DU Parents: How old was your child when they were potty trained?

[elfwitch]

I am currently, in earnest, trying to potty train my son. He has good days and he has bad days. How old was your child when they were finally potty trained?

For parents with multiple kids, how old were each?
Parents with boys and girls. Did you find it took your boys or girls longer to learn?

[MuseRider]

1. My oldest son

was the most difficult, probably my doing actually. We did not work at it after he started to protest and he ended up training by 24 months with accidents for a while. My youngest just took his diaper off one day at about 18 months and never looked back or had an accident. I think it must be a real individual thing. With my oldest I found, and it is true to this day and he is 20, that pushing anything was always the wrong way to go. Just relax and let him know what you want and if you don't get mad or frustrated he won't try to use it for power.

[elfwitch]

2. Does anybody have any tips?

We are having a really hard time with our son/
He will be good about it all day with daddy.
Or if it is just me and him, he's fine too.
If both my husband and I are home at the same time, that is when he slips up.

[trotsky]

4. No real tips other than what the experts say.

Don't punish accidents; have them help clean up so they find that NOT using the potty is more work.

And patience, patience, patience.

[havocmom]

13. I would add along with the patience

be consistant.

Edited to add: and lose the disposable diapers! They keep a kid so comfy there is not much incentive to potty train. Why would anyone modify their behavior if everything is fine? There needs to be a little incentive for change to occur. I really think this is part of the proplem so many parents have with potty training. When kids always wore cloth, they were more uncomfortable and more willing to make behavior changes.

Cloth diapers are a mess to deal with for a while, but they let a kid know that being wet is not comfy. Better to deal with a few months of extra laundry than several years of it because the child is only half motivated to use the potty chair.

[dolo amber]

34. Definitely get rid of the diapers

I found once my youngest had the basic gist of the potty thing and was put into 'big girl panties' the accidents had a LOT more impact. Thus she was a LOT more attentive to when it was time to head for *the throne*. </Archie> :D

[notadmblnd]

16. I let mine run around the house naked

It was summer and it made it a lot easier to tell when he had to go. I also announced when I had to go and took him to the bathroom with me when I went. It shows him how big people do it and that there is nothing to be afraid of. Right now it is normal for your son to use a diaper, the potty/toilet is outside of his comfort zone. So kinda make it a game. When he goes successfully in the potty praise him for being such a big boy and reward him with a treat.

[Snow]

24. There ya go! Our son thought Dad standing there in the bathroom

taking a piss was worthy of imitation, so he did. There're also nifty toilet inserts like targets or b-ball baskets to whiz into. So getting him to use the toilet was basically something he did on his own - our problem was he was a sound sleeper & wet his bed for some years.

[lolly]

20. Tips?

Hey, if I knew a foolproof way to potty train kids, do you think I'd be giving it away for free on a discussion board? ;-)

(Check your local bookstore under childrearing and you'll see that lots of people are making lots of money off of desperate parents!)

Serioiusly, after "doing" 4, all I can offer is "Time, and whatever works."

Candy rewards worked well with one of them.

Another we just had to wait it out--he was very close to 4.

Another got to wear her pretty, special panties in the morning until her first accident--then she had to wear a plain white disposable until the next day.

What does your son like? Can you work out a reward system for him? We bought a pile of hot wheels type cars at a discount place, gave him one for going potty. Sometimes charts with special stickers.

[radwriter0555]

33. Leave the kid alone. No child ever went to kindergarten in a diaper

and they get this thing at their own pace, especially boys.

Provide him with some simple basic incentives like pull-ups, and general reinforcement, and let him figure it out on his own, he'll be FINE. STOP worrying... It's just pee and poo and it all ends up in the same place anyhoo.

[trotsky]

3. Our son was about 3-1/2 when he regularly made it through the day.

But at age 5 now, he still has "accidents" once in a while. And he sleeps SOOOO hard that he will always urinate in his sleep, so he wears pull-ups to bed.

Our daughter will turn 3 next month, and while a couple of months ago she showed some interest in the potty, that has since disappeared and it's going to be a real uphill struggle.

I don't get it. My mom says that when I was 2, I came up to her one day and said I had to go potty, and that was that from then on. My kids couldn't be more different. Of course, I was also content to sit in a corner playing Legos for hours on end while my kids need near-constant interaction and validation!

On edit: spelling correction

[elfwitch]

5. My mom told me that...

I was walking, talking and potty trained before I was a year old. I am really frustrated with my son. He is very smart. I just don't know why he doesn't get it.

[trotsky]

7. Sounds very much like our son.

His problem is that he gets so totally engrossed in something that he disconnects from his body. A computer game, playing outside, etc.

Believe me, I understand your frustration. TOTALLY. There were days I just wanted to scream.

[radwriter0555]

35. My daughter did the same thing. One morning during the pull-ups stage

she handed me her pull up and said, "Mommy, I don't need these anymore.." and wore those big girl panties ever since.

She's literally had one accident.

I believe she was 2 1/2.

[Shrek]

6. Urination only? Or defecation also?

My son mastered urination fairly quickly; IIRC it was 18 months or so. But he was about 3 before he overcame problems with defecation.

[tnlefty]

8. There was a long time span between their initial interest and being

"done". Our pediatrician told me to basically leave them alone, let them figure it out and we would end up with fewer accidents and kids who made it through the night. I was getting a lot of pressure to 'get them trained' and I ignored it.

Their initial interest was between 18-24 months. They did well, regressed and I didn't push. Two of them were pretty much trained, but had a baby arrive and that was another regression. When they were ready they didn't have accidents and not one has ever wet a bed.

I'd say by 3-3 1/2 they were done.

