When did you start with Potty training?

[thanka2]

I think if you're going by the "is able to go to the toilette, sit on it, wipe, get down and wash hands" by himself, most people don't fully train their child until they are about 5-6-years-old. Even if your child could do most of the above, just for the height issue, you'd often have to lift the child up onto the toilette when you're out of the house. I don't think many people hold to that standard when they consider their child potty trained. I would consider my son fully potty trained if 1) he could communicate that he had to go to the toilette all of the time--and make it to the toilette in time to go on the toilette 2) he never wore a diaper--even at nighttime. I know of several children who are already in elementary school and still wear pull-up diapers at night because they tend to wet the bed. I would still consider them potty trained, though.

 

[MommyTo3]

My 5 1/2 yo still can't wipe correctly either ... not always. I know many of her friends also have their parents double check ...

 

[Koan]

My son started showing an interest at around 12mnths. By 15 mnths he was using the potty about 80% of the time. Now (at 22 mnths) he's dry during the day (even for naps). We still put a diaper on occasionally if we're going out and don't know when we'll be able to get to a toilet, but he'd rather hold than pee in a dipe.

He also sleeps without a diaper about 3 nights a week and we've only had one wet bed since we started doing this 2 mnths ago.

 

[Shenzhennifer]

Koan - when your son showed an interest at 12 months, what did you do - did you just start taking him to the potty at his `poo/pee` times?

 

[Koan]

At around 12 mnths he was stopping and pausing to pee, then asking for his dipe to be changed immediately. We got a potty when he was about 13mnts and stopped using dipes at home.

At first we'd grab the potty whenever he peed and say something like "Pee goes in the potty." He soon realised what it was about and would indicate when he was about to pee so we could get to the potty. As he got older he got better and holding, as well as indicating earlier.

It wasn't until he was about 18mnths that he went to the potty by himself, although he still tells us when he needs to go so we go with him to help him tip it out and wash his hands etc.

 

[karen bt]

Thank you for sharing this - I was starting to worry that my girl, who will be 3 at the end of Jan, is still not showing any interest in going on a potty/toilet. My son was clean during the day at 2, only taking a couple of weeks, and of course I've based her potty training on his! She tells me when she does a number 2, and when I say shall we do it on the potty/toilet, she gets a bit scared and says no! Best to wait a couple more months!