Poll: would your rather...

Spend a full month potty training your 18 month old, cleaning up messes, reminding him or her to use the potty, helping him or her on and off, wiping, but then be over and done with diapers before the 19 month mark...

OR

Wait for your child to walk up to you and ask to use the potty at 3 1/2 and never have to clean up a single mess or worry about an accident?

(I understand these are two extremes, but they represent two real situations -- one is the experience of my friend and the other is my own experience, not necessarily in that order. I know there are possibilities between those two, but please say which one you would rather out of those two).

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Asked by Anonymous at 1:17 PM on Mar. 19, 2010 in General Parenting

Answers (29)

The first one. My kid shows signs of wanting to potty train so i spend all day reminding him and cleaning up a few mess's . My doctor told me that I shouldnt even try to potty train him and I should wait until he is 3 because its just not "normal"......

Answer by armywife2009101 at 1:21 PM on Mar. 19, 2010
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I don't think you should potty train a child at 18 mos. Start sometime after the 2nd birthday when the child shows an interest. My older 2 were younger when they started potty training. My youngest had medical issues and we didn't start until age 3. He was house broken in no time. I think 2.5 to 3 years is the perfect time to start. IMHO

Answer by Anonymous at 1:22 PM on Mar. 19, 2010

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I didn't push our boys and they were all potty trained by 2 1/2 yrs... When they started showing interest I did what I could to help them feel comfortable with it and cheered them on.. Praise goes a long way! Do what you feel your LO is ready for. Don't raise your child the way anyone else is, all children go at different paces...

Answer by MrsLeftlane at 1:24 PM on Mar. 19, 2010
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I would rather wait until my child is ready. 3 or 4, so be it.

Answer by Anonymous at 1:28 PM on Mar. 19, 2010

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The first. The longer you wait the harder it is to introduce the habit to them.
I would rather reiderate it and make sure they know, rather then come to me only sort of knowing what they are asking. I would think there'd be less chance of regressing back to diapers that way. After the fact of course.

Answer by JazzlikeMraz at 1:30 PM on Mar. 19, 2010
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#2. I have always let my kids decide when they felt comfortable getting started and did not push the issue granted it did not take till the age of 3. If my LO wanted to wait till three, thats what I would do.

BTW each child is different, some are ready and some are not. Im just saying this in case your friend is comparing the two children or something.

Answer by 3gigglemonsters at 1:30 PM on Mar. 19, 2010
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My daughter showed signs of readiness at 17 months. She was trained by 18 months and yes, there were messes, but that doesn't mean she wasn't ready to train. My best friend's son was acting really ready at 20 months but she couldn't convince his daycare to even put him on the potty. A real shame, if you ask me.

Answer by Anonymous at 1:31 PM on Mar. 19, 2010

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Id rather wait til 3 1/2 or whenever they can tell me they want to go,etc. When they are ready no force involved.

Answer by Amaranth361 at 1:33 PM on Mar. 19, 2010
Credits: 13606 Level 22 General Parenting 101

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#1 for sure. We helped both our girls master the potty early relative to the general population, not to prove anything, but just because we thought they could do it. Our second daughter seemed very ready when we started, the other did not. -- they both learned quickly. It's like learning to use a spoon... of course you start working with them before they are 100% capable, and you tolerate some messes. Just because they don't perfect the art in a day does not mean they're not ready to start learning.

Answer by EmilySusan at 1:36 PM on Mar. 19, 2010
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i found a home sitter that specialized in PTing! so i didnt have to worry about it. she got him started. i did the 3 day method. he was trained just before he turned 3. i have heard that when you do it too young that the kid isnt trained. the parents are trained. other people seem lazy in waiting too long. i would not be cleaning diapers that long!!! i was so lucky to find that sitter!

Answer by AmaliaD at 1:37 PM on Mar. 19, 2010
Credits: 11701 Level 21 General Parenting Minor

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