Oh boy, I heard everything on this list. Aren’t people just so dense sometimes? If it makes you feel any better, my son didn’t really learn, didn’t fully have it down, until probably 3 years and 3 months. I know that makes it seem like you have a long way to go, but I’m only trying to reassure that it will happen. But, it’s rough. The stork who brings the baby should also drop off a bottle of tequila when potty training starts, mama’s gonna need it. That and a lot of hand sanitizer.

I hate to admit it but my oldest was potty trained at 2 & 1/2 and I was “that”mom.. The one who boasted and bragged about how easy it was.. Well let me tell you, my youngest is almost 3 and has NO desire to use the potty.. If I bragged to myself about how easy my oldest was I’d probably punch myself LOL. I know he will use the potty when he’s ready but yes it is very frustrating to listen to everyone else saying that he’s too old to use diapers!

Oh boy, that takes me back! I remember those days.

Haha! That’s funny. Oh, the things to look forward to! ;)

I think that I have to agree with ALL of those things!! When my son first showed signs of wanting to be potty trained at 25 months I ended up being hospitalized and I totally missed it. After that he didnt show any interest in it for another 6 months. I heard ALL of those comments (most from my mother) but the truth is that he just. wasnt. ready. Hang in there, you’ll know when its the right time for both of you.

I was mostly annoyed with the “He/She isn’t potty trained yet” and just the constant hounding in general about starting and what I was or wasn’t doing.

My first was just shy of 3 when she completely potty trained herself, sure we’d talked about it with her and she’d sit on the potty here and there but we weren’t pushing it or even trying, then she just got up one day and decided she wanted big girl undies and that was it. So I’ve taken that approach. My 2nd (boy) had no interest whatsoever. We did start trying around 3.5 and he HATED ever aspect of it. So he was 4 before he was trained, yet he was still having some accidents for a year. Not sure what it was with him, other than he just didn’t want to take time away to potty lol. Our 3rd showed an interest in the potty at 15 months, so we bought a little one and let her sit on it as she wanted, she’d go sometimes and not others. Then she lost interest and was afraid of it. At 2 she’s so stubborn, she KNOWS what to do and where but just won’t. We’ll get there and I just try to ignore all the comments from others. Starting too soon and pushing the issue with babies/toddlers can really backfire.. I don’t see why so many try to rush it.
I refuse to use pullups! I can’t stand them. They are still diapers, work like diapers and are such a hassle.

I’ve heard ‘em all before lol you really have to keep them on a routine and try not to rush it.

My son is 3 and is not the least bit interested in potty training. The more we try to encourage it, the less he wants anything to do with it. We are always getting harsh comments, especially from family but we try to overlook them. The way I see it, he will use the potty when he is ready. Both my daughters were over 3 before they learned to use the potty as well. All of my children are highly intelligent so I know that has nothing to do with it. Honestly I think their intelligence is making them more stubborn and wanting to do it on their own time. And for the parents that want to rub it in our faces that they children were potty trained at a very young age, so what, 5 years down the road, what is it going to matter?

My mom used to hound me to get my daughter potty trained and would always say well you got the oldest boy potty trained why are you having such trouble with her.

I guess I’m one of those parents that milestones and readiness is important to keep up as parents. I do think that taking the bottle away when they turn one is important as well as an older toddler nursing. Potty trainy is important for parents to start at two and they the child should be potty trained no later than three.

If I recall correctly, my younger brother and sister didn’t start potty training until 3 and it didn’t take long because they were ready and could communicate well. I think because more moms work and with day care requirements that they’ve started younger and younger.

I wasn’t toilet trained. When I was two I told my mom (I spoke very young, probably to tattle on my older brother) no more diapers and that was it.

i have never been a mother, so maybe i am not allowed to comment, but will anyways. i taught kindergarten and NEVER did i have to change diapers. Once they get sociable, their peers will help … by example. Those that say they have the children trained early or quickly? Nah…the parents are trained!

