Yes, feel free to read that title again. I know it sounds impossible and too good to be true. I thought the same thing. As a child care provider, I’ve potty trained hundreds of children. Yes hundreds (I’ve been doing this almost half my life). Potty training is one of the hardest things you’ll do with kids under five. It’s their last little bit of control and they don’t want to let that go. If they don’t want to it is almost impossible.
I had the exact opposite experiences with Monster and Lovebug. Monster was 2.5 when we potty trained. It was two weeks of torture, fighting, tears (on my part) and basically hell followed by another year of pooping issues. It wasn’t fun but I held strong and we got it done. We went cold turkey style (which meant lots of laundry) because I knew he’d just use the training pants as a crutch. The hold out was due to his extreme stubbornness, not his readiness. He would hold it for hours until we put a diaper on for nap. Hmmmm I wonder where he get’s that from.
Now Lovebug….. ya I had no part in her decision to potty. At fifteen months old she told my mom she wanted to sit on the potty. As soon as she got on she went. This is my last baby so I was calling it a fluke and moving on. I wanted my baby to be a baby for a little while longer. I also just wasn’t ready to go through the whole process again.
Well, she wasn’t having any of my need to keep my baby little. A few weeks later she asked again and went again. It became her cute little thing. We still didn’t push it. Then at around eighteen months she refused to poop in her diaper. Seriously, flat out refused. She would only poop in a potty… fun when we’re out and about. She’s tiny so holding her over public toilets is a blast (now we carry her portable seat).
Well, I broke down and gave her a pair of training underpants. She stayed dry the whole day and I cried. She was so excited about being a big girl. We special ordered her tiny underwear from England because they don’t make them small enough here. Today, at twenty months, we had her potty party at school. She’s been fully potty trained for almost two months and it was time. She got to be the Princess of Pottyland and she loved every second. I got to say goodbye to the last part of tiny baby.
So what could you possibly take away from this craziness??? Your kiddos are going to do what they’re going to do. They know when they’re ready for things even if you aren’t. Don’t be afraid to let them grow up on their own even when it’s heartbreaking. Last but not least, sometimes fate gives you a break when you need it.
I think toddlers definitely give signs when they are ready to start potty training!
As a mom of 5 I am so glad potty training is over! LOL
Im so impressed how young she is and potty trained!
With my daughter I tried to force it and there were tears for all of us.When she led the initiative it was successful, so with my son I went with his desire to potty train.
Potty Training was such a task for me and my daughter. Its definitely a great opportunity to bond with your kids!
Keiani Worrell
https://thejazzyscoop.wordpress.com/
Wow, fifteen months! My daughter is 12 now so I’m hoping that that happens to her too 😉
potty training was quite a struggle for my daughter…:) how impressive!
I let all my kids decide. I set out the potty, talked about it, encouraged it, but never pushed it. They all potty trained at different times, but it was less headache and when they did, they did it within about a week, so it wasn’t a long drawn out process. One left! And then I’m done, whew 😉