picture is when my youngest was 16 months old (she's 21 months now)*I realize there are children with medical or developmental reasons for not using the potty at a young age.
*I'm certain there are reasons other than the diaper industry that have pushed the diaper age further out. I believe convenience is one of them.
*I think the longer a child is sitting in their own waste the more they become used to it.
*A lot of my potty training opinions are based off of my experience working in a daycare center with 2 year olds. I learned a lot from daycare that helped me in training my own children.
*2 year olds know diapers are for pottying in. Some are very uncomfortable with pottying in anything other than a diaper and will hold their bladder for hours to avoid pottying without a diaper on!
*Getting out of diapers helps clear up diaper rash.
*There are times when Pull-Ups are helpful
*Every child is different.
Next week I plan to have my youngest go diaperless during the day. I can't guarantee that she will be solely using the potty by the time the week is over, but I'm going to try. I'll update on how it goes! I will also share some of the readiness signs for when our children have been ready to potty train.
If you disagree with me on any of this, it's okay! We can disagree and still be friends, you know? This is small beans in the grand scheme of things.
I used a system called the Original Pot-Tee Prize Grab Bag that worked wonders for my son in just days! Just go to www.pot-teeprize.com and make the expereince rewarding for everyone!
ReplyDeleteI haven't read your previous post yet... LOL! So sorry if anyone was giving you flax.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I agree. My 2-year-old really should be potty-trained but I'm waiting for the new baby to arrive before diving into that. She has shown slight interest and has tried to go but hasn't. I'm not pushing it because it'll just make it more stressful for us.
But I do agree with you on probably every single point you made in this post! There are chemicals in diapers and they cause diaper rashes. I think the diaper industry is in cahoots with the diaper rash cream industry. ;-)
Hey Joy! It's definantly a good idea in waiting until your baby comes. Having a new baby can cause children using the potty to go back to having accidents.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the article in your last post as well the points you make above. I started my daughter on the potty when she was 15 months. I started slowly, sitting on the potty before and after baths. She was still in diapers, but I built a couple of more sits into the schedule. Oh, I should mention, my daughter wore cloth diapers at home and quick trips out. Disposable at night and when we were out for more than 3 or 4 hours. OK, she lost interest around 17 months, so I backed off. I started back around 19 months. She was staying pretty dry at night. At almost 21 months, I took her out of diapers and put her in training underwear. I carried a potty with me everywhere and she ran around bare bottomed at home. She continued to stay dry at night, so I put her in underwear at night, a week later. I won't say she didn't have accidents, but it was easier to change underwear than diapers (less bulky to carry around). My only struggle is that she is extremely focused and it is hard for her to pull away form a task.
ReplyDeleteI am glad I started early. As an almost three year old (oct 4th) she is very willful, and I think if I waited, she would have fought me every step of the way. (If you say the bowl is hot, she'll tell you it's not.)
A book that helped me is "Diaper Free Before Three" I am sorry I have forgotten who authored it. I am currently pregnant and plan to start this one at 12 months. Not out of diapers, I'll still shoot for right before 2, but building a schedule and setting the baby on the potty after I change a diaper. (Learned this from Montessori.)
I know what I wanted to mention. And I hate using this word, but do you model the behavior? B was always in the bathroom with me. (Attachment parenting and all - it really means they are attached.) She is a small kid, so she is still on a potty char, so sometimes we go together. IS that weird? For us it;s normal. Just a thought. Good luck and thanks for the comment on my blog.
ReplyDeleteYep, I model the behavior. We never had to have closed doors for going to the bathroom until a year or so ago (gets kind of awkward when the kids aren't used to closing the door and then have friends over, so now we all close the doors).
ReplyDeleteMy youngest sees her sister go and actually will fight to be the first to make it to the potty. She has a VERY strong desire to use the potty.
My plan is to get her some undies of her choice today and start the potty day tomorrow (lots of juice, salty pretzels, and more drinks= lots of potty opportunities!). However, I'm feeling icky today. Hopefully I'll feel better tomorrow so I can still get the potty stuff going.