Well this has been some years ago because my son is in his 20′s but my mom nagged me when he turned 2 that he should have been trained by that time. He loved the He-Man cartoon, obsessed with it actually, so while I was out shopping I found some He-Man underwear, that night I put them on him backwards so He-Man was in the front and told him it would not be nice to go potty on He-Man’s face. He had 2 accidents in 2 days and he was trained. He was so proud of those underwear.

Holy Hell—where to start!?! Besides my own two and my two grand-daughters, I have worked in pre-school environments and have potty trained many, many children. First, girls are NOT “easier” than boys–gender does not seem to be the deciding factor when it comes to potty training. Next, the intelligence of the child has almost NOTHING to do with potty training (the exception to that is on the extremely low end where numerous problem occur and is not an issue for this discussion.) Potty-readiness is a step in physical development that happens when it happens and, as with most things, isn’t “better” for happening on the early side of “normal.” (Look at any adult you know and try to guess how early they walked or talked or potty trained. You can’t.) Another myth, the use of food or toys as rewards, is not true and gives the wrong message in the long term—praise and bragging works better and adds to the internal confidence of the child.
So–my son is in his 20′s, is completely potty-trained, and is now a 4th year medical student. My daughter is an 18 YO senior graduating from advanced placement honors classes and is on her way to an almost full college scholarship–she is also completely potty-trained. One of these kids was trained very easily and very early. The other took more time and attention. I’ll bet no one can guess which was which. And who cares?

3 days? wow.. lol how fast did they learn to read in 6 days?

I am right there with you! My daughter is the same age. Her sister had it click month before she turned 3. I don’t see my 28 mth old getting trained faster. To the point that when she is ready she will do it. Pull ups are evil! They don’t work and are more expensive! I rather follow here around with a $5 clean up bottle and wash a lot of laundry!

I could have written this, my son is going to be three in February and I have the same issue and feel ashamed to admit to people he is not trained. I need to get it under control but he seems to not understand the concept still and when I suggest the idea of using a potty he literally seems as though he will burst into tears.

My daughter will be 3 next month and is not potty trained! She flat out refuses but since she’ll be starting preschool I’m hoping seeing other kids potty train will encourage her to. It’s a bit embarrassing but I figure when she is really ready we won’t have the issues we have now. I just don’t think she understands that when you need to go potty that we need to not go in our diaper.

Very funny post. I am starting to *think* about potty training my 17 month old, crazy boy now, so I’m bracing myself for all these comments in the future :)

Gotta love when a mom with a toddler comes over and goes out of her way to make her child use the potty to emphasize that HER child is potty-trained while yours still is not.

And as much as I love the idea of elimination communication, I just don’t have time to do it, and bristle whenever someone points out that that is the ONLY way to potty train. :P Oi vey!

Oh honey, been there and done that. =) My son was almost 4 before he potty trained. Parents kill me sometimes. It doesn’t matter how enthusiastic the parents are, the child will potty train when they are ready to potty train and not a moment before.

My sister has a 33 month old who has no interest in the potty. He doesn’t tell her when he has peed or pooped in this diaper. She also has a 9 month old son, so changing all those diapers is taking a toll on her, but it is almost impossible for her to get a free moment to try to train her oldest.

My oldest daughter was around 2 1/2 when we officially started potty training. We would sit on the potty and tried pull ups, but she still wasn’t telling me when she had to pee or poop. We used the pull ups for about 3 months. When I didn’t notice any change in her behavior, I switched back to the lesser expensive diapers. I looked online to see if there were any ideas or suggestions other parents had. I noticed what seemed like too many parents with kids that were 5 or about to start school that were still not potty trained. I thought for sure that would be my daughter. Then I read a suggestion by a parent who said to pick a weekend that you would be staying home the whole weekend, leave your child naked or just in underwear. Keep them by you and try the potty every once in a while. Your child may even ask to go themselves. More than likely they will have an accident, but since they will not like the feeling of being wet, it will be easier for them to understand the reasons for going in the potty. I tried it with my oldest. I must have stayed next to her for three hours….nothing. I ran to the end of the driveway to get the mail, came back and she had went to the bathroom right there on the floor! I cleaned up and gave her a bath. She is now 3 1/2 and has only had three other accidents. Two in the middle of the night on vacation (I don’t think she could find the bathroom) and once she didn’t make it all the way to the bathroom.

