Ready for Potty Training? - Webster,MA

If she stays dry through the night her muscles are definitely developed enough to be trained but that doesn't mean she is mentally ready. You may have to try it and decide if she can handle it.

One thing I learned when training my son is that the parents need to be equally ready to train their kids. It can be frustating so you have to be up to the challenge. Not getting frustrated and anxious about how she is doing will help her succeed.

Once you are ready to train her stay ahead of her wetting her diaper/pants by telling (not asking) her to sit on the potty.

Good luck!

When they start taking off their diapers because they are wet, they are ready.

Don't push it, but what you can do is make a fun "toilet time" everyday where you read her books while she sits on the potty. Try to time it so you get her to go. Once she's done it a bunch of times, then start with a schedule of "rules." In our house, we go first thing in the morning, before we go anywhere, before lunch when we wash our hands, before nap, after nap, etc. One other helpful thing to do is to dump her poop into the toilet, showing her where it goes. Also, after your fun "toilet time," go to the bathroom yourself, to model and reinforce that "pee goes in the potty."

It's important to keep it mind that while 20 months is considered young by today's standards, prior to 1960, 90% of all kids (boys and girls alike) were potty trained. For some insane reason, people seem to think that kids aren't ready unless they can do it all themselves, when, in all actuality, potty training is a developmental milestone like walking, there is lots to learn and lots mom can do to help in the process.

The most important thing is to make it fun and to not show any negative emotion.

If your daughter seems aware of peeing, if she strips and squats to watch herself pee or makes herself pee - she is ready. If she runs around and it dribbles down her leg - not ready. Her potty needs to be out all the time and you need to talk about it all the time. "Mommy, has to go potty!" then let her watch (and I mean - really watch!) and point at her potty and say "'Janie's' Potty!" THen back and forth, "Mommy's potty, 'Janie's' potty!!" Encourage her use, but at the first sign of protest - drop it. And when she does go on the potty - be ridiculously excited and give her a sticker, or a tic-tac. Every time she is naked or does a diaper change - give her naked bum time and encourage potty use.
That's pretty much what potty training is. Hysterical moments of yourself being way animated over a little tinkle! hehe....well, that's what it was for us. My daughter started around 18 months - peeing and pooping, but not potty trained for a year. It was a long year, but WHAT AN ACCOMPLISHMENT! life gets easier....and now I'm working on baby #2. He's 20 months today and these are the same signs he exhibits.
I'm running with it!

p.s. - i REALLY disagree with the notion that a 2 year old getting naked is her being defiant. That's age appropriate. Kids are exploring and learning about their body with no inhibitions! Doesn't it feel wonderful to run free and fell the air on my body!!
And also, if you are using cloth diapers - your child will potty train sooner, such as the woman who pointed out that in the 60's 90% of children were. The problem with the disposables is that they are "dry-touch", so kids don't learn what a wet diaper is...just a full one. Wet is the warning sign that my body does this and then I'm this. With my 2nd we do a combination of cloth and disposables and he is able to tell me when his diaper is wet.
Good luck!

I believe that potty training is one of those fights you dont win. Keep offering the potty but don't stress over it. My daughte is two and is knows how to use the big girl poty but only will do it when its her idea. I'm not pushing it right and believe that she will be ready soon enough!

You might also try talking and reading books about the potty to work up some more interest. We really loved reading "No More Diapers for Ducky" with our daughter as well as other books with photos of kids and toilets and such. She was a fairly early potty-trainer (trained around 18-20 months, although at 3.5 yo she still isn't night trained) because she started refusing a diaper. We left it off a lot and cleaned lots of messes!

I would back off of putting her back on if she really doesn't want to b/c you don't want to create a negative association. We used a small potty that we allowed her to sit on whenever or wherever she wanted to when she was little.

my daughter was similar - very curious and interested in the potty - so I got a potty for her and thought she would be trained really early. However, she was just curuious, but not at all ready. When she WAS really ready, it was super easy - just two or three accidents over three days, and then - totally trained (except for night - that's a separate issue!).

I think that taking her clothes and diaper off just means she is curious and exploring. (my duaghter did that too - we had naked time after bath, and she peed on the floor a few times, and it horrified her! I would get her a potty, and use it for familiarity - and keep you expectatioins super low. Read the potty books IF SHE IS INTERESTED! Don't make it your agenda, allow it to be hers, and allow the timing to be hers. She will let you know when she is ready.

I bought the princess underwear way before my duaghter was ready, and when she was ready, she let us know and the process was very easy. If your daughter is screaming adn fighting, it's totally not worth it. She is letting you know she is not ready. allow her to watch you, and you can ask her if she wants to try the potty. Let her decide when she wants to and does not want to - let her control the pace. I think that's the best way - it is their body, after all!
Good Luck!

I totally agree with Amanda- make it available- bring her with you and explain your steps but don't push or stress. You hear horror stories about people having so much trouble with potty training- that's probably because those kids were not ready and/or their parents pushed them too much. Just go low stress for now.

Taking her clothes off and running around naked usually just means that she's being defiant (and is distinguishing herself from the baby) OR she just likes the feeling of running around naked. She may not be developmentally ready to sense when her bladder is full. I would not push the potty training at all as you are right, she is very young. It can set up an oppositional relationship and she'll fight you forever. I agree about books like "No More Diapers" and "Everybody Poops" and "Once Upon a Potty" but weave them into your other book reading routines. Don't focus on them exclusively. You can insist that she wear clothes because "we don't pee on the floor, we pee in diapers or the potty." Good luck.