Is she too young??

[FaithE]

My daughter is 21 months and the typical strong willed toddler. I recognized the signs of her being ready to PT, but did not want to push it since the newest addition is barely one month old. However, for the past few weeks she has been, what I believe, is pushing us to PT her. She will remove all her clothes and diaper (regardless of the full sleeper and onesie) and run naked through the house. I encouraged use of the potty at this time and bought the step stool and potty adapter, but she spent too much time trying to play with the toilet water and throwing things in the toilet. So I set up and potty chair in a central location and the first day she approached me saying, "mommy, poop" and then proceeded to have a BM on the potty chair. Much praise was given and she seemed ever so proud. Since then the has had one more BM and two instances of "dribbles" but nothing else. I tried to time her and encourage the potty use every hour or so, but she will barely sit for 10 seconds. I've tried giving her books and toys to occupy her while on the potty. We've tried singing and counting (both of which she loves)but she still jumps off after about 10 seconds and says "all done!" Its more of a game than anything for her. And when left to run naked through the house, she tells you only as she's peeing, not before. Is she just too young and not ready yet? I feel caught in a power struggle, because when we try to keep her in a diaper and ignore PTing, she yells for the potty, strips naked, and refuses the diaper. Any suggestions would be great!

Thanks In Advance,

Tired Mom in MA

[JBaxter]

My neice will be 2 in May. She is now in undies full time during the day. She started out "playing" and at the time my mom was babysitting for her. Seh encouraged her alot and left her bottomless as much as possible. It took a about a month but at 23 months she DELIGHTS in her Dora panties.
So no she is not to young IF she wants to.

[wendmatt]

My DD was daytime potty trained at 22 mths (nighttime is only just happening at 4+). It started with her running around naked all the time (it was hot) and she peed on the floor, so I took her to the potty and said why don't you do it on here and after that she did! It really was that simple for us. I wasn't ready for it, but she was! It took about a week before I was brave enough to take her out in undies and not diapers but she did fine. I could count the accidents in the first year on one hand. So if she seems ready, she probably is. We had the potty in the living room so it was right there and easy to get to for a year.
Good luck.

[cmoraes]

She is asking you to potty train her and is definitely ready. My son trained at 25 months with ease. You can find lots of info online about how to PT 2 year olds (its a little different from the standard advice given for older toddlers) and is basically:

- naked from waist down
- easy access to potty
- reminders (take her to the potty every 30 mins or whatever works for you)
- praise with success

she'll be done in no time. And don't be afraid of going out without diapers after she seems to have the hang of it at home. The worst that can happen is wet clothes - just take extras.

good luck.