One way to ensure that your child is potty-trained by age 2 to start young– very young. Younger than you would really even think is normal or accepted. In many countries around the world this is common practice. Traditionally, even in the US…this was the case. My grandmother used to boast that her children were already using the “pot†when they turned 1! I had my reservations. Until, that is… I had my own kiddos. I began researching elimination communication, which is the practice of watching infant cues for elimination and getting them to the potty as young as 6 weeks old!
So, I decided to potty train my girls quite young. I started putting my babies on the potty around 8 months of age. Crazy, I know! Obsessed? Perhaps. I simply couldn’t bear the thought of changing those diapers that had transitioned from breast-milk only to pureed chicken and green beans. Here’s the thing. It worked! My babies began pooping and peeing on the potty. Not just once in a blue moon, either. Every single day!
My friend Nakeisha Thrash did the same with her little boy. She had him on the potty at 8 months of age. She does claim that training a boy is “a whole lot messierâ€, but it’s possible. The end result: She had her little man in undies by 18 months. Now that is a BIG deal in this day and age! And she didn’t feed him candies and treats to bribe him, either. When he did the deed, the whole family would do a “song and a dance and then celebrate with a whoop and a hollerâ€. We did the same. In fact, I made my babies cry several times because I was SO excited about the fact that they had gone pee or poop on the potty. Yes–crazy Mama.
So, if you asking yourself “When Do I Start Potty Training my child”?
here are a few potty training tips from Nakeisha & me:
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Start early.
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Celebrate hard.
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Train yourself, not your child. (Decide to go for it and stick with it!)
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Be ok with mistakes.
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Spend lots of time in the bathroom together.
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Have a goal of getting your baby in undies by 18 months.
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Do not give up!
 
