How Do You Know That Your 2 1/2 Year Old Is Ready to Potty Train?

how I potty trained was to take them every time I go, and if they go, then I rewarded them with a few M&Ms. I know some moms thought I was awful for using candy, but it worked.

I have five kids 17, 15, 12, 6, and 3, and married to my husband for 20 years.

Chances are, if she's waking up dry from naps and ESPECIALLY if she makes it through most nights, she's ready. I would suggest taking her to the store and allowing her to pick out her own potty (or if she's big enough and you just want to buy one of those things that attaches to your toilet, it's less work for you but some kids aren't always ready to go straight to that). Also, allow her to pick out her own underwear with her favorite characters on them. Then tell her "Don't pee pee on Barbie (or whoever it is), you'll get her all wet". Sometimes tactics like that can work. It all depends on your child so really pay attention to what motivates her. When she is successful, is your praise enough, or do you need to keep some special treats around that she only receives when she gets it right? If she is in day care, make sure they are aware of your efforts and do NOT allow them to put her in diapers for any reason for their convenience. (you should avoid using diapers as well unless she needs them through the nights) Always have plenty of changes of clothes available and do NOT punish her in any way (don't even allow your frustration to show) if she has an accident. Use that time to give her encouragement for the next time. Potty training isn't always easy and sometimes takes a lot of work but if you make sure you allow plenty of time to find restrooms while you're away from home and give her ample opportunities to go, your hard work will pay off sooner. BTW I potty trained two boys with these same tactics and my first son was trained in less than a week, my younger son, however, took several weeks so it's all about what works for your child's personality. Good Luck!

I am potty training my 21 month old and he is showing signs of knowing when he goes potty. I had my first completely potty trained by 2 years and 3 months. what i looked for is if they start grabbing their diaper and looking down at the same time in a none playful way, and all of the sudden. Also when your kid comes to you after they have gone they have been ready to be potty trained for quite some time. my youngest will be two in october and he has already been inroduced to his potty chair. we do not sit on it until i change his daiper and i tell him, "when you need to tee tee or poo poo you go in the potty and he shakes his head. He also comes to me and says kinky (stinky) and that means he knows what it is to go potty. or now after only a week of the potty introduction he runs to the potty with his diaper on and sits and says tee tee. there are many things to let you know when they are ready and monst children start showing signs by a year and a half most people dont know wha to look for. I hope this helps. Oh and dont get discouraged there are those children that get scared or that backfire. If they are potty trained by 3 to 3 ans a half you are doing fine.
just take it easy.

Good morning - when your little one can articulate that she needs to use the potty she will be ready. I know we all reach a point where diapers are a pain and expensive, but trying to force potty training can cause problems in other areas later. I waited until my children were three years of age and they trained quickly. I offered M&Ms as a treat for successes and sang silly songs while we waited for the "miracle" to happen haha. You can certainly start exposing her to the idea - letting her in with you might be a thought. As tempting as it may be, try to be patient and not force her to train. There has never been a child yet who went to school un-trained :-) Good luck

I have a daughter that is 2 1/2 now and she within the last couple of weeks she has decided that she is going to go to the potty on her own. We didn't use pull ups or anything. Yeah she has a few accidents but they are not bad! I asked her pediatrician and he stated that it is not fair to the child and could damage them if you force them to use the potty. He said he had 4 children and he let each of them go to the potty when they were ready that way you have some help from the child in this matter.

Try reading "Making the 'Terrible' Twos Terrific!" by John Rosemond. His advice is pretty simple and straightforward: wait until your child is ready physically, emotionally, and intellectually, and then let them do it themselves. He says potty training is about their autonomy and independence, and when we try to make it about our convenience or anything else, we'll meet resistance.

Morning K..

Read some of the responses sent to the mom who had written about her child. She's printed right above your question and her name is Jodie. Those ideas should also help you. Good Luck. And relax, potty training is as easy is taking yourself to the bathroom when you are need of the release.

