Would you potty train 2 weeks out?

[Elle23]

No way I would start potty training 2 weeks before a trip.

But I'm in the laid back "they'll-do-it-when-they're-ready" parenting category and never really potty trained much at all. All 4 of my kids were out of diapers around age 3 with little fuss and fretting.

 

[cmph]

Reading your sentence about ending up spending the cruise in the bathroom--reminds me of my first kid--she just had to visit the bathrooms everywhere she went...we'd go to a bathroom 2-3 times within an hour at a restaurant--I have no idea why--just to see what 'this one' looked like? It drove me crazy!

LOL! That would be my youngest, after he got used to public bathrooms (still waiting on that to happen for kid #1... nearly 12 and cannot stand public bathrooms yet, guess I scarred her permanently). He's 8 now and still does it!! I'm not sure if he's bored, or just antsy from sitting too long, or what. An MDR dinner has a 3-bathroom-break minimum. I guess at least the public bathrooms are nice on-board!

 

[tcufrog]

I wouldn't do it. Training my strong willed older son was a nightmare. I couldn't get him potty trained until 3 1/2. His younger brother was trained at 2 1/2 and it was a much easier process. The one thing that worked with my older son was finding something that he really wanted to do that required him to be potty trained. That was going to a week long summer day camp with his two bffs. We took him to the open house and he loved it. While there we took him around and showed him the bathroom in the classroom. Afterwards we asked him if there was a diaper changing spot in the camp. He said no. We then asked him if there was a place to throw away diapers. Again he said no. Months went by and there was no significant potty training progress. Two weeks before the refund date for camp I asked him if he wanted to go to camp with his friends. He said he really did. I told him that he had to be fully potty trained by ___ date to go since the camp wasn't set up for kids in diapers. I then pulled out a wall calendar and counted the days with him so he knew what that meant. He was finally fully potty trained by the end of those two weeks. Despite everything I tried, big and small, he had his mind made up that he wouldn't do it until he decided that it was in his own interest.

 

[Mighty Mouse Mama]

The truth is, every kid is different and has their own annoyingly secret key to potty training. If you'd asked this after I potty trained my son, I would have said yes, absolutley. He was strong willed, but really wanted to go on the kiddie roller coaster at Six Flags. All it took with him was making a sticker chart for two weeks with the roller coaster as a reward and he was completely trained by the end of those two weeks. Magic!
And then there was my daughter. Sweetest little angel, eager to please, always the easier child...except when it came to potty training. She seemed willing, liked the sticker chart thing, was happy enough to sit on the toilet. But if she was doing something she liked, she just would NOT stop to go potty. It took FOREVER to get her trained. We tried every method imaginable, including giving up and letting it be her choice. Nothing worked until she was 4 and decided that she was too old to go in her pants anymore.
Your daughter may decide that the cruise is a big enough goal to train for in two weeks. She may love the idea that on a cruise ship, big girls go in the potty. If she does, awesome! Lucky you! You could always try it out during the time leading up to it. But if it seems to be a struggle, remember this is supposed to be YOUR vacation too. Spending a large portion of it in the bathroom with her, waiting for her to go so that she doesn't have an accident at dinner or at one of the shows, or running frantically to get her to a bathroom because she just realized she has to go RIGHT NOW does not sound like the relaxing vacation you deserve. Bring the pull-ups. The space they take up in the suitcase will be more than paid for by the time you don't have to spend stressing about the change in your routine undoing all of your hard work.
Good luck!

 

[bumbershoot]

We found not potty training her at all worked beautifully. She actually trained herself shortly after she turned 3, and it was the easiest, most drama-free thing!

Exactly.

I can't imagine *training* a *strong willed* child. Let them work it out. Don't force them into anything. Definitely not with the OP's doctor here, but then I would literally NEVER have listened to ANY kind of doctor about potty-training, nor would I have asked them. They don't take potty training classes. I've probably had more psych classes than they have had, and neither of us would have had toddler psychology classes.

Let the kidlet work it out on his/her own. Help when needed, but especially a strong willed kid isn't going to want to be bribed or forced into something...

I do not want this to happen to you and your child: You wait for 30 mins or more in line to meet a character and when it is almost your turn, your child says they need to use the potty. You will have no choice but to exit the line!

Were you, in fact, watching us those 3 days trying to get onto Jungle Cruise at Disneyland? Every time as we turned the corner and had one more nearby corner to turn before the turnstiles to get seated, boom, he had to go.

And that's with a kid who started working it out VERY early but did it gradually. But just like his dad, when he had to go he HAD TO GO, and the bathrooms are in an annoying spot compared to Jungle Cruise at Disneyland!

