Comments on: Should Your Child Be Potty Trained by Three?

By: Jeannie

Jeannie — Tue, 19 Dec 2017 18:40:44 +0000

Thanks for this wonderful post. My son is 3 yrs and 1 month, the daycare supervisor don’t want to promote him to pre-pre-kinder, he must stay with the babies between 1.5-3years until he can say that he needs to use the bathroom. He uses the bathroom only if you take him and sometimes he shows signs that needs to go.

By: DoreneMiller

DoreneMiller — Thu, 25 Feb 2016 12:33:03 +0000

I completely agree with you on this! there is no specific age for potty training,so we shouldn’t expect our kids to be trained by a particular age.My own son started training after 3 yrs.

By: Katie

Katie — Sun, 10 Aug 2014 04:54:28 +0000

In reply to Jessika. That makes my night, Jessika! I run across LOTS of moms who feel the same way. Stay strong and keep following your little one's lead.

By: Jessika

Jessika — Sun, 10 Aug 2014 02:54:07 +0000

Thanks so much for this. I’m a first time mom with a recently turned three year old who isn’t potty trained yet. I keep getting the comments from other moms asking why I’m having trouble with it and basically putting me down. I don’t want to push him and have been feeling stressed about getting him potty trained by preschool next year and have been feeling like we are behind. This has put me at ease. Thank you 🙂

By: Katie

Katie — Mon, 09 Jun 2014 03:38:00 +0000

In reply to Sarah Parisi. Thank you so much for sharing your family's experience, Sarah Parisi! I love to hear how you bypassed accidents. It's a true sign that your child was ready, and you were a very attentive mother. I am a fan of pull-ups for sure. It's so great to practice those skills of pulling them up and down before they're ready for underwear! It's such a pleasure to have you visit!

By: Katie

Katie — Mon, 09 Jun 2014 03:35:00 +0000

In reply to Caroline -De tout et de rien-. Caroline, that is so beautiful!! I am so glad you shared your own experience. You missed out on a lot of frustration and stress that others go through, and I admire you for watching your children's abilities so closely. Thank you so much for you wonderful comment and sharing such great encouragement.

By: Katie

Katie — Mon, 09 Jun 2014 03:33:00 +0000

In reply to Old Mom.

Thanks for visiting Old Mom! I love the cheerio idea!! In all honesty, I used to feel the same way that you do. I felt it was my job to intervene and to train.

I didn’t really change my strategy until I started looking at child developmentally from the standpoint that children are natural learners. I never had to teach infants to crawl or to walk. Toddlers don’t need to be taught to talk or to explore. Instead we are facilitators to their innate abilities.

A lot of the comments on this post are from educators and teachers, and we all have different perspectives. I am certainly not forcing anyone to follow my path, but I have learned that it has brought out the best in my own teaching and interactions. In my opinion, life is best with joy and without judgment.

By: Old Mom

Old Mom — Sun, 08 Jun 2014 16:50:00 +0000

I can’t believe today’s mothers! Potty training isn’t about waiting for some bogus signs your children put out. The training involves YOU, the parent. (And if they’re TELLING you they need a diaper change, you are WAY beyond the time they should have been trained!) This is one of those occasions where YOU are going to have to be in charge, NOT your child. You need to take your child OUT of his diaper, put on some lightweight cotton pants and load him up with liquids; you too. Then, set a timer, Every hour, the two of you go to the bathroom TOGETHER. If he never sees the process, how is he going to know what’s expected of him? He should see your husband go as well. If he messes his pants in that time and it runs down his legs, well, he’s just learned something. (And, yes, you will have to clean up after your children, probably until they leave the house for college.) When I trained my kids, and yes, it is “training,” I put a long t-shirt on them and took off their diapers. They had little potty chairs of their own. But, as I had boys, it was also fun for them to “aim” for things in the toilet: bits of toilet paper, even Cheerios. They never made a mess and they were trained in about 2 weeks. It was easier to catch a bowel movement because those were pretty regular. Then, we made a big deal about telling it bye-bye as we flushed it away. I did, however put diapers on them at night the first week as that was a little tougher to time. But, at the end of 2 weeks, even those accidents, while they still happened, were rare. If you plan on putting them in preschool at the age of 3–and yes, I, too, am an educator–then they must be trained, at least around here. And, as a teacher who is constantly busy, do I really want to take time to change a diaper, or to have my aide waste valuable time? All because a parent was too lazy and was “waiting” for their child to tell them they were ready to be trained. You should read John Rosamund. Excellent information on raring children and helping them through these milestones, without the psycho mumbo-jumbo.

By: Sarah Parisi

Sarah Parisi — Sat, 07 Jun 2014 21:51:00 +0000

Great post. My oldest was interested in the potty shortly after turning 2, but only sporadically. I didn’t start really focusing on it until he turned 3 and he was ready so we really only had a few accidents and he was fully using the potty within a week. My second child tried at 3 but really wasn’t ready. We tried again at about 3.5 and it took him a while; lots more time in pull-ups than my oldest, but that was fine with me. He eventually got the hang of it. Who knows what will happen with son #3.
I feel bad for parents who need to have their child in preschool (and their teachers) because I know they feel pressured to have them potty-trained by 3. I don’t think it’s a good situation for anyone, but I can understand the preschools’ rules about it. I am lucky enough to stay at home with my kids and we didn’t start preschool until they were 4.
Every child is different and it’s so important to listen to them and wait until they’re ready.

By: Caroline -De tout et de rien-

Caroline -De tout et de rien- — Sat, 07 Jun 2014 21:51:00 +0000

I loved to read your post! Both my kids showed me their readiness. Actually, to be more precised, my daughter is 3 years and 8 months and just barely shows me signs of readiness. My son was potty trained at 3 years old and 9 months. When he felt ready. I never pushed and just waited for them to be ready, and there was almost no accidents because my son was ready and motivated. I never felt the urge to sit my kids on the potty for hours. My daughter is on the good path. A few more weeks and I think she will be ready. 🙂