I really think she just didn’t seen any reason to use the potty. The diapers and pull ups worked fine for her. Now that she had a reason (not wanting to feel wet), she picked it up in a snap. I do want to note, we were trying for a few months using pull-ups and getting used to the feeling of the potty, so I think she needed the extra incentive. I also have girls. At least when they pee it will most likely go into a puddle on the floor not all over. Another advantage I have is that only the bedrooms are carpeted, so we stayed out of those rooms. We haven’t started with our youngest yet (she is 23 months), but probably will soon. :)

I have a four-year old boy. I’ve heard them all.. He’s potty trained in the daytime, but it took a long time for #1 and even longer for “#2,” but he’s not potty trained during nap times or during sleep. It drives me crazy hearing the things you’ve posted, and more. The latest one is, ‘He’s going to be in school soon, you better get him trained.’

Well, I’ve only potty trained my daughter so far and we’ll soon be getting ready to potty train my son. She was potty trained shortly after she turned two and yeah, we were one of those, “we did it in three days” people. But I don’t expect every kid to be the same. In fact I’m kind of nervous to potty train my son (maybe because I’ve heard number 6 a lot too?) because it was pretty easy with my daughter.

Number 7 totally cracked me up though. I’m not a Pull-ups fan. At all. They feel just like diapers to them and in my mind unless they can feel what an accident feels like with panties/undies on (yucky!) then why would they have any motivation to get rid of the diapers (pull-ups)? I just think they are kind of pointless and cost more money. Just my 2 cents.

LOL!! that’s so funny yet so true! Number 3 is hilarious! She really deserves a big round of applause! haha!! Many thinks that they’re some kind of a super mom ’cause they’ve trained their toddlers way to ahead about potty training

LOL.

My favorite (seriously, my favorite) thing I’ve heard:
He won’t go to Prom in diapers.
And if he does, well… you’ll cross that bridge when it gets here.

:)

#1 is usually the only one I hear (for the most part) – and it’s the most annoying. Every child learns at different paces – my girls were mostly potty trained in a week – but my son is taking quite a long time!

It took my third daughter forever to potty train. My mom kept telling there must be something wrong with her, but she was good to go by her third birthday.

I’ve heard them all! Quite frankly I’d rather change diapers than race to find a potty at various locations and then having to change wet clothing rather than just a wet diaper. That plus all the germs associated with strange pots – no thank you! Plus, I have NO patience for potty training. None. So I wait as long as possible before ‘training’. My oldest started asking to potty around 15 months. She was an on again off again potty trained girl. At age 3 I told her no more diapers, she cried for 10 minutes and went potty from then on. My second child showed no interest and I didn’t try to potty train until age 3. She still has very occasional day time accidents and often has night time accidents; she will be 8 next month. My 3rd child (my only son) began asking – actually begging – to potty around age 2 and was very successful for almost a month. Then he decided he wasn’t going to potty any more (he told me so) and he didn’t – until yesterday! He is 3 years and 2 months now….and he did NOT use the potty today. My 4th child is 15 months. If she learns to potty before age 3 it will be her own initiative not mine.

Oh my goodness I have heard these plus more. I am personally training a 2 year old right now. Do you know how hard it is to be 8 months pregnant and sitting on the floor and holding a 1 year old back from playing in the potty his brother is trying to use. Now we are traveling and it is even worse.

All children are different in their milestones. Potty Training is one of those things that is acceptable to be done very early on or a little later on. My son was about 3 before he was potty trained, but my daughter (my second) was trained before she was 2. This was mostly because they were so close in age and she would see him be praised and get to use all the “Big boy” potty stuff and stickers etc etc, so that helped her want to be a “big girl” too. But I think that each child reaches this one at all different times. They usually say that they cannot go to kindergarten until they are potty trained, and I agree with this. I think that by the age of 5 they should definitely be trained. However, if they are still having accidents by then, I would definitely talk to a doctor or psychiatrist. There may be other factors at work here, or even a medical condition. Just because a child isn’t potty trained, doesn’t mean its their fault, especially if a child has been taught thoroughly. I think too though, its the parents responsibility to be diligent in working with their toddler and making sure that THEY themselves are being strict and consistent with how they teach their child. That is necessary to successful potty training.

