Training before 2.5 is significantly easier. Toddlers that age are less stubborn, more wanting to please, and their memories are shorter.

Mine were day trained in 3-4 days using the 3 day naked method, 1 showed readiness, the other one was iffy on that. But it totally works. They were 24 and 26 months.

Now, both are girls, and I did use cloth diapers for a lot of their babyhood , although I think I was using disposables by then for my 2nd. I don’t think any of this makes me superior, by any means, and I agree that there are exceptions and some kids who won’t train early.

But I’ve noticed a few things over many years around friends -

1. Most parents are inconsistent. Potty training works best if you stick to a very regimented plan. It’s kinda like training a puppy. Ever missed a signal and the puppy potties inside, then suddenly they are doing it constantly even though they were going outside consistently ? It’s like that. If you have a kid in daycare, or watched by family, it’s not always possible to maintain that consistency for a week in a row until they get it down, so it fails. Not anyone’s fault.

2. I’ve known a lot of parents who repeat the idea that waiting until 3 means it’s quick, and that training at 2 takes forever. Which is actually the opposite of what I observed with friends, but it persists. I personally think parents who wait til 3 seem to have kids with a lot of poop issues. The Pee part seems easy though.

3. The longer that a kid learns to go in their pants after they have control, you have a habit to unbreak - and this is why I think older trainers have issues. Versus if you do it younger, they learn closer to the time when the physical ability develops.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This thread too a bad turn but here’s why I trained all three kids before they were two: I wanted my kids to always do what they were capable doing. Since they were all capable of holding and releasing urine at will, they were ready and able. Bowel control happens even younger.

My kids might have been able to do this before two, but I wouldn't consider it potty trained because they wouldn't warn me when they needed to go or manage their (even easy) clothing themselves. We waited until about 26 months and both kids potty trained to the point they could hold it in a couple of days. Within two weeks they could warn us when they needed to go. And within another week or two they could do their own clothing. This meant that by 27 or 28 months both kids could take themselves to the potty at home or daycare when they needed to without a reminder. I seriously doubt that many kids can do that before two. At that point the parent is taking the kid to the potty on a schedule and managing their clothing. That's all great, but I don't consider the kid to be really potty trained. It's more like the parent is trained to facilitate toddler pottying.

Actually all three of my kids were completely self-initiated and told us when they needed to go at 23 and 22 months. Even though they all needed help wiping and pulling pants back up it was still better than diapers. The best is when they’re pooping in the actual toilet (with seat insert)!! All did that just before two.

We just potty trained our 22 month old. It took two weeks of inconsistent training but after about a week she self initiated using the potty for pee and about another week to master poop. She was definitely ready and able to communicate need. She could even get her pants down herself.

We trained DS young, too - around 23 months.

I know I wanted them to train young to avoid any poop phobia or prolonged use of disposable diapers. There are two kids in my son’s three’s class last year who still aren’t toilet trained at nearly four. I do think it’s better to do it when they’re very young.

Anonymous wrote:This thread too a bad turn but here’s why I trained all three kids before they were two: I wanted my kids to always do what they were capable doing. Since they were all capable of holding and releasing urine at will, they were ready and able. Bowel control happens even younger.

My kids might have been able to do this before two, but I wouldn't consider it potty trained because they wouldn't warn me when they needed to go or manage their (even easy) clothing themselves. We waited until about 26 months and both kids potty trained to the point they could hold it in a couple of days. Within two weeks they could warn us when they needed to go. And within another week or two they could do their own clothing. This meant that by 27 or 28 months both kids could take themselves to the potty at home or daycare when they needed to without a reminder. I seriously doubt that many kids can do that before two. At that point the parent is taking the kid to the potty on a schedule and managing their clothing. That's all great, but I don't consider the kid to be really potty trained. It's more like the parent is trained to facilitate toddler pottying.

Is no one here concerned about the landfills?