Pre-K related: Did anyone successfully PT before age 3????

franciscaz · December 2011

Did anyone successfully fully potty trained before their 3rd birthday. School start for the twins 1 wk before their 3rd birthday. I found another amazing school but this one requires them being fully potty trained. Harmon didn't train till 3 yrs and 4 months but when he did it he really got it. I just don't know if it is realistic to try and get them into this program next year. We are running out of options besides plain daycare or finding a new nanny.

UsedToBeGoldie · December 2011

we did the 3-day with DS1 the weekend after his 3rd bday and he never looked back.

We just did the 3-day with Gibby (one of the twins) and he is doing great.. still not great with poop in the potty- but most pee gets there in time. He was very ready - and started to train himself almost so we had to do it.

Grayson (other twin) has ZERO interest and i feel will probably be really hard to train... we're planning to do the 3day with him right after his 3rd bday, too - also b/c he'll need to be PT'd for his next class in daycare starting in Sept- so we'll have the summer to make sure he's PTd.

n&bcarlson · December 2011

Yes. DD was day and night trained at 26 months. She started wiping herself with supervision at around 2.5 and could do it completely by herself without supervision by 33 months. Her school has the same requirement (her 3rd birthday was 2 weeks before school started).

kmhunt11 · December 2011

DD was totally daytime trained at 2 years 3 months BUT regressed when we moved across country 7 months later. It was only accidents for a month or two, and most preschools won't kick a kid out for that. The thing is, you can't predict whether they're going to express interest and cooperate ahead of time. Especially with twins, from what I understand. They could band together and decide they don't want to!

Wally3 · December 2011

DS gave up night diapers right before 3. But day time potty trained. He had 3 accidents at camp this summer just over 2.5. He started day care in August and had one accident in Sept. I would call that "fully trained". Where I work they have to be "fully potty trained" but about an accident over couple weeks seems okay.

JennDave+1 · December 2011

Yup. DS#1 was completely trained a month before his 3rd b-day. His problem was he was scared to sit on the potty or it would have been sooner. Once I got him to pee in it that was the end of it and he has been trained since.

Madringal · December 2011

We did the three day book right after DD's 2nd birthday and it worked like a charm. She was in diapers at daycare on a Friday and in underwear with no accidents by Monday. In the almost 2 years she has been potty trained she has had maybe 5 accidents. I highly recommend the book! Good luck!

KathrynMD · December 2011

DD will be 3 next week; she's been daytime trained since August. She hasn't pooped in a pull up/diaper for almost a year.

Smores730 · December 2011

We did the 3 day potty training at 25 months and it took 3 weeks before she was done having accidents. She's had about 5 accidents since in the past year+ on random occasions but they've all been in the bathroom while in the process of removing clothes but she had waited too long.

ironmommy · December 2011

Lily was potty trained at 2, but she used pull-ups for naps until she turned 3. She moved into a new class in preschool then and they required that she be 100% PTed. She has nap-time accidents still on occasion, but overall she's doing great.

I think it's absolutely doable for girls. Boys seem to be harder.

jen5-03 · December 2011

Dd wasn't "fully" trained because she wore diapers at night still, but she was considered fully pt'd for daycare before her 2nd birthday. Ds is almost there and i expect he'll be diaper free at daycare in january, so around 27mo.

Jen&Len · December 2011

How many hours are they in school? I wouldn't say DS fully trained, but he was okay for a few hours at a time, which was long enough for him to get through school. He wouldn't have made it through a full day class though. He is only just starting to get it now. But we didn't think he would train in time at all because he showed no signs whatsoever of being ready. We started a couple of months before school started (school started 2 weeks before he turned 3) and he did pretty well from the get go. He had a few regressions here and there that we had to battle though.

He only peed in his pants once so far...and that was when DH brought him to school, gave him 1.5 glasses of milk right before school and didn't make him go before class started.

cecee36 · December 2011

My daughter is 4 now but she was fully trained by 2 1/2. I sort of followed the 3-day training program and my daughter caught on quickly. I think her personality played a huge part in it; she's always been extremely independent so anytime we present her with a challenge where the end result is something she'll be able to do by herself, she excels.

GinandTonic · December 2011

Is there any chance that the teacher might be a little more slack about the situation than the actual school rules?

