21 Month Old DD Asking to go on potty... OPINIONS

[SharpMomOfTwo]

Now, I know that there are a lot of people out there that potty train way before 21m, but I'm not one of them. I don't see the point to it, because I don't feel that they can really tell you when they have to go 100% of the time, and it usually becomes a game. Having said that.....
I was sitting in the living room with DD21m on Saturday, and she tells me that she wants to go the potty. So I said OK, and took her. After sitting there for about 10-15 minutes, nothing. She FINALLY agrees to get off, and we go back inside. Then DD3 tells me she has to go, and that just starts DD21m up again asking to go potty (the only reason DD21m is asking to go potty is because she sees DD3 doing it, and she wants to be a big girl like her). So I bring in the little Dora potty we have, and told her to sit on that. She wasn't to keen on it, but did it, and actually went potty!!
Now here is my delima - Now all she wants to do is sit down, get up, sit down, get up off the potty, and its really just become one big game to her. Shes a pretty smart little girl, and we told her, that if she felt like she had to go, to sit on the potty.... she doesn't really get it, and has just gone in her diaper every time. So what I'm thinking (and what I've done so far) is that I'm going to take the Dora potty out of the room, and if she asks to go again, just try and distract her.

Now, my reasoning behind not potty training this early is this - They think its a game, and get so used to it being a game, that they don't really get potty trained for YEARS. I know several people who started their kids early, 18 months, and never fully potty trained them till 3 /12 - 4, and they still wear pull ups to bed. Now I didn't start my first till she was between 2 & 2 1/2, and did it within about a week, and she hasn't worn pullups to bed in forever. Another reason behind it is because we are going to Disney in December, and having to take her to the public potty every 30 minutes will NOT BE FUN! Also, if shes anything like my first DD, she may have some "issues" with pubic pottys for a while, so that just wont work at all!! So what do you guys think? Have you ever been in the situation, and what have you done?


TIA
Sarah

 

[vcgirl925]

I am a firm believer and in following their cues. If she is showing interest then let her go. Maybe just do it before bath and first thing in the morning and see where that goes. My ds was completely PT'd at 2.5 and fully night trained a little before three. My dd is being a little more difficult. She is day trained with the exception of poop, she won't poop on the potty.

Either way good luck!

 

[saratogadreamin09]

i totally agree with the if she's showing intrest let her go



also, maybe you could buy her some small toys and candy and give her something everytime she actually goes on the potty

 

[mommy2allyandaveri]

We are going through this very same thing right now, except DD is 19 months old. Sometimes she goes, most times she doesn't. We decided not to discourage her because we want her to succeed and she doesn't play the game all that often. I am not trying to force it on her. But if she says the words we take her.

She does seem to go more often if my 4 year old goes while she is on the potty.

 

[PEANUT1]

my 21 month old has been showing an interest in the potty for about 2 months. I usually put her on each night before bath and when she says she needs to go "poopoo"(her words).

she does pee each time and sometimes does poop but I am not trying to potty train. I figure at around 2, I will start putting her on more times during the day.

I say, if she wants to go on the potty, let her. Just don't let her do it 100x a day..that might become annoying.

Good luck.

Andrea

 

[marcyinPA]

I teach two year olds and am a part of the potty training process for most of them. I've had a few children in my classes from year to year who were potty trained very early (one was 18 months and incredibly verbal....) It IS possible to potty train before the age of 2, and if she is showing interest, I'd say go for it!! I would think that discouraging her now may backfire on you in the future!

 

[waltskids]

We are also going through this with DS who is 20 months. It started at 18 months while watching the babysitter's son potty train. He loves sitting on the potty, tells us when he is going or has to go, and does #2 in private, usually in another room and does not want us to know he has messed his diaper. For some reason, he cannot have a BM sitting down, only standing, which is presenting a challenge when he wants to sit on the potty and then needs to get off to go 'do his business' in another room. We just follow his cues and don't push him, and so far it is working out well.

 

[DreadpiratK]

We have a very similar situation, our daughters are 18 months apart and the younger one always has to do what the older is doing. At 18 months, she started copying her sister by getting on the potty, and she really got it. this si gross, but she started out pooping every time she got in the tub, Yuk! but it was a trigger for her, so we dipped her in the warm water then sat her on the potty, and she made the connection. Anyway, she is now 2.5 and has been fully potty trained for almost a year. No diapers, She only very occasionally has an accident when she's so busy playing the she doesn't want to stop, but never at night never poop. It worked well for us, but may not for everyone. I doubt if either of my boys could have gotten it like that! Girls are so easy.

 

[Aneille]

I understand your thought process but I would let her go when she asks the first time but then take her off when it starts getting game like.

I say this because my 2nd DD was fully potty trained before she was 2. And I mean it. No accidents at all and I did not want her to potty train. She just learned as I was teaching her sister who didn't train until she was 3yrs old. My kids are 21 months apart. She grew up watching her older sister learn to use the potty. And one day started telling us she had to go. And it was a game at first, then we stopped the game. A few months went by and she said she didn't want a diaper and from then on she didn't have one.

