Hop On Board The Potty Train

I might just get stoned to death by some parents for this but it’s ok, it won’t be the first time.

I’ve noticed recently that there are a lot of parents wanting to potty train their child earlier and earlier.

I have to ask. Why?

Does it benefit the child in any way or is it more a parent’s desire to be able to stop buying diapers?

If you look at the recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics, they don’t recommend beginning until certain milestones and signs of readiness have been met. They say that its not so much the age of the child but its more their level of social, physical and emotional readiness, I also like to throw in verbal readiness as well because speech is a huge part of being ready.

Here is a general list for anyone curious as to what constitutes being ready to potty train:

Able to verbalize when they have to go
Able to use the words associated with using the potty, (pee, poop, potty, wet, dry)
Able to know the difference between wet and dry
Able to understand the meanings of the words that you choose to use.
Can pull their pants up and down (if you are training don’t use anything with buttons, snaps or ties, elastic is the easiest for them) or at least be able to help undress themselves.
Able to stay dry for at least 2 hours and wake up from naps dry
Shows an interest and willingness (not negative, says “no” to everything, fearful, or refusing)
May even ask to use the potty or wear underwear

I also found a great little quiz for determining whether or not your child is ready. It’s not scientific but it makes you think about your answers. I tried it and though I know my son is too young (not quite 17 months old) I answered all questions honestly and thought about them in degrees of how consistent he does the things asked in the quiz.

The most important thing in determining if your child is ready is follow their lead. While I obviously think that any younger than 2 is too soon to potty train, that doesn’t mean it can’t be done. I wonder about those parents that have had success with it and how long it took them or how many set backs they had, or if they now think that waiting might have been better.

After having 4 children myself I don’t consider myself knowing everything (Well, maybe a little, but 4 kids can do that to a mommy!), but I do think that with it comes many trials and errors (lots of errors) but as a parent you don’t really realize the errors until after… In some cases… Waaaay after. If I thought about it today, I would have waited another 6 months or so to potty train Bug. It’s a lesson learned and not repeated with this siblings. But that’s how parenting goes.

You have 1 child and screw that one all up and then gradually correct yourself with all the rest!

Just Kidding!

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