Potty Training a 2 Year Old
You have heard those stories about the toddlers who are completely potty trained at 18 months old. Their mothers walk around bragging and all smug, while you sit there looking at your 2 1/2 year old, wondering why he isn’t interested at all. Some mothers worry that there is something wrong developmentally with their child if they aren’t potty trained and seem to have no interest in potty training. In reality, this is perfectly normal.
A study put out by the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia states that the average age for a child to start potty training is 27 months. This being the average age, there are a lot of toddlers that won’t be completely potty trained till after their third birthday.
You can try to encourage your child to potty train, but you shouldn’t push them or get mad as it could only slow the process for them. When your child starts to show interest in YOU going potty, ask them if they want to sit down and try. Many kids might be scared or might just say no. Try to put them on their own potty chair or on the toilet before and after baths, right before bed, or first thing when they wake up in the morning. Some kids will be more comfortable on their own potty chair, others will want to try it like a “big person”.
If you have a child that just doesn’t “get it”, see if you can get them to sit on the toilet or potty chair and try giving him milk, juice or water. Have him sit there till he goes, as the urge might still be involuntary. When he does go applaud and cheer, make a big deal out of it. Chances are he may not know the jist of what he did, but he will know that he pee’d in the potty and you are happy. This praise from parents can often help a child along.
Dr. Phil has his own advice and tips when it comes to teaching your child the art of potty training. Several celebrities have used his methods and believe that they worked in helping them succeed in training their child, including Holly Robinson Peete and Vanessa Marcil. His method includes getting a doll that wets letting the child see this doll going potty and getting praise, so that the child wants the praise as well.
Often times, subsequent children potty train faster than your first. Seeing an older sibling running around is often encouragement for a toddler to hurry up and get there. They want to be like their older sibling. Also, getting a child to not only pee, but poop on the toilet can be a challenge in itself, especially for boys. For some reason boys seem to find it harder than girls to get fully potty trained.
There are no concrete methods that will guarantee your 2 year old will potty train when you are ready for him too, if he is not ready. It is best to remember that you just not push him, get mad, or yell if he isn’t doing it fast enough. Don’t make it seem like a big deal so that your child doesn’t fight the effort to learn. Eventually something in your child’s head will “click” and your child will be ready to potty train. After all, how many kindergarteners do you know who start school still in diapers?
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JESSENIA says...
HELLO:
I HAVE A TWO YEAR OLD THAT LOVES TO FOLLOW ME WHEN I HAVE TO GO USE THE BATHROOM, ASK ME FOR TOILET PAPER TO “CLEAN” HERSELF, YET I’M HAVING TROUBLE POTTY TRAINING HER.
I THINK I STARTED THE WRONG WAY. I SCOLD HER WHEN SHE PEE ON HERSELF. HOW CAN I FIX THIS HUGE MISTAKE
Melanie says...
I’m 17 weeks pregnant and also have a 2 year old daughter and w going through the terrible two stage. I’m too tired to go through this what can I do
Amy says...
I have a 3 year old that absolutly refuses to potty train. Is there any tips anyone might have, we have a potty chair, but he won’t sit on it. We also got a little seat that fits on a toilet and he won’t sit on that. We also tried putting a cherrio in the toilet and that didn’t work. Please help.
mary says...
I HAVE A TWO YEAR OLD AND AT FIRST SHE DID REALLY GOOD AND SHE WAS USING THE BATHROOM EXCEPT FOR AT NIGHT WHEN SHE WAS SLLEPING AND NOW SHE DOESNT WANT TO USE THE BATHROOM AT ALL!!! I WILL ASK HER IF SHE NEEDS TO GO AND SHE WILL SAY NO AND THEN 2 SECONDS LATER SHE WILL GO IN HER PANTS WHAT DO I DO ????
Bobby says...
My 2 year old will go pee in the toilet but wouldn’t poop. He would usually go in another room by himself or up to his room to play by himself. Finally i realized what was going on and i put some toys in the bathroom and i leave him alone (shut the door and standby). I check on him regularly by opening up the door and just asking if he’s finished. It’s worked for almost two weeks now. Hope this can help some.
charlene says...
I just took diapers away altogether and watch where she pees and clean it up, making sure and reminding her to tell me she has to go before she pees again. Its not that kids dont get it, its that there depending on a diaper just like a soother get rid of it, and dont give them a single diaper ever again or theyll get the wrong idea. Keep them in underwear even if it means they pee or poo themselves, they gotta understand you cant keep dry if you pee or poo in your pants.
Denia says...
I have a 26-month old boy that started potty training at 18 months and he still doesn’t quite get it. Sometimes, when I tell him “let’s go pee pee” he’ll actually do it. If I sit around for him to say I want to go pee pee, it will not happen. There are times when we go out that he does want to go to the public bathrooms and he does number one. The only thing he is not wanting to do is number two. He always goes to the corner or another place where I can’t see him. He gives me this face like he is embarrassed that he did poo poo in his pull up. I think he’ll do really good before he is 3 but you have to have a lot of patience.
Desiree says...
My girls are 27 months and i let them run around the house naked so i moved their pottys into the living room and when they have to go they will use it. I still put diapers on for naps and bed time and when we go out but they normaly will stay dry when they have them one.
Sarah says...
I have struggled so hard with my daughter potty training. I started with after she woke from her nap in the morning. I stopped giving her liquids an hour before bed. I tried before and after she sleeps. Then all of a sudden after we moved and my son was born she doesn’t care at all. I gave it three months and started trying again. She has no interest and we ask she says no. I tried panties, pull-ups, nothing on her bottom but nothing matters. What do I do??