My son was dreadful to train. He mostly got it when he was 3, then we had some stressful events come about, and he regressed completely, and didn’t finish until he was nearly 4. Retraining was far harder than the initial training, mostly because we both knew he could do it, I think.

My youngest is about to turn 3 and just about has the potty down, I think. It’s such a relief. Just waiting for her to stop having the occasional accident, plus figuring out nights.

Seriously!!!! You are doing your child, yourself, and not to mention the environment a disservice! Get your kids out of diapers. And before you go thinking I’m being mean you posted it!

I know what you mean…
I have a 28 months old girl and a new born. She was almost potty traied until my second child was born. We are back to point 0.
They will do it when they feel ready. Pushing them will not help.

My two year old son refuses to use the potty… he tells me after he is done or he takes off the diaper. I don’t know what to do.

My son who is now 15 didn’t potty train until he was almost 5 and after a bizarre incident at a friends house the on again off again son was cured.LOL He got mad at my sister for not taking him to toys r us and decided to retaliate by decorating his friends(my sister’s friends son) room and all their clothes with BM. After a really cold shower he cleaned up his act. My daughter now 12 was potty trained at two and a half no fuss no muss. Again pre-school motivated with her.Now 10 years later new husband and LOL surprise baby now 27 months with a little brother on the way the end of Feb 2012! the last of my brood the most annoying person in this dept and always has been is my mother. My 27 month old only says 4 words that anybody can understand she does sometimes indicate that she is wet etc. by trying to pull her pants down. However she is terrified of public bathrooms and has since birth; loud noise from flushing toilets,so still a work in progress and a uphill battle but I doubt she will be graduating in pull -ups. Genius could be but parents need to remember that forcing a child to potty train for their convenience does not help a child’s sense of well being and makes for rebellion on their part thus defeating the purpose. Don’t worry about the nay sayers because ten to one they weren’t magically trained overnight either :)

I had 3 kids in 3 years. I didn’t want to potty train them. Nothing like dragging a toddler and a newborn to the bathroom in every store, park, restaurant, etc. to make you appreciate diapers. Kids can stay in a dirty diaper for a while- but if a potty trained kid says “I gotta go, NOW” you better move quick. I didn’t mind 3 in diapers.

I agree with most of these, but there is a program called 3 Day Potty Training that is pretty successful for most people. And yes, it is true, my son was potty trained in 2 days using it. Not to say that he NEVER had an accident since then… he did, but he pretty much knew what he was doing after the first 2 days. Okay, I am saying one of the annoying things, but I really really think that if people would follow the program it would make potty training easier for most people. I have converted 3 friends and all of them have loved it.

Amen! I have triplet boys who are almost 3, and they are still in diapers. I hate changing diapers, and while we’ve had a few successes with them pooping in the potty, they do not like the potty. I’ve tried just about every approach imaginable from basically spending full days in the bathroom, every 15 minutes having them take turns sitting on the potty, I’ve tried potty training them one at a time, I’ve let them watch their dad and I use the potty, we’ve read about every potty book out there, watched potty videos, sang potty songs, even tried to reward system. They just aren’t ready yet.

