Infant Potty Training: Update
Posted on | December 10, 2011 | 6 Comments
This is a post about potty training and poop so feel free to skip it! I do suggest that you give it a glance if you plan to have kids though, as I do believe that our society is wrong about how and when to start potty training.
I posted several months back about starting elimination communication with Sebastian. Basically, I help him sit on the potty at regular intervals, especially at key times that he is likely to pee – For instance, after naps. For #2, kids usually give a sign that they are about to go, such as getting really quiet and still or ducking into a corner.
Recently, Sebastian has learned to ‘sign’ for the potty. It is really simple; he just pats his diaper. We have the most success with signing in bed – He will wake up and sign to me that he needs to pee. I help him sit down, he pees, we put the dry diaper back on and go back to bed. Easy peesy. 
During the day the signing is a lot more hit or miss. He is a busy toddler and I’m not sure if he doesn’t notice when he has to go or is just having too much fun to care. Either way, daytime pee is harder. Poop we can usually catch early enough to direct to the potty.
Recently a friend of a friend complimented me on our cloth diapers, telling me that she used to cloth diaper her son, now around 2 years old. “Oh,” I asked, “Until he was potty trained?”
This mom went on to say no, that wasn’t the reason, and then launched on about how kids aren’t ready to potty train until much older and she isn’t pushing it. Now, I agree with not pushing your child into anything, but really? Two is way too young to potty train? I don’t think so.
Most of the reasons I’ve heard people give against potty training “too early” are crap. We introduced the potty at just a few months old and Sebastian was certainly never afraid of it. When I suggest we go potty, he leads me into the bathroom. He likes to use the potty and to keep his diaper dry. He’s a little human and of course he doesn’t like to go in his pants!
Using the potty at 14 months old
Honestly, I feel like we could be close to a 100% potty success rate if I tried a bit harder. I tend not to change him unless he complains and I’m slow to get out of bed in the morning, meaning that he can wake up dry but end up peeing while waiting for his lazy mom to get up. At 14 months, he now tries to sit on the potty by himself. He can stand up fine (unlike at 7 months – See top of this post) and can sit down with a little help. It’s cute to watch him practice getting on and off. We still use the BABYBJÖRN Little Potty
My original potty training goal was 18 months. Two years old is probably a more realistic timeframe, which is still younger than most parents in the U.S. even begin to potty train. (In other countries, elimination communication/early potty training is the norm. My sister-in-law, for instance, was fully potty trained when she came over from South Korea at two years old.)
Potty-training supplies: When we graduate from the Little Potty, I hope to move up to a potty seat
I know that many parents use treats or bribes but for us, using the potty is just a natural part of the day, like eating or naps. The reward is not having to pee (or worse) in your pants!
Have you or are you potty training (or potty learning) a child? What do you think of society’s view that it’s better to start later than earlier when it comes to pottying?
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6 Responses to “Infant Potty Training: Update”
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Alternative Housewife is about maintaining a fabulous and eco-friendly household on a budget. My name is Janine and I live in Portland with my husband Donny and our son Sebastian. {We are expecting Baby Boy #2 in May 2013.}
I believe in the glory of thrift shopping, and in voting with our dollars to raise non-toxic families.
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December 10th, 2011 @ 1:17 AM
I started experimenting with EC when Cecilia was about 9 months. She has a very distinctive ‘poo face’ so it was easy enough to spot when one was coming and plonk her on the potty. I noticed that she always did a pee directly after a poo, so I would keep her on the potty and make a “pss pss” sound until she did a pee.
Recently we’ve all had a prolonged episode of Norovirus, which kind of throws EC out the window slightly! I hope to get back on track soon.
I’ve never understood the whole waiting until they’re two (or older!) The fact that C is used to sitting on and using the potty already can surely only be a good thing. I can’t imagine using bribes to get us through it either. Surely I’m just teaching her a life skill?!
December 10th, 2011 @ 3:17 AM
You know I’m in agreement on the whole potty readiness issue. I think as adults we consistently underestimate children, and the potty training idea is just one example.
Somewhere between 12 and 18 months, I got a little discouraged with the fact that we were still having so many misses and nearly lost faith, but there was practically an overnight switch and now at 20 months, misses are extremely rare. In my view, it all just takes a little trust and patience. You seem to be doing wonderfully!
December 10th, 2011 @ 5:40 AM
I totally agree with you. We have been introducing the poty to my 16 month old girl for a week now. She likes to sit on it, but has yet to pee in it. Haha. We are going to start the hardcore training over Christmas break. Good luck to us both!
December 10th, 2011 @ 2:59 PM
We had a pause right around when he became mobile. Suddenly everything else was WAY too exciting to be bothered with sitting on the potty. Things really seem to be clicking now though – Sometimes I have to turn off the light in the bathroom to get him to stand up and come out! He loves to read on the potty and look at the candles I have in there.
December 16th, 2011 @ 12:00 PM
My Mom didn’t rush us into potty training, but she made an effort to use cloth diapers to help. She said that as soon as we started to realize it wasn’t so much fun to run around in a wet or dirty diaper, my brother and I both became really interested in moving on.
I have an Aunt who didn’t get her kids completely out of diapers until they were a couple months from starting pre-school. To me, that’s way too late in the game. There’s a difference between letting your kid be ready and being lazy.
December 20th, 2011 @ 11:32 PM
The old advice was not to push your kids or you could traumatize them. The problem with society is that with disposable diapers, you are basically training kids that they SHOULD go in their pants, and then you have to break that habit later. This is understandably confusing! Newborn babies will pee the second you remove their diaper – It is their instinct, like any other animal, to eliminate away from themselves. We really haven’t pushed Sebastian very hard – There is no negative reaction if he does go in his diaper. He’s a baby after all! – but now that he is old enough to communicate, it’s crystal clear that he prefers the potty. Duh. One of my best friends has a three year old and is having a hard time with the potty. She’s trying to undo three years of having learned to go in her pants.
My other motivation: If Sebastian primarily pooped in his diaper, I would DIE! Once they are eating solid meals, that is basically adult poop in a diaper. NOT OK.