At what age should your child absolutely be potty trained?
By icjackson
@icjackson (186)
United States
January 19, 2007 9:47am CST
I have a son who is a toddler, and my mom, who was really talented at parenting us when we were young (we all had to be reading and writing by the time we were 3 yrs. old!)and who is now a Head Start teacher, feels like I am taking it too slow with potty training my son. He'll be 2 years old in a few months.
Now she also talls me about how she has 3 and 4 year olds in her center that are still in Pull-Ups, and how she can't stand it.
While I agree that 3 is a bit old, what say you? At what age should a child absolutely be potty trained?
I.C. Jackson
6 people like this
27 responses
@mom2boys (334)
• United States
19 Jan 07
I say 3 would be, but it differs on each child, my son was 2 a little over 2 and my other son is too young yet to potty train, you also have to take in mind some kids arent ready, my neice was like 4 because she had bladder issues, if a childs bladder just isnt big enough and they arent ready i dont believe you will be able to teach them until they are ready.
1 person likes this
@4monsters4me (2569)
• United States
19 Jan 07
The average age for being fully potty trained is like 34-39 months I think. That is 3 years old. Most kids don't learn before they are 2 1/2. I don't think you started too late. You started at about the same time most people do and it doesn't really matter how early you start because kids have a mind of their own.
With my oldest we introduced the idea to her at 18 months and when she was 2 we started really trying. She wanted nothing to do with it. She wore pull-ups until she was 3 years and 2 months old (the average age for being fully trained during the day). My son was started at about the same age--2 years. He was fully using the potty during the day by the time he was 2 1/2. He is 5 now and is still in pull-ups at night because he cannot hold it all night. My middle child was started at 2 and at 3 1/2 was still no using the potty during the day. She had several accidents every day. Finally a stay with my sister in law got her to use the potty. She was 3 years and 8 months old. She is 4 now and still wears pull-ups at night, too. Every child is different so it varies from child to child.
@4monsters4me (2569)
• United States
20 Jan 07
I just mentioned the night time thing because many parents believe their kids should be night trained at the same time they learn to control themselves during the day and that isn't always the case. I'm not sure if we just have chronic bedwetters or what. I think they could stay dry if they tried. We have tried limiting their water intake at night but they sneak in the bathroom and drink right out of the faucet. I think my 4 year old is just a real heavy sleeper and doesn't realize she is wetting herself. My 5 year old--he is just lazy and doesn't want to get up. Sometimes he will wake up and realize he soaked his pull up and instead of putting his underwear on will just put another pull up on then go lay on the couch and watch TV. But he won't get up to use the bathroom unless I tell him to take his pull-up off. I have no idea what that is about since, like I said, he has been using the potty during the day since he was 2 1/2.
I got lucky with my oldest on the night wetting thing. I realized when she was 2 1/2 that she had been staying dry at night since around the time she turned 2 which is very unusual. So when she did stop wearing pull-ups during the day she also stopped at night. She has only wet the bed like twice in her life and I think those times she just didn't wake in time when she felt the urge. I just long for the day I don't have to buy pull-ups anymore. When I was pregnant last winter I was looking forward to just one in diapers and 1 in pull-ups. When the baby was born I had 2 in pull-ups at night (the 4 and 5 year olds--they were 3 and 4 at the time) and I had 2 in diapers (the baby and the 4 year old--who was 3 at the time). I never thought I would have 2 in diapers again since she was 3 1/2 when the baby was born. It was so annoying. I have been changing diapers every day of my life since June 28, 2000, lol. Many of those years I was changing 2 or 3 sets of diapers a day.
@ronita34 (3922)
• Canada
22 Jan 07
I also have a mother that was very talented also. None of us stayed in pampers past 14 months. However i just recently got my 2 year old potty trained for over a month now! Good luck in this!!
@lolloldrag (78)
• Romania
20 Jan 07
I'm not just very good with this...but i'm interested too for my future kids.
Happy birthday to ur child
@honeybunnie (51)
• Philippines
19 Jan 07
on my own experience a child should be potty tained at the age of 9 months you can already start to train the child and by the age of 1 1/2 the child will be ready.
my eldest son dont need to wear diaper since he was 2 years old and now my daugther is already 9 months old i am already training her so that i could save even for my diaper budget.
@icjackson (186)
• United States
22 Jan 07
Wow....9 months old? That's really, really early!
More power to you if you are pulling that off!
I.C. Jackson
@sanell (2112)
• United States
20 Jan 07
wow I think that it takes longer for boys to get use to the idea of potty time, but for girls it is easier.
My daughter I did not start to even bother to train until after she turned 2, and by 2 1/2 she was fully potty trained, overnight, and for both number 1 and number 2.
I will probably do the same with my younger daughter. I think that 3 is a little late for the peeing part, but I know many who it takes them up to 4 years of age before they can release the number 2!!!
good luck oh and P.S.
back when we were young, there was no option of disposable diapers and the ones that they did have were of a terrible plastic and most moms hated having to always wash the cloth diapers and thereefore started potty training much earlier...
@sameer2cute (584)
• India
20 Jan 07
I guess he should be trained at the age of 3 years, so he gets the responsibility of the same.
@raveena (1353)
• India
20 Jan 07
I will give you a website which I suppose will be a proper reply to all your queries.
http://parents.berkeley.edu/
@sidneysoad (101)
• United States
20 Jan 07
Children mature and move through developmental stages at different rates. My daughter was fully potty trained before my son's. If I can remember correctly, she was able to stay dry through the night without a pull-up by the time she was three.
My second child was easy to train during the day, but wasn't able to stay dry through the night until he was almost 4 1/2. He would stay dry about half the time, and we tried all the tricks (no drinks after 6 PM, warm bath before bedtime, going to the bathroom before laying down). He just progressed at his own rate.
My third child, also a boy, was fully trained by 3 years.
I would be concerned if my children were wearing pullups at 3 during the day. All kids have accidents, but in my opinion, at the age of 3 years children should be training in regular underwear.
@Raissa1967 (801)
• Netherlands
20 Jan 07
I think that a child can be trained for the potty as soon as he or she can walk. My son and daughter were almost one year old. They liked the potty very much. It's very interesting for them. It's something new so they love to go. They don't have to do anything on it just make them aware of it. And the most important thing reward them when they do anything.
@anja31 (708)
• Canada
20 Jan 07
It is hard to say, but three years old is the age. I prefer for younger, but three years is the limit.
@dimigroup (186)
• Bulgaria
20 Jan 07
I say 3 would be, but it differs on each child, my son was 2 a little over 2 and my other son is too young yet to potty train,
• United States
20 Jan 07
I would say 2- 2 1/2 is a perfect age to potty train and one thing is for sure kids will not be 100% potty trained until they are ready. And there is nothing any parent can do. My nephew whom I love dearly was almost 4 before he was potty trained and it drove everyone crazy. He just flat out refused he would say that he hated the potty and loved his diapers. My poor sister in law was at her witts end by the end of it all but as it happened he got up one day and just started going and would say that he was not wearing diapers anymore. In fact my sis in law wanted him to sleep in a pull up just to be on the safe side and he would not do it for he is a big boy now.