Lol. If I had the time to read all of these comments, I totally would. But instead, I have a 6 week old, a 15 month old, and a 3 1/2 year old (who IS NOT potty trained) to take care of instead. I read the article and the first few comments, and feel so much better knowing that I’m not the only one dealing with this. I’m a full-time stay-at-home mommy so many people assume that between constantly doing never-ending housework and taking care of our 3 boys, that our oldest would be a potty-trained pro. Ha. HA HA HA. Don’t I wish. I can soooo relate to all of these comments listed in the article. I get so sick and tired of other people offering up their advice or sympathies about my son still wearing a diaper. Yes, I have 3 kids in 3 different sized diapers. What’s it to ya? You aren’t the one dealing with it, so buzz off. Not too mention, we’ve been using Parent’s Choice with all 3 which are MUCH cheaper than the other brands so it’s not like we are going broke like a lot of people assume. Lol. Atleast that’s what I’d like to say, but instead, I’ve learned to take peoples opinion’s and comments with a grain of salt, and just usually let it go in one ear and out the other. We have tried (unsuccessfully obviously) 2 times to potty train him, but although he knows what the potty is for, and when he is dirty or wet, he still has had no interest in doing either. I’ll admit, I’m not the most consistant mother on the planet. The 1st time we tried, my husband was off work for vacation so we did a lot of running around and weren’t home to enforce the issue, and the 2nd time we tried, I put regular “big boy” underwear on him thinking he wouldn’t like the feeling of being icky, but that didn’t work, and frankly, I got sick of cleaning up messes every time he’d go. “Rewards”..like M&M’s didn’t work either. The most pressure to get him potty trained comes from family, specifially, his grandfather, my dad. Of course I love him dearly, but my dad worked full-time while my mom was home all day with 4 kids to raise, so I’m pretty darn sure he wasn’t the one who got us all trained, so I think he just doesn’t understand how hard it is. I’m going to be getting a tubal late February and my hubby is taking that week off to help with the kids so we are going to try to potty train again then since we might be more consistant. His pediatrician told us, as well, that boys usually don’t even BECOME interested until about age 3, and she reassured me that he won’t be going to Kindergarten in them, so not to be concerned and that it WILL happen when he’s ready.

I’ll go with the whole “the smarter the kid, the longer it takes to get him/her trained” thought too. Our son is rather intelligent we think for his age, so that works. I also think he’s not potty trained partly because he’s so active. He’s moving all the time, and probably just doesn’t want to take the time to stop and go, instead of using the potty. Just sayin. Lol.

I have twin boy’s (age 28 months) and I hear ALL THE TIME how it *must be easier* to train two! If one goes, surely the other will follow in his footsteps.!
Um, nope. Just doesn’t work that way. Potty training twins just plain sucks. >.<

I refuse to use Pull-ups, there’s nothing special about them, and they really don’t help the potty-training process.
My oldest GIRL was nearly 4 when she completely trained (although she would stay dry at school thank goodness). Then her little sister was born, and she went back to insisting on diapers for about 3 months. Talk about frustrating!!
The baby is two now, and she’s showing a little interest, which makes me happy….she gets really really horrible diaper rash, and that will resolve itself when she’s pooping on the potty. So far, haven’t heard much from other people, and I hope it stays that way!

I haven’t had to potty train… yet. Definitely scared to do it!

“She’s never going to use the potty if you keep letting her go in her diaper” really never, never is a very long time. She did use the potty and surprise, surprise I never had to punish her for going in her diaper!

My son was 4.5 when he was poop trained! My other son was just turned 3 – I too got sick of hearing they were too old to be in diapers!

I had 6 kids and for some reason they all started at about 2 years + 2 months. No amount of “OH LOOK at these pretty undie pants”. “OH LOOK at how your big sister goes potty”. Treats, Threats, applause. NONE of it will make a kid train. Just teach them where it is and how to do it and they will get it. Duh. It’s a body function. They know where it goes but they need to “get it” first. If anyone else was trained months or years earlier, or months or years later it’s just THAT persons call to nature. As with all other milestones kids reach, who the HECK is going to walk across the stage on graduation day and have it announced that THIS child was potty trained at only 14 MONTHS! (or walks at 9, or talks at 6, etc). they are kids, not puppies made to do tricks for the public:)
ON a second note, I do remember having an infant and another older one in diapers and it is kinda’ weird because that old child seems SO big. But just before that infant came, when you had nothing to compare…it wasn’t such a big deal. Take heart, my mom had a 3, 2, 1, and infant all in diapers at once. I would of gone cRaZY in THAT poop factory. (and she had cloth diapers and not by choice). YIKES!

