. I don't think he's had a poo nappy in 3 weeks which is great when he's on solids and wearing cloth!
Babies can communicate from birth when they need to toilet, we just ignore their signals. The point of EC is to keep that communication going as they grow so that when the time comes to potty train, they're most of the way there. A lot of EC babies are toilet trained at 18 months.

Thank you for this post. Great explanation.

BFab11 · February 2011

I wouldn't call it potty training, more getting him acquainted with the potty. We started around 7 months. I'll put him on the potty when I change his diaper and give him some toys, read him a story or two, and keep him on there as long as he's happy.

I've actually had a lot of catches where he peed in the potty, and one poop! I know that he doesn't "get it" yet, but I'm making the potty something familiar and fun (he gets toys, stories, etc.), and the more catches I have, the less diapers I have to wash!

Ruby_Soho · February 2011

BFab11:
I wouldn't call it potty training, more getting him acquainted with the potty. We started around 7 months. I'll put him on the potty when I change his diaper and give him some toys, read him a story or two, and keep him on there as long as he's happy.
I've actually had a lot of catches where he peed in the potty, and one poop! I know that he doesn't "get it" yet, but I'm making the potty something familiar and fun (he gets toys, stories, etc.), and the more catches I have, the less diapers I have to wash!

That's awesome. I find a good time to try is right after a feed. He seems to go about every 10 minutes or so for maybe half an hour, then they get less frequent.

rodiesmum · February 2011

Thank you very much ladies. Anyway, my co-worker mentioned that what she did at first was to familiarize her LO with the potty and she started that at 7 months, this was actually the same as what a PP mentioned.

rubredvelvet · February 2011

I dont think it's werid at all, and I'm sure it's probably a earlier the better type of thing. There's no way I have the patients to that yet, so more power to the ladies that can!

jessinsc · February 2011

I understand the idea of getting the baby acquainted with the potty as a familiar object. I don't think it is a bad idea to introduce it as a good and friendly object to reduce fear of it later on. But, I would not define that as being potty trained. More like potty acquainted. It is not for us at this point. I will get through sleep training before we start on the potty

Erin&Ryan · February 2011

I formally trained my DS when I was home on maternity leave with DD (he was 2.5) and it went great, he was ready. From about the age of two or so, we put out a potty for him, and he would go in it from time to time, but we didn't push it - just got him used to the idea.

But training at 7 months? Waste of time IMO.

amyhinman · February 2011

Less dirty diapers to deal with that way.

Ha!

jlthompson19 · February 2011

A 7 month old does not have the physical or mental capability to "hold" it until they get to the toilet. If it happens, it's called luck. While familiarization is all well and good, I'd rather not spend hours a day in the bathroom for years.

Let it happen naturally when the child is ready. My friends' daughter started wanting to use the potty at 18 months and was trained in a weekend. My nephew refused to poop on the potty until he was over 4. Making it such a big deal is what causes anxiety and frustration in both child and parent.

KelsoXOXO · February 2011

jlthompson19:

A 7 month old does not have the physical or mental capability to "hold" it until they get to the toilet. If it happens, it's called luck. While familiarization is all well and good, I'd rather not spend hours a day in the bathroom for years.

Let it happen naturally when the child is ready. My friends' daughter started wanting to use the potty at 18 months and was trained in a weekend. My nephew refused to poop on the potty until he was over 4. Making it such a big deal is what causes anxiety and frustration in both child and parent.

All of this. Couldn't have said it better myself.

doremi29 · February 2011

jlthompson19:

A 7 month old does not have the physical or mental capability to "hold" it until they get to the toilet. If it happens, it's called luck. While familiarization is all well and good, I'd rather not spend hours a day in the bathroom for years.

Let it happen naturally when the child is ready. My friends' daughter started wanting to use the potty at 18 months and was trained in a weekend. My nephew refused to poop on the potty until he was over 4. Making it such a big deal is what causes anxiety and frustration in both child and parent.

