Strollerderby

In the laiisez-faire method which pretty much leaves them to their own devices, potty-training occurs at about age 4.5, or 2 weeks before they start kindergarten, whichever occurs later.  This method is amazingly easy on the parent and requires little or no concerted effort, since by that time anyone who can routinely put on and take off their own diaoer can probably figure out the mechanics of flushing.  But I may not be the person to ask.

Our sons were toilet trained completely at 3 on the nose and just turned 4 respectively.  But the kicker is  that they were fully trained, no pull ups, no accidents. DONE.

Here is what we did when our sons showed all the classic signs of being ready for using a toilet .  First we had a series of short talks.   We broke them down into a few days worth before we actually went and got the underwear.

The talk in full was this, but remember we broke it down into parts and over a few days:

"You are getting to be such a  big boy and we think it is time for you to take control of your body and what comes out of it.  You have been wearing a diaper, but maybe you are ready for underwear.  Let's buy some you like and you can decide every day if you want a diaper or underwear and we will support your decision 100 percent. Also, just so you know, that if you do have an accident and end up peeing or pooping in your underwear, this is something we expect and when it does, we'll put you back in a diaper.  It is up to you whether you wear a diaper for the entire rest of the day or just until the next time you pee or poop."" I know, sounds hokey, but man it worked!

1.  Every day we would  offer "Underwear or diaper? Your choice."  And whatever the kid chose is what he would wear.

2. If there was an accident in the undies we matter of factly said "Okay, looks like you need a diaper for a bit."  (some may think our kids battled about it, but they didn't since they learned the rules of engagement beforehand during)

3. We did "Diaper Countdown" which meant when the box of diapers got down to the final 12, we would say "you have 12 more diapers. Think about whether we need to buy more or if you are  going to stop and only wear underwear."

We went thru two more boxes of diapers and that was it.

Ambitious? yes! In fact, that's my middle name (well no, it isn't)

I realize this is a pretty senstive issue on instances. We've had what seems like thousands of conversations with parents about it. Some kids do learn faster, some take more time. Just like people, they're all different (joke). In my own case, I don't want to use that as a excuse not to at least try and just put if off until she's "ready".

So my daughter won't be "fully-trained" by President's day...O.K. I accept that. I'll be fine with Easter.

It is almost impossible to potty train a child at only 18 months based on scientific evidence. As a child develops their brains mylenate the contections within (or cover them in a fatty substance called mylen) this allows them to contol different function of their body. The nerves and functions needed to "control" their bodily functions are shown to not fully mylenate untill they are somewhere around two and a half. So while it may be ambitous it may also be futile.

I tried it when my daughter was 18 months after my pediatrician suggested it might work. Though she started off like a champ, it lasted two days. On the second day, she clung to me for dear life rather than use the loo. So I've dropped back five on this one and will try again when it seems to make sense.

Spartic99- Where are you getting that information from? American Academy of Pediatrics says (most kids) are able to begin between 18-24 months.

<A HREF="http://www.aap.org/pubed/ZZZR6LONH4C.htm?&sub_cat=1">AAP.ORG :Toilet Training</A>

I, and generations before me, toilet trained all of my children before the age of 18 months.  My Mother had 8 children, and we were all trained early, simply because she couldn’t afford (in time, energy, or dollars) the diapers.

One could argue that it is more a matter of training the parent, but the end result is that the child no longer wears diapers.

I did it the old fashioned way.  I started my kids thinking about it.  Every time someone would go into the bathroom, we’d make a big deal about it.  After a few days we went to the store and the little one was allowed to pick out their very own ‘big girl panties’ or ‘big boy underwear’.

Put the child in the underwear, dance around, big noise, big smiles, and big sloppy kisses.  Be excited.  Call Grandma.  It’s a big deal.  Set the timer for 10 minutes, bring little one in the bathroom.  Sit her on the toilet (I always sat my kids on the toilet backwards so they had something to hold on, or could play with something on the tank while they waited).  Read a book, sing a song, basically keep the child from being bored.  

If they are able to relieve themselves, great, dance around, sing songs, call Grandma and anyone else you can think of, tell all the stuffed animals how brilliant the child is.  If the child is unable to ‘produce’, big sloppy kisses with the ‘you’ll do it next time’ chat.

Set the timer for 10 minutes.  Repeat.  Adjust the time in between bathroom visits as appropriate.  Within a couple of days, you have a child excited about using a toilet.  Usually they are still wearing diapers at night.  After a few days, they have the hang of it, cut down on liquids late in the evening, and presto, you have a toilet-trained child.

I’ve never understood the ‘she will let me know when she is ready’ approach.  She is new to all of this, why put the responsibility on her?

I used bribery (of sorts...) We used a sticker chart. Everytime my daughter(s) used the potty, they got to put a sticker on the chart. We made a big deal about making the chart and shopping for stickers, letting them pick out the stickers they really liked...

They really got into it and seemed to enjoy having a visual record of their "accomplishments." We also used the chart to help with counting skills. They could use the chart to brag on themselves by counting and sharing how many times they went that day/week.

I don't know--I think it's possible but you need to make it your priority, your day's work. I took a class on potty training when we hit toddlerhood and the child development teacher told us that you can try, but research has shown that it just doesn't click for most kids until 27 months. You can certainly go for it, as many are doing with young babies and "elimination communication," but again, people structure activities and their day around the toilet, carrying a portable potty, going to the park with it, etc.

We went with the child-led plan. We made a potty available at about 2 years old, when it was summer and she was naked all the time anyway. We went out and bought a few potty books which she LOVED and studied hard. Then I started to comment when I had to go, that I have this feeling and i think I better go. She spent a lot of time in the bathroom studying me and what I was doing. She loved just sitting on her potty pretending. Now she's two and a half and is almost fully potty trained--all except for poop. She went once in the toilet and hasn't done it again. Big FEAR of that! I was told not to make a big deal, offer the diaper or the potty every once in a while for #2, and just not make a deal of it. I was told that if I do make a big deal, I'm going to have big hassles over it for a long time. This seems to be a common thing (the aversion to pooping in the toilet) so were going with it.It's just one diaper a day. I really don't care.

Anyways, I just wouldn't put too much pressure on the kid--I think it's a set-up for some big power struggles and it's a lose-lose.

We starting potty training our son at 18 months. Not knowing where to start was frustrating. When I was researching potty training a common theme seemed to be praise and positive reinforcement. I came across a website called www.pottytrainingrewards.com. We hung it in the kitchen and named the little boy on the front of the package, Bobby. My son could not wait to go to the potty so he could push the button, hear the praising message, and get his chocolate reward from, Bobby. It really got my son excited about using the potty himself and it was fun for him. Because he became so involved, potty training was easy. So give it a try.  

Hey Sarah!

I left a detailed comment over at Creative Type Dad's blog about the joys of potty training and my experience with it. It might help you with the twins. Or not :)