1. Posted by Mary K on Thu, May 08, 2008, 5:23 pm PDT

When it came time to potty train my children who are now full grown, I would tell them that "MOMMY" had to go potty and they needed to help her. I would urge them into the bathroom and have them help me go potty. It worked with all 4 of my children. My 31 year old daughter was potty trained by the time she was 2, my son who is 29 was potty trained by about 2 1/2, my 19 year old daughter was trained by 2, and my last child, a 2 1/2 lb preemie was trained by the time she was 3.

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2. Posted by Cat F on Thu, May 08, 2008, 6:28 pm PDT

whatever u do, don't spank them for their accidents... just tell them and show them you're 'throwing away' their big boy/big girl underwear, u know batman, my little pony, whatever it may be, worked great for me....

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3. Posted by gmwilliams6885@sbcglobal.net on Thu, May 08, 2008, 7:09 pm PDT

WHAT????!!!!

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4. Posted by shayne k on Thu, May 08, 2008, 7:53 pm PDT

The heading on the article is misleading, the article is an intro to a book and in reality is a brief history lesson but clearly has no pointers on potty training much like the heading states.

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5. Posted by Charlene R on Thu, May 08, 2008, 8:05 pm PDT

The people of Kenya are smart. We are babywearers and we believe one of the many benefits to this lifestyle is early potty trainers. Not only can we pick up on their