DS turned 3 August 2nd and started preschool after Labor Day. It turned out he PT'd (for pee anyway - and he was trained enough to not poop at school) somewhere in that month, but I was worried that whole summer. Turns out that the teacher totally understood that some boys especially take a long time and I know a few went to school in a pullup for awhile - mostly "just in case".

Granted, school was only 2 1/2 hours at that age, so no one was going to pee through a pull-up. With your mention of the other option being daycare or a nanny, it sounds like you need a long day and that won't work.

penguingrrl · December 2011

Julia fully potty trained at 2y 10m. She was ready and it all just clicked.

rsd12 · December 2011

My oldest potty trained at 2 yrs 9 months (with some struggles with #2, but did not interfere with preschool). My 2nd potty trained at 26 months with no issues. And my youngest (26 months) is just starting to show more of an interest, but I have not had the time to commit to it. But I can't imagine training 2 at the same time ; ) but I think it is possible. We made up our own method... siilar to the three day method and it worked really well for us (at least for daytime).

howleyshell · December 2011

Not what you want to hear but both of mine were reliably in underwear at 20 months.

I'd have a talk with the school. What I've found at both of the schools we've been to (one public and one private) is that they're fairly flexible as long as the child is not having regular accidents.

Also check to see how their day is scheduled. I think most pre-school classes have scheduled potty times so it's not like you'll need them to 100% be alerting an adult when the urge strikes because they're going to be "trying" to go every couple of hours on a schedule any way.

Don't panic! Talk with the school and tell them your concerns and let them help with the decision making process. I'm sure you're not the first or last with this on their mind.

Ciarrai · December 2011

Both my girls PT right at 2. It was within weeks of their birthday. We were planning to wait until later with DD#2 since DS was a newborn, but she was insistent. (She figured out Mommy would drop the newborn baby she was nursing and come running the minute she said "I need to go potty.") We basically did the 3-day method as well...or at least we went cold turkey to underwear and didn't go back. It took three miserable days and we still had a few accidents. DD#1 wore pull ups at night for another 3-4 months, but DD#2 refused (yes, she's my strong-willed child) so we gave it a try and she was great. I plan to PT DS this summer at 2.5 years.

FWIW - Our preschool also requires kids to be PT before they go into the 3-year-old room. They go by the school calendar so the kids have to be 3 by September 1st for the 3-year-old room. Some kids have just turned 3 in there and others are almost 4. They also, though, are ok with a rare accident and sometimes pull ups at naps or whatever for the first few months, especially in the younger threes class.

Mrs.Greeko · December 2011

DD#1 was fully trained at 22 months ( day trained). DD #2 was fully day trained at 26 months.

ArcticFox · December 2011

DD was well trained at 2.5, with a few accidents here and there but probably fully trained by 2.75. When she started preschool the week after she turned 3, she was fine not wearing a pullup or anything. She still wore pullups at night for a while, but nighttime goes much longer, not something you can train. The teachers always have us put an extra set of clothes & undies in the kids cubbies just in case of an accident.

Wally3 · December 2011

Also, ask the school what the policy is if you sign up the children and then they aren't potty trained in time. Some places will refund your money (deposits) if the children aren't train in time.

shopgirl78 · December 2011

Yes. He was fully PTed by 3 probably 2 and 3/4 however he still needs some help wiping his butt particularly for messy poos but he is regular and doesn't go during preschool. He goes everyday at the same time...late afternoon.

DD was fully trained at 2.5.

Both kids dropped diapers at 2.5 and DS1 just had accidents longer. I plan to PTed DS2 by summer also. He will be 2.5.

Asquared · December 2011

we started putting oldest dd on the potty by about 9 or 10 months- 10 months being the first time she actually used it. She would go after baths and stuff here and there and when she was around 18 months she was going several times a day (but no poop yet). She was fully day trained and in undies by about 2 and didn't even need pull-ups by 2.5 years. My younger is working on it, but even after going pretty well a few times a day- she now just sits on it, farts then claps for herself. :-) I think she'll be done though by or around 2 as well though- it's just when I feel like really going for it w/ undies all day.

kelbrian · December 2011

Liliana was fully day potty trained by the time she was 25 months. Night training came a few months after that. I think that if I had started earlier, she would have been fully potty trained by two. It clicked pretty quickly for her.

triplea1819 · December 2011

yes. he was pee at 2.5, and poop at 2.9. Naps right before 3. so yes, definitely possible.