 

[jenc842]

I think it's safe to say we'll be holding off on potty training until she's ready, thanks to all your advice! I want to relax - grandparents are coming along too so it'll be another 2 to look after

but....still loving all these anecdotes and stories. they have me rolling on the ground

 

[taggie4]

From someone who regretably potty trained her youngest a week before a week long stay at the Disney parks, no!! Definitely not the time. She won't change that much between now and when you return.

 

[Geomom]

I think it's safe to say we'll be holding off on potty training until she's ready, thanks to all your advice! I want to relax - grandparents are coming along too so it'll be another 2 to look after

but....still loving all these anecdotes and stories. they have me rolling on the ground

Good decision! And I get having to look after your parents as well--no matter how smart they are, if they don't travel often, they'll need guidance, and reminders of where to be when!

Oh, I'm sure we have plenty more stories!

My youngest was hard to train. I got fed up one day and told her that when the diapers were gone she'd have to use the potty. A week later, I asked her if she wanted to use the potty...her reply: 'are the diapers gone?' She is now 13 and STILL hates auto flush toilets. I never seem to remember to bring post-its--so yep, public restrooms will often find me in a stall with her, making sure it doesn't flush on her...so much fun...not. She's also the kid that only uses a bathroom 3x a day...so different from my oldest that could go every hour--at least that one is fine with auto flush!

 

[heather913]

I'd say definitely not. I can't imagine traveling anywhere with a newly potty trained kid. When they need to go, they need to go NOW. It's not worth the stress or the hassle while traveling. For the first month or 2, we stick to places and situations where we can get to a bathroom within minutes. Three weeks isn't going to make any difference. This is one of those "smile and nod" situations - when the doctor says something I don't agree with and feel they don't know what they are talking about, I smile and nod and do what I want.

 

[StaciaRae]

I agree that I would not potty train him right before the trip. That being said - my son was 2.5 and I suddenly worried that I'd have a 3 year old in diapers - so we got serious about potty training! In one week's time, he was potty trained, lost his pacifiers and his bottle. It was a rough week, but he's only had a handful of accidents since then. I'm not sure how we would've faired if we had a big trip right around the corner though but it is possible to potty train a kid in just a short period of time.

 

[FigmentSpark]

Ah stories. I remember getting stuck on the I4 on the way to WDW (accident) with my newly trained 3 year old DS. We were sitting there for at least a half hour when he announced he had to go. There was no holding it. He had to go and didn't understand 'holding it' yet. We pulled off the side (no where else to go in the traffic) and DH held him out the side of the van. Embarrassing, but what can you do? So days later, driving back home, we'd ask him to go to the bathroom at our gas station stops and he'd insist he didn't have to go. Then, he'd tell us he had to go once we were on the highway. After the second time that happened, we finally figured out that he thought it was great fun to go on the side of the road. He wasn't happy we ruined his fun and made him go in the gas stations.

 

[kerry1379]

Just wanted to throw this suggestion out there-IF you decide to potty train, you may want to consider a pull up at night. Years ago, my daughter had been fully potty trained for 6 months but was so wiped out when her head hit the pillow each night on that cruise that she slept like the dead. And....that means she wet the bed that first night because she slept so hard she did not wake up when she needed to go.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

I've been working with kids ages 3-5 for the past 15 years. I also have two grown boys of my own. The main thing I've learned about potty training, and continue to stress to my classroom parents, is that you cannot simply make the choice to potty train a child. They have to first show awareness of the need to go and be able to understand the toileting procedure. You can begin by asking them if they need to go to start getting them in tune with their bodies. You can try sitting them on the toilet, and they may or may not go. If they show no awareness of their bodily functions and continue to go freely in their diapers, they are not ready. There is absolutely no hard and fast age at which a child "should" be ready. It's difficult to compare kids' abilities to train, even among siblings. It happens so differently for each individual child.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

Oops! Double post!

 

[5Texans]

I say don't do it. None of my 3 "potty trained" they did it in their own time at 23mo, 30mo, and 21mo.

Tip for the loud, automatic flush- POST IT NOTES!! stick it over the sensor before your kid sits down, then take it off after they are done. My oldest was terrified of the toilets flushing on her and would cry and jump off in anticipation.

 

[WeLoveDisneyAlways]

We potty trained right before our WDW trip, I made sure we used the toilet before getting in long lines etc if you go every few hours you'll be fine as long as your toddler will use the toilet I remember one washroom my DD just screamed so we had to go to another and she was fine. Good news all the ship bathrooms are gorgeous. We have found out DD can go up to 15 hrs without going to the washroom so I was a bit overboard in making her go every few hours but better safe then sorry.