Potty training

To be honest, I haven't even thought about starting potty training yet 🙃 the NHS website says to start between 18 months and 2 years, although some people may decide to start earlier. So we are definitely not behind 😉 x

Hey! You can start anytime. It’s as simple as sticking the baby on the toilet when they wake from a nap and after each feed, and then making a huge fuss and celebration when they pee or poo. If they pee or poo, we give 10-15 mins of nappy free time afterward as a reward because that’s what the babies really like. You start to learn (roughly) how many times a day and when your baby needs to go and maybe you’ve already noticed their “signs” like grunting or going really quiet, etc. Very few parents do full time EC, most do some form of “part-time” or “lazy EC” (you can google those terms) since the kids are in nursery. You don’t have to use sign language either. We’ve been using it from the start but our baby isn’t signing back yet. Apparently they eventually do sign to let you know they need the toilet. Anyway, it’s a lot of work putting them on the toilet so many times per day, but using 50 wipes to change a nappy while the baby squirms and smears poo everywhere is more work 😂

Since disposable nappies were invented and more women entered the work force, toilet training got pushed later and later to 18 months as it is now. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that new cultural norm and you’re not behind if you wait, but babies are fully capable of going on the toilet earlier and for me personally it’s made my life so much easier! 1000% would recommend it. You are training them from a very young age where to go either way. Do you want to train them to go in their pants and then later have to train them again that actually the toilet is the appropriate place, or just train them to go in a toilet in the first place?

Oh my last bit of advice is to start out by putting them on a toilet and reading a book that they like. Keep the time on the toilet brief (maybe less than 5 mins) and don’t scold if they don’t do anything, just make a huge fuss if they do. They eventually will and get the added bonus of books being read to them ❤️📚

i got a potty 2 months ago and still didn’t try it yet 😂

Potty training at a year old?! That’s really early. Most babies are around 2 I think. The advice I’ve been given is to wait until your baby is really ready for it as that’s when it’s most successful. I’m not even thinking about potty training. No point. It’s way too early.

@Harriet Rose totally a cultural narrative! Ask your grandparents and great grandparents if they’re still around what they did! People start and are successful from newborn. I think I’ve cleaned up 3 poo accidents in the last 2 months. The rest have been 100% on the toilet 💩😀

I won’t be starting until 18 months old or until my little girl is showing signs of readiness. I work in a nursery in the toddler room and we’ve seen so many parents potty train their children too soon when they aren’t ready and it takes soo much longer or they end up back in nappies so just do it when you feel baby is ready and showing signs of being ready x

@Tara some people do, but the vast majority don’t. My mum has four kids and my siblings have five between them so I’ve had advice from them. My mum has also worked as a nursery nurse. I won’t be starting any time soon. My baby isn’t ready for that and nor am I. I agree with @Julia you shouldn’t start before your baby is ready or it just prolongs the whole process.

You can try whenever you want! I hadn’t even thought about it but recently my little girl has been squatting down for a wee with a nappy on so someone suggested to try the potty and see what happens! However she has a habit of going to hide somewhere to do a poo so I’m worried if I let her run around without a nappy on at the minute I’m just going to find a present somewhere 🤣

@Harriet Rosee ok! For anyone who would like to give it a go, and not train their babies to shit their pants 😂, there are countless resources and first hand success stories for support! There is an EC group here on Peanut and a really great Facebook group. There are blogs, podcasts, you name it! https://godiaperfree.com/elimination-communication/

You’re definitely not behind but I did start at around 6-7 months and baby picked up so quickly! We would use elimination communication and sit him on the potty and tell him to go wee wee. If he needed to, he would. Sit him on the potty after each nap and each meal and he’ll learn to go

Thank you all for your thoughts and advice. It’s really interesting to hear lots of different points of view.