June2007 · December 2011

DD#1 was day time trained ( in panties) at 22 months and night trained right around her third birthday. DD#2 is starting to tell us when she has to go now and wi use the potty about once a day successfully. But I have worked with several bright, amazing children who could spell their own name and read a few words before the were fully potty trained. I think it just depends on the kids and how much effort the parents are willing to put in if the kids is ready early in some cases. There is a huge range here.

franciscaz · December 2011

Glad to hear there is hope.

lmdbww · December 2011

DD was also good to go by the time she was 2.5 (fully day and night trained). The only things I had to work on with her before she started preschool was holding herself up without using a ring, and climbing up and down off of the potty without a stool.

jerseygirl81 · December 2011

Charlie was fully trained by 2 and night-trained by 2.5. I work with quite a few europeans and they all had their kids PTed by 2, so I figured we'd give it a shot.

Raspberry807 · December 2011

DS was fully trained at 2yrs 9mos and started preschool a couple weeks after he turned 3. It's possible! GL

What worked for us:

I let him sit to pee at home and worked on standing to pee later on, I didn't push that.
We focused on "put it in the potty!" and his older sister helped remind him a lot. Also a lot of positive rewards.
We didn't use a potty chair or a training seat, just the straight up adult toilet and seat.
He never wore pullups except for at night. All underwear. And I got him boxer briefs like his dad wears instead of the character briefs.
There was about 2 weeks between when he really showed interest and we were able to drop the nighttime pullups.

futrkingsley · December 2011

DS was day and night trained by about 32 months or so. He went to preschool in underpants three days a week for 4 hours and didn't have accidents. But he wasn't going potty completely independently -- he needed help with his clothes (he preferred overalls which required help), and wiping. He can do the rest himself and is quite diligent about it (flushing, wiping, etc). He's almost 3.5 now and he can do it all himself -- undress, go, wipe, flush, dress, wash hands.

I'd ask a more detailed question of the school. What exactly do they mean by fully PT'd? Is it fully independent or is it in underpants (no pull-ups) with a few accidents but 90% of waste in the toilet? Can they get help with their clothes or wiping?

RHitch · December 2011

We successfully implemented the 3 day PT method a week before her 2nd birthday. She regressed when we went out of town 2 months later. We then tried it again when she was 28 months old and she is been daytime trained since.

ecoppins · December 2011

Yes, dd1 was fully pt during the day by three. (She wore a pullup at night)

I think she was about 2.5 when it was consistent, but daycare started introducing the potty at 2 and we just went with it. It was a simple line up for them, every two hours they all sat on the potty, washed their hands and got a sticker.

shannm · December 2011

DS was day trained at 2.5 using a modified 3-day method. He was night trained a few months later.

Good Luck! There is hope!

jsugrin · December 2011

My oldest was fully trained at 22 months and #2 was fully trained at 30 months (he would not poop in the toilet for ever, pee trained at 21 months, and then bam one day he did and never looked back).

I definitely think you can have them trained prior to that, the fact that they've got big brother to look up to will help and then you've also got the peer pressure aspect working in your favor.

MrsHughesNC · December 2011

My DD was fully day trained, including naps (which is what counts for school) about 3 weeks after she turned 2. We did pullups overnight (which she'd wet just a few times a month) for a few months after that.

MaddysMama07 · December 2011

Yes. Madelyn was fully potty trained (including naps and bedtime) at 2.5.

jlw2505 · December 2011

Every child is different and if they are ready, it is possible but if you try to force the issue, I bet they are not trained by then. My older DD was fully day/night trained at around 2 years 9 months but my younger DD was not. At 3 years 9 months, she is still not night trained and has an accident every few months. At age 3, she was not trained fully, had only been in undies a few weeks and was still having accidents weekly.

stdldb29 · December 2011

Yep, DS (who has communication delay) was potty trained by 23 months-he didn't even learn to walk until 18 months. So, it is completely possible.

stdldb29 · December 2011

Oh, and we went straight to underwear-for day and night. My husband did the training since I had a 3 day old baby to nurse all of the time.

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Pre-K related: Did anyone successfully PT before age 3????

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