 

[mamaLori05]

I definatly wouldn't discourage her from doing it. She's just exploring it right now, which is totally normal. Expecially since she is the 2nd. From what everyone tells me, the second usually trains faster because they want to be like their bigger sibling. Even if it seems like a game, at least she is interested and excited about it. you don't have to potty train her yet if you don't want, but just let her do her thing. I could see discouraging her would backfire. Really what's the worst that could happen....you don't have to buy diapers anymore?

 

[~*~Michelle~*~]

I wouldn't discourage it either. dd was 16mths when she started showing interest & was completely potty trained, day & night by 18mths. Some children are just more advanced, especially if there is someone they are copying. I personally don't see any problem w/it being a "game" it's just her getting used to sitting on the potty & not being afraid of it.

 

[becca011906]

My second started doing that same thing when she was 20 months old right before our disney trip in 2004, we did let her go most of the time when she asked but we kept up with the diapers full time till the vacation was over, i was 4.5 months pregnant with #3 so when vacation was over i fully took her out of diapers and she was full day time potty trained with in 2 weeks, no regression ever, she wasn't able to hold it durring the night till she was about 3y 10 months and did always wear a diaper to bed, but never had any acidents durring the day or at naps, ect.

 

[NMAmy]

Peer pressure can be a wonderful thing in this case.

DD is an only child but she was in daycare and all the kids in her group were about 6 months older than her. Since they were all approaching the age of 2, they were working on potty training. DD came home at 18 months of age and told me she was not a baby and she wanted to wear pull ups and use the potty.

The kid trained herself within about a week--I really did no more than provide the potty chair and the pull ups. I certainly wasn't pushing her to do it and she never had an accident again after that first week. So it is certainly very possible for an 18 month old to be potty trained without it dragging out for years.

If she's this interested, I would follow her lead and then see how it goes without any pressure.

 

[Magic2000]

All three of my girls were potty trained before the age of 2. Just as the others have said, I took their cue. When they asked about pottying like a big girl, we tried it and they did great!

When my youngest DD was just about finished potty training, we were going to Washington DC for vacation. I wasn't sure what to do, since I wasn't familiar with where all the bathrooms would be in the museums and stuff. I bought her some pull ups, and told her these were her "Big Girl VACATION panties". She loved it! Never had an accident in them!

Give it a try - she may be ready!! Good luck!!!!

 

[kloei423]

Heres my two cents. I agree to let her give it a try. My DD was pt when she was 22 months, exactly 1 week before my DS was born she no longer wore diapers. pull ups at night until i was comfortable with her pattern of dryness. now my DS2 and 3 months is pt as of July 4th. he started telling my DH that he had to poop, which was actually pee the beginning of June and did very well peeing on the potty, however would not poop. he tried and tried but always wanted off the potty until the 4th we were on about 4 times in 10 minutes and he kept telling me his belly hurt, so i told him to sit on the potty while i got him a TUMS, well when i came back he had pooped, and has been doing it ever since. the only time i put a diaper on is for bed and road trips... I say go for it, one day it will stick

 

[barnaby1]

I also agree to not discourage her. Take her cue. Even if she thinks it is a game to start with she won't keep up the game (multiple visits) for very long but at least she won't be scared of the potty. Most of all keep it relaxed. I put too much pressure on my dd then 25 months who I thought was absolutely ready. I took a step back and she is now day time (and more times than not night time) trained less than 3 months later. I left her in nappies and started putting her on the potty at regular times, in the morning, before bath and bed etc. One day she started asking to use the potty and the next day the nappies were gone and she went straight into normal underpants. It took about 3 weeks of the occasional accident and then she cracked it and we haven't looked back. Also important in all of this is that you need to be ready for her to potty train!!!!

 

[Rella2008]

My DD is 26 months and we started her in pullups at 18 months. We waited till she was completly poop potty trained as I refused to wash poppy underwear.

So around 4 weeks ago we decided it was time, and we switched to big girl panties. It is amazing she has only had 1 accident and it was after swim lessons.

Our trip to WDW is just over two weeks away. I plan to use pull ups in WDW as I don't want to worry about being in line for a ride and her saying she has to go potty. But she will be wearing the big girl panties when we are in the hotel and to bed. I also plan on taking her to the bathroom when we pass a restroom to keep up the training but am a little afriad of her regressing.

Good luck to you! and hope she as easy to potty train as mine was!

 

[WantToGoNow]

If she's asking to go, then take her. Why would you not. My children all started training around 20 months and by their 2nd birthday's, they were all day trained and both girls night trained as well (ds took a little longer at night). I have pictures of dd4.5 on Christmas morning in nothing but her roller skates and panties -- she just turned 2 on December 9 .

It can be done. It seems more and more people are waiting longer than they used to.