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My DS1 is 2 1/2 in our pediatrician said that we could start potty training now but that some kids just aren't ready till three. He made it sound like this might even be an early time?

So no
Advice other than its early yet I think.

I think it is too early. Mine is 27 months and we are nowhere close to potty training. I wouldn't worry about what the books say in terms of ages. Those age ranges are crazy low. My LO's daycare class has like 8 kids, ages 2 to 3, and only one of them is potty trained. None of them were trained at age 22 months.

I read that 18-22 months timeline too, and I'm sure that works for some kids but definitely not all! My LO1 is 33 months and is just now getting it. I didn't really push until the past week or so - before this it was just trying to catch him in the poop act and putting him on the potty. He pooped on the potty very infrequently starting around 26 months (like, maybe once a week?) I bought two books and we read them and I tried to make him excited about it, but no, he just didn't care. I did bite the bullet and stick him in undies just last week, and put him on the potty every hour or so. 1 pee accident the first day, countless pee accidents on days 2 and 3, and almost no accidents since then. He is sprinting to the potty saying "hold it, hold it!" and talking about his gummy bear treat as soon as he's done. If your LO isn't into it, I would wait and not worry. To me it wasn't worth the stress. If probably feel differently if he was 3.5 or something, but I think with the a lot of kids (especially boys) it just doesn't click until close to 3.

We tried at 2.5 years but he just wasn't ready yet. We kept trying every couple of months but it wasn't until he was 3 years 2 months that he finally started showing an interest. We didn't use a method, just pull ups at daycare and underwear at home. It took another couple months to get him into underwear full time. (Daycare had a policy and would not let us send him in underwear, we tried and they said he was still having too many accidents). Once we got him switched to another daycare he was day trained for pee in no time. It took about another month to six weeks for him to poop in the potty. By 3 years 7 months he was completely trained (except for night).

@.twist.: I read Oh Crap! and it was basically all "If you don't potty train before 30 months, you are FUCKED!" I think a lot of those books are trying to scare you and aren't really fact based. Every kid gets potty trained eventually and doing it before some mystical age isn't going to make or break your kid.

It really sounds like your LO isn't ready. Boys tend to potty train later than girls (I don't care that the books claim this is a myth). I feel like if you try to force it, you'll create a negative association for your son. He sounds like he's stubborn and SMART and just isn't interested yet. Wait. He'll get there eventually, guaranteed!

@.twist.: I thought we had traumatized him but no, he is just stubborn!

I think it just depends on the child. Some just potty train later than others. My cousin's little girl didn't potty train until she was almost 4! She was extremely stubborn and wouldn't potty train until they told her she couldn't go to preschool. Then she was potty trained in no time.

@.twist.: Really, it sounds like your son just isn't ready. I'd go back to diapers and just wait. Maybe he'll surprise you and be interested in a couple months.

We trained Xander right at 30 months, but only because HE initiated it. He was getting a diaper change one day and just decided he didn't want another one. We told him that meant he'd have to go in the potty and he was all for it, so we went for it. And it ended up being really easy and not scary at all! He had a number of accidents that first week at daycare, but has been doing really well ever since (still had a diaper for naps and nighttime though at 34 months). I think it went smoothly because we followed his lead and he let us know that he was ready.

Give your son more time! He's clearly not ready to give up the diapers yet.

@Smurfette: I don't think you can night train either. And the Oh Crap lady is crazy to think I'm going to wake my kid up twice a night to bring him to the potty. NOPE!

@Adira: OMG so much this! My daughter is 31 months, and between all the books and my mother harping on me about her not being trained, I was basically panicking that she's going to high school in diapers, but the kid has shown zero interest until just recently and I am just not the personality type to push until I see that there's some signs that it'll stick.

@.twist. - don't listen to the books, that's all the advice I really have. 2.5 is still fairly young, and he's clearly not ready. Things will start coming together. This last week, my kid started asking to go to the potty (though for fun/play reasons, not because she knows she needs to go) and has had successes going, so we're making connections for her and once I start seeing that she's realizing the physical need to go, we'll start making a concerted effort, but until then, she's just not there yet and I'm not going to force her into something that she can't possibly understand.

@Adira: oh, the book actually says that you can't "train" a kid at night and it's okay to just keep them in diapers during sleep until they start doing it on their own--BUT that if you WANT to train them for night, the only way is to set your own alarm to wake the kid to pee, because it's a biological milestone and kids reach it at all different times. She doesn't recommend setting an alarm as part of the method.

@Smurfette: We are also going through this with DS. We started potty training a week ago (he's 23 months) and he's done awesome. Only one accident since day 3 but he's definitely in the fight with you about going potty stage. We know he has to go because he tells us or grabs his crotch but then doesn't want to sit down. The accident we had he waited too long and tried to get his pants down but couldn't (DH stepped away for a bit). There is a short toilet in our apartment building playroom and he loves going there but I'm not going to create some weird association with a specific toilet. I don't want to give up but I don't want to create a fight.

@.twist.: screw the books, that is all.

And it took NINE months to get Miss A fully day-trained and she was a kid that wanted to do it!

@Anagram: Oh, interesting. That's not my recollection, but I haven't read it recently. I got the impression that the book suggested tackling night training at the same time as doing everything, but that you could put it off until later, but that you shouldn't put it off too late! I didn't fully read that section though because I wasn't planning on attempting night training at all. Glad to hear I'm mistaken!

Can you be a dropout if you never even started?

We were supposed to start over the holidays but my kid is still not firmly in the 2-year-old room (for reasons unknown to me since she's been two since October) and I refuse to start potty training until she's going to be in a room with a potty the entire time she is at school. We will be talking to the director today or tomorrow about this because it's ridiculous.

@Chillybear: I just saw this because I googled it in the first few days I was PTing my LO. She has a Website. http://www.jamieglowacki.com/the-mother-of-all-posts-or-frequently-asked-questions/

"*We are in the first 1 (2 or 3) days of potty training and it’s a disaster. *We are on day one of potty training and my child won’t sit at all. *Day one and tons of resistance to the potty. *First day of potty training and my child will not sit on the potty. *Any question about the first few days of potty training not looking like you thought it would. This process is SO NEW to your child, they almost always need a minute to catch up. Over-prompting and too much pressure are 2 of the biggest factors in a child resisting the process. Here’s a video. And another. Also, see question #5, page 273 in the book. This video here is about releasing pee. And this post about backing off. And lastly, do not be afraid to use the Red Solo Cup Trick as described on page 127. And here. And here."