My son is 4 and not potty trained yet. I know you hate it, but it’s true, girls are easier to train than boys. I’ve trained two girls and it went much easier and faster than the boy is going. I hope you don’t mind me making some suggestions. 1st, do not use pull ups! I made that mistake with my son. Mostly because I didn’t have a choice because the preschool he was in last year required it. Do not listen to those who say they had their child trained at 10 months. It’s very doubtful. What 10 month old has the vocabulary and can actually walk themselves to the potty? It just isn’t true. Don’t start doing it now with the new baby around. Seriously, let him get used to the baby first. You’ll just frustrate yourself and him if you try to add something else new to his life. When people start telling you that you are doing it all wrong tell them if you think you can do it better then my all means take over. Good luck! I keep telling myself he won’t go off to college not potty trained ;).

My 3 almost 4 year old son is potty trained during the day, but still wears pullups at night. Every child is different. My daughter took forever to potty train, and it was the most aggravating thing to do in this world! She had no interest. Could care less. Pullups? Just another diaper for her. Finally a sticker chart worked for her, if she had a week full of smilies then she got a small toy that weekend. Just dollar stuff. With my son, we just really had to keep at it. Started him off sitting, now he stands and aims like a pro lol. I threw in cheerios as a bonus and told him to sink them. Just making it fun and not alot pf pressure, the more you complain and harp the worse it gets. Ignore all those wonderful super moms that seem to have all the answers. They don’t.

I dont have kid’s but i have babysat my cousin’s when they were at the potty training age! Like one day i took my cousin to the park and one woman asked me if she was potty trained yet and i said no! And she said “She’s 2 and she isnt potty trained” like she was suppose to be fully trained on her 2nd birthday i mean come one! My niece wasnt fully potty trained till she was 3 1/2! It doesnt matter the age they just have to be ready!

My son was potty trained in three days at 23 months of age, so, yeah. It is possible. I don’t think it was anything to do with my parenting, it was mainly his personality (he’s a quick learner and HATES being dirty). I didn’t get any annoying advice, but then I don’t really talk to many other moms with kids my age. Personally, I think it’s annoying when people get all defensive about something so silly.

Yeah, I’m annoyed when people complain that their kid is 2 and not trained yet. My (perfectly normal otherwise) oldest son will be 4 next month and could not possibly care less about potty training. Yes, as a matter of fact, he IS in Pull-ups because THEY DON’T MAKE DIAPERS THAT FIT HIM ANYMORE! (He suggested adult diapers when I told him that they don’t make diaps for kids his size.) And his younger brother (who will be 2 in March) likes using the potty more than his older brother. So maybe I’ll get one trained before college.

Your kid is only 2. Relax. You have plenty of time. Seriously. When he hits 4 you can complain about being tired of changing poopy diapers. Until then, my fingers are in my ears and I’m not listening to anyone else complain (lalalalalalalalalalala)

My son isn’t a toddler quite yet but people are already asking me “Oh when is he going to be potty trained?”…. seriously?! Why are they asking me that already? heck if I know! Whenever he’s ready LOL I know these comments will be even more annoying when he does become a little older. ah!

Potty training is so funny. Our first took 2 years, then my daughter wanted out of diapers right away, Our third was 4 before he was done, and our 4 child we said, whatever, when you are ready you are ready.

I have heard these too and very annoying. It just takes time, patience, encouragement and one day they “get it”

Add “don’t kids in cloth diapers potty train faster” and “why isn’t she night time trained yet?” and you’ve got my list.

Bravo! Thank you for this article. My little guy is nearly 4 1/2 and has just begun to potty train. I tried the child-led approach without any success so, I decided to try the mommy-led approach which is proving somewhat successful so far. I really wish other people would mind their own business because my son’s potty training is my business and I could completely relate to what was said throughout this article. My little guy used the potty the first time after I bought it when he was about 2 but completely lost interest after that. I let it go for awhile but then decided it was time for me to take the lead because he was actually growing too big for the diapers.