Every child is different. My son I let him pee outside (a boy thing), gave hime rewards and cool undies. My daughter was always dry through the night and at naps. So when I was staying home with her, we went cold turkey. I took her to the potty by a timer at first every hour, if she went we would wait 2. Then eventually we made more time in between. This really only works if you are home and stay home during the day. It took about a week of this rigid schedule and she no issues. But there are MANY great ideas. Also my daughter loved potty books. (Any of them, about elmo or any character going potty.)

Good luck.

Read the book "Toilet Training in Less Than a Day" by Azrin and Foxx. It absolutely works if you follow it closely. She'll be out of diapers right away 7 you'll save yourself (and her) months of frustration.

I think that by 2 1/2 she may have shown signs but you may not have not seen them, don't worry-you're a young, busy mom and you can start now. I taught 2 yr olds for 3 years at pre-school, what we did was start by taking them to the bathroom every 20-30 minutes-yes it feels like you are in the bathroom all day! When she starts to pee in the potty once or twice a day put her in panties. I learned this with my daughter-it worked the quickest,I put her in panties-and some days we went through every pair she had, but after about 2 weeks, she was doing very well. Also, unless you have already bought at small potty for her-don't. I used (at home and preschool)a potty seat that sits on top of the toilet and a stool so she could get on the potty by herself. And #1 rule is to be consistent-be consistent-be consistent, if not its going to take much longer, and stick with it, it won't happen overnight, it took my very intelligent daughter months to finally get there! You can do a sticker chart (mine was a piece of construction paper that said "Cassidy's Potty Chart" so you don't have to get fancy-she just stuck the stickers on wherever, it was easiest)or you could do rewards, like an M&M or 2. Just do it the same each time. Hope this helps.
Don't use pull-ups, they are a waste of money, they are just a diaper with pretty pictures, it prolongs potty training and they learn that they don't have to take the time to go to the bathroom if they are wearing one.

my little girl just turned 2 she's completely potty trained... she never wanted to use her potty training toilet that was a waste of money she uses it as a stool to get onto the toilet. the way i did it was when we were at home she ran around with no bottoms no undies nothing and sure there will be a few messes but after about a month (about 10-15 pees on the floor and 2 poos in front the toilet)(just like if u were to get a puppy) she'll get the picture sounds horrible i know... but as soon as she starts to show "signs" of needing to or when she does it don't get mad just act like uh oh we had an accident we need to go tee tee toilet then go set her on it just for a minute say are you finished did u get it all out make funny straining faces count 123 and strain then let her wipe herself (it's just tee not that big of a deal) she'll think it's a neat BIG GIRL thing to do tell her she's a big girl get all excited and do the pee pee dance singing "Veda tee teed toilet veda tee teed toilet YEAAAH!!!" (veda being her name) and do a little jig with it. i do the chacha sorta thing with my arms get all into it. act funny and she'll start dancing thinking its fun and she gets to be a big girl. she's been potty trained completely since she was about 20 months and she still does the tee tee toilet for anyone that takes her tee tee or if she sees someone else tee. Now she's 25 months old and i put a diaper on her when she falls asleep just in case... but just keep teeing a happy fun thing and NEVER get mad when uh oh we had an accident gotta go get some dry panties... also i got her dora panties she showed them to everyone she was so proud to be wearing dora big girl panties like mommys big girl panties (the girls obsessed with dora) well good luck i hope some of this helps u! just deal with mess for a few weeks and she should totally get the hint

Well you can try to take away the diapers for a day or two (you would ofcorse have to probably sit at home) and let her sit on a potty as much as she wants. For me, I put the potty in front of her favorite show and she peed on it within the first half an hour. My daughter was a little over 2 and figured it out right away. Nightime is always a different story, you will probably need pull ups. (I have three kids and one on the way it has worked for my first two and I am getting ready to train my third the same way =) Everytime she does the deed on the pot you can give her a small reward like a star, ect. I think I gave my daughter and son a fruit snack. Good luck you will know if she is ready after that =)