I totally agree. And, while I really don't care if other people try it, elimination communication is not for my family. Just because you notice their cues and you plop them on the toilet, does not equal potty training in my eyes. I know some people feel that picking up on their child communicating with them that they are going to go, but I just look at it like they are making sounds necessary for a LO to grunt out a poo....that's not really communicating imo. We are "readiness approach" parents when it comes to potty training.....I think my mother and sitter who both watch DS during the week would have some major issues with running DS to the toilet at 8 months :-)

macaroni1979 · February 2011

InLovewSB:
Well, I've been thinking about it with my two year old. The wisdom is to potty train between 24 - 36 mos for girls, a little later for boys. The articles say that your child should be able to vocalize that they need to use the restroom, be able to remove their own garments, and give an indicator that they are pottying in their diaper. It's also a good time to potty train if your child has longer dry diaper periods, starts to vocalize that they want a soiled diaper changed, or soils his/her diaper at predictable times each day. I was reading today that the brain doesn't tell the bladder to hold pee at night until around three years old - then getting through the night dry is more successful.
Otherwise, if your child can't vocalize that it needs to potty or remove his/her own garments, who's really potty training who?

This. Exactly.

I pt'd my 2.5 yr old in November. It took 2 days = because she was ready.

cheerleader.08 · February 2011

I totally agree that for official potty training - the kid can sit him or or herself on the potty and go - the child does need to be ready/want to learn. But by introducing a potty early and helping them be aware of peeing and what it feels like can encourage them to be ready sooner. I feel that my son trained easily and early because of my using cloth diapers, early intro of the potty, and a good dose of luck! I strongly disagree that a child needs to be verbal to potty train - plenty of nonverbal people don't soil themselves.

MrsBalletStar05 · February 2011

"We do Elimination Communication. It's not weird, it's different to what you choose to do. What's weird is training a baby to toilet in their pants for 2 to 3 years and then try to teach them to go in a toilet."

Ummmms.... is this not contradictory? It's not weird, it's different. But you're weird. Hmm

Sorry, I just truly don't have the time, ability, patience or means, to do this. I have two kids. We have activities. If someone else is watching him, I can't expect them to know his cues and hold him over the toilet.

Ruby_Soho · February 2011

jlthompson19:
A 7 month old does not have the physical or mental capability to "hold" it until they get to the toilet. If it happens, it's called luck. While familiarization is all well and good, I'd rather not spend hours a day in the bathroom for years.

Let it happen naturally when the child is ready. My friends' daughter started wanting to use the potty at 18 months and was trained in a weekend. My nephew refused to poop on the potty until he was over 4. Making it such a big deal is what causes anxiety and frustration in both child and parent.

this is a classic example of ignorance. I'm the one practicing EC on a daily basis, so I know a whole lot more about it than you. I'm not saying he can hold it for hours or even 10 minutees but he has the physical and mental capability to know that he needs to pee or poo and he has the capability to communicate that need to me. We go to the bathroom and we're done. It doesn't take HOURS. It takes a few seconds. If I bring him and he doesn't do something within 15 seconds ( maybe a minute if I think he naads to poo) then we're done. Never did I say that I think everyone should be doing this. I don't. But it's right for US. I don't see why people need to get all bent out of shape :-/ There's no pressure here, it's just me responding to my son's cues, exactly as if he were hungry or cold or tired.

STAR15 · February 2011

Ruby_Soho:
We do Elimination Communication. It's not weird, it's different to what you choose to do. What's weird is training a baby to toilet in their pants for 2 to 3 years and then try to teach them to go in a toilet. And possibly bribe them with M&M's of stickers. Of course it's going to be difficult (but not always).
From when we got home from hospital with Felix we've gently been doing EC. He wears nappies. When he has nappy off time I'll sit him on the potty or toilet and if he needs to pee, he'll go. If not I pop him down to play and try again in 10 - 20 mins depending if he's just fed or not.
He has a noise he makes to let me know when he needs to poo. He holds it until I take him to the toilet and sit him down. I don't think he's had a poo nappy in 3 weeks which is great when he's on solids and wearing cloth!
Babies can communicate from birth when they need to toilet, we just ignore their signals. The point of EC is to keep that communication going as they grow so that when the time comes to potty train, they're most of the way there. A lot of EC babies are toilet trained at 18 months.

I know I'm waaaaaay late to this post, but thanks for this. I couldn't remember the name of the method, and I know it's not at all common in the US. I have a friend who was doing EC, and having good successes with it when her daughter was around a year old. But then her husband was hospitalized and other people came in the watch her kids, and the whole EC thing went out the window. It intriguing to me, though I know it wouldn't work with my LO in daycare.

Want a personalized experience?

when did/will yu start potty training?

Re: when did/will yu start potty training?

Choose Another Board

Search Boards