Time to give PT a try or too early?

[acmom]

My DS turned 2 last week and I really hadn't been planning to start potty training right now. (My DD did it between 2 and 2.5 years, but figured he'd be a little later as a boy). However, for the past few weeks, he has been using the potty several times a day. He will sit whenever you offer (on either the little potty or potty seat on the big potty) and he usually will pee. He is also asking to go at times, particularly when his sister goes, and will usually pee then too. He has also been waking up dry from naps more often. He is quite excited about the whole thing. My DD went through a phase between 18 months and 2, where she was really interested in the potty process and would often sit, but never actually go. She lost interest for a while and then was ready again a few months later. I'm wondering if this is just a similar phase for DS, but he is actually going regularly, so I'm not sure!

Would you do anything more at this point? It seems young (especially when I talk to moms of boys), but I don't want to be foolish and miss a golden opportunity either...

[roseyloxs]

Jump on it! My dd showed interest at the same time but we were moving and about to spend the next 3 months in and out of hotels so I mostly ignored it. Now she is turning 3 in less then a month and has absolutely no interest in the potty at all. Oh how I wish I had just attempted anyway mid-move.

[brittone2]

I offered the potty to all 3 of mine around that age. With DS1 I brought home a potty thinking it would be good to have around just for him to try out if he wanted to, and he was instantly into it and going like 8x a day. I didn't expect that at all. He thought it was great. We combined that with a little naked time and he was really good with it all. That lasted about 2-3 months and then he decided to boycott the potty entirely, which went on for about a month or two. He was digging in his heels about going and I didn't want to fight him on it. He started going on his own again after the potty strike and that was that for pee. He had some issues producing #2 due to constipation and withholding that began before we even thought about him using the potty, so we did have to deal with that for quite some time. In some cases, PTing can trigger withholding of poop for some kids, so watch that part carefully. It wasn't the trigger for DS1, but it can be for many kids, and once that cycle starts, you want to be on top of it before their poops get too big and painful because that just makes the withholding cycle worse. My DS2 also withholds a bit on occasion, but nothing like DS1, and we use miralax when it has been more than a day or two.

With DD, I assumed she'd be ready pretty early, as she saw DS1 going, and she was a girl, and most friends I know with girls had girls who trained earlier. She was not interested at all until more like 2.5 or a bit later. Just a personality thing...she wasn't into it and she was not going to participate, so I waited :)

With DS2, I started offering the potty a little before he turned 2 and he used it. Before that time I offered once or twice a day and he always refused. He suddenly decided to try it a few times and then he started really getting interested quickly. We did about 2-3 days of naked bottom training, and he was great....very few accidents and he was pretty happy to go in the potty. He doesn't mind pooping on the potty, although he will sometimes try to hold it in. Much, much less of an issue than with DS1 though, but I do keep an eye on it.

I would say take advantage of the interest, don't stress if they aren't ready or have accidents, and realize something like "potty strikes" may be a possibility when they train at a younger age. Summer gives a chance for some naked time, and you can even do some naked time outside if you have a private backyard (did that with my oldest). Some kids are ready early, some are not, but if you are having success with offering, I'd give it a try and see how it goes. Just don't let it stress either of you out if you can help it, and realize you may need to back off or change course.

All 3 of mine were dry overnight by around age 2, but it took me a few weeks or months to feel confident in ditching the nighttime dipe. They were dry at night and during naps before they were day trained. No effort on our part, they were just wired that way.

[hehateme]

I would say jump on it now.

My DS1 began going to Montessori school when he was 16 months old.
On his 2nd day they made him wear cotton underwear.
In less than 2 weeks they knew his schedule so he was potty trained at school. He was still getting a diaper during his nap.
By the time he turned 2 his school told us that he was not having any accidents so they did not need diapers.

At home we should have done the same. DS1 knew when he had to go and he we were making him wear cotton underwear but he did not like sitting in the potty. He used to beg for diaper to poop. His school had much smaller sized potty. We were still giving him diapers at night so he used to wait all day and poop as soon as we gave him diapers. We tried many things but nothing work.

One day I purchased Battat Take it apart Car and showed it to him and told him that it will be his if he poops. He pooped ASAP and has been pooping in potty since that day. He is now 2 years 11 months old.

Good luck.