On the subject of potty training...
For the past few months, DS will use the toilet (I'm one of those parents who is adamantly against the "potty seat"). We let him use the toilet standing up on a stool to pee. He used to have a kids' seat which we put on the toilet but it's just easier since he won't poop yet, thus no sitting down. But, the idea of an actual potty seat in the living room, his bedroom or even the bathroom just totally weirds me out. I know, makes NO sense since I change diapers...
Typically, when he gets up in the morning, we let him pee in the toilet. Then he gets a diaper. Whenever he poops, he lets me know right afterwards, so I change him, let him pee in the toilet, then diaper back on. He can go most of the day with dry or mostly dry diapers (even during nap) if I am really good about letting him pee in the toilet. The thing is, he NEVER tells me before he has to pee, and he rarely tells me before he poops (and even if he tells me, he has yet to poop on the toilet).
So, my question to more experienced moms who have potty trained... where is my kid at? Does he sound ready to PT or does he just enjoy peeing standing up because he can see all the cool bubbles his pee makes in the toilet? I'd looooove to have him fully trained by the next kid (who arrives in March), but I recognize that I have a boy child who isn't 2 yet, so maybe I'm being overly ambitious?
Re: On the subject of potty training...
Dear Use,
I say go for it! I don't see any reason why not. You may have some regression when the baby is born, but there is a LOT of time between now and March to really solidify what he is learning. Some people suggest that you don't stop once you start, but if he isn't responding, just tailor your efforts. You can do this!
Train stains,
kewliegirl
I'd say cautiously try. If you push him too hard, it may just stress him out. A friend and her DH ended up freaking their son out by making potty training such a HUGE deal. They eventually gave up, and two weeks later, he asked to go on the potty.
Also, keep in mind that the average age of potty training girls is 36 months and boys is 39 months.
I think he could be ready especially since he's staying dry a lot of the time. I'm no expert on potty training but I can tell you what worked for us. We used the Gerber Training Underwear for DD. The thing about diapers is that they can't feel the wetness and so there's not much incentive to potty in the toilet. However, when they are wearing the underwear, they can feel it and it will also start running down the leg (I know gross). So, what I would probably do is get the training underwear and really talk up wearing the "big boy underwear". Tell him he needs to tell you when he needs to go pee pee so he doesn't get his underwear wet. He will probably wet in his underwear a number of times until he starts making the connection. But my guess is that he may be ready and just needs to figure out how to tell you when he needs to go. Also, I would recommend getting about 12 pairs (4 packs). On our first day of potty training, DD wet 10 pairs in 4 hours (we were loading her with fluids) but the next day she only wet 3 pairs because she had made the connection. But you do need a lot of underwear on hand at first.
ETA: But like other posters said, if he's not catching on, don't worry about it and try again in a few months.
I bet when we were kids that average was a whole year younger. I'm pretty sure I was potty trained before age 2. It was fairly common in the early 80's.
Yep, my mom says I was PT by 18 months. There's a girl in M's daycare class who is mostly PT and she's even younger.
both my sister and I were potty trained before our 1st b-days; when you gotta wash it by hand every single time, you train your kids early!
my kids have been peeing on the potty since 6mo and pooping since 9mo. That is not to say that they were fully PTed at that age, they still are in diapers at that age. DS is now 14mo and he'll grab my hand, walk over to the toilet (we don't do potties, we use rings on toilet), lift up the toilet seat cover, and grunt. I put him on and he goes. Pooping is so much easier than peeing at this age, he really can't hold the pee but it's very helpful to have him "tell" me. He hardly ever poops in his diaper anymore b/c he starts grunting and making "the" face when he has to go and I can usually make it to the toilet in time.
It won't hurt to try, they get so stubborn at 2-3 y.o. that, in a way, it's harder.