[Momof1]

9. My daughter at 3

I got her those pull-ups, when she wanted to use the potty, she used it. One day she took them off. She has had a few accidents but not many. I let her tell me when she was ready.

As a baby of 8... My mom went on and on about how all of her kids were potty trained by 9 mos. And she couldn't imagine it taking this long. But I think that may have had alot to do with the fact she had 8 kids and cloth diapers.

[tigereye]

12. between 3 and 4 to really get it for my son

I think that you need to let them do it at their pace, and when they are ready they will get it. Each kid is different. I think that it is often our agenda, not theirs ( or the day care's.) :)

[LynzM]

14. Kids were potty trained, or....

Mom was very aware of their cues, and took them to the toilet and sat them on it before they went?! I cannot imagine a 9 month old having the knowledge and communication skills to tell mom they needed to go potty, in all honesty. 12-16 months, perhaps!

[Momof1]

15. neither can I,

but my mom harped on me from the time my daughter was a yr old. She is getting up there in age so I am assuming that her memory might be off. LOL

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

17. Assume she's embellishing things.

Maybe unconsciously. 9 months? No way. You might as well try to teach them to read at that age.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

10. My newest (born 4/5/2001) has this one problem: the night

She was extremely easy to potty-train (between 2 and 2.5 years old), never had to use diapers during the day after that. Now, the nights are another thing. We have to make sure she pees just before bed AND doesn't stay in bed until too late in the morning.

That said, bedwetting incidents are more and more sparse. She hasn't had one for about 2 weeks.

[trof]

11. Girls usually easier/earlier than boys

according to stats.
Each kid has his own schedule.
My 23 month old grandson is still in diapers.
When he has a good, solid poop (which he usually does now) his mom takes it and him to the toilet and he waves goodbye to it and says "bye-bye poop". He's beginning to get the idea.

As has been said here, this is an all carrot and no stick job.
If you're comfortable with it, leave the door open and let him watch while you go.

Most kids are enamored of parents/grownups and want to be like them. Sooner or later they'll try and copy everything you do.
This is not ALWAYS a good thing.
;-)
Also, they can sense your frustration. My daughter had a problem with her son eating and really got up tight about it. We talked about it, at length, several times and I finally convinced her not to worry. I think he could sense her worry and anguish. No child ever starved to death when food was available.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

18. Hey! We did the EXACT same thing with Gabriela!

"Tchau, cocô!" :hi:

[trof]

19. Our daughter was 'almost' Gabriella.

I was gonna call her Gabbie.
Then we decided on a unisex name.
Hey, it was the early 70s and we didn't know what flavor it would be.
Lee for a boy and Leigh for a girl.
Our Chinese ob/gyn said "boy", right up to delivery.
He was soooo wrong.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

25. Even "Lee" is sometimes used as a woman's name, isn't it?

I sure recall women called Lee.

[bratcatinok]

29. My middle name is Lee and I'm female.

I was very frustrated trying to potty train my son. He couldn't grasp the concept! My (then) husband took him into the bathroom one day and told him "This is how us big boys do it." My son decided he was a big boy and never had another problem with being fully potty trained.

[TrogL]

21. I'm not potty trained

Ahknaten is even worse. He's incapable of flushing or lifting the seat.

EWWWWW!! :barf:

[MissMarple]

22. Chose not to make an issue of it. They just about trained themselves.

Around three. There are other things that need more attention.

[scarlet_owl]

23. I don't have kids, but I was potty trained at

eighteen months. It was fairly easy from what I have been told by my mother. My sister had just been born, and my mother explained to me that I couldn't keep using diapers anymore because I was the big sister. That's all it took. My youngest sister didn't train until she was three. Training her was like pulling teeth.

[LynneSin]

27. my mother said I potty trained pretty quickly...

...there was another mother down the street that had a daughter who was 1 year older than me and we all use to take walks together. One day I watched the daughter (who was almost 3) use the toilet and then I figured I would try it out. The rest was history.

I think the only problem is society is making it easier for us to NOT potty train our kids by having all these diapers available for kids who are well past potty-training age. (I've seen pullups for kids up to 80lbs).

I appreciate the fact that the kid will learn on his/her own good time but geez - don't wait until the kid gets to school to get them using it.

[SarahB]

26. All were just three

The only issue really was my oldest son who was "pee-trained" but then wouldn't poop in the potty until he was almost 4. My youngest will be three next month and we're about ready to to go full force. What I usually do is have them spend a weekend naked and generally, they just do it.
I thought my daughter was easier overall then my boys.

[Raven]

28. 26 years old.

Just kidding, Will! :-)

[silverlib]

30. Two daughters at 2+ and 1 at 18 months...

The difference? My third daughter went to day care where the age started at eighteen months. We were told to bring 8 pairs of training panties (no pullups allowed)on the first day. She could wear a diaper there and a diaper home. They did the laundry! Peer experience was the secret, as, of course there was no punishment for accidents. My older two daughters were a little past two. I was rather a novice on the first one. She was an early talker. I put jelly beans in a bowl on the back of the commode and rewarded her. One day, while sitting on the potty, she says "If I go, do I have to eat one of those?" Oh well, live and learn. Gee, silly me wondered why the reward system didn't work.

I've heard that boys are more difficult to potty train.

[annonymous]

31. Both of my children didn't potty train until their 4th birthday.

I enrolled my son in preschool knowing he wasn't fully potty trained just to get him around other children who were already potty trained. He learned pretty fast after he started school.

[Pithlet]

32. I feel better now.

Our son is 3 and is still not fully trained. He refuses to use the potty chair, and is afraid of the toilet. We started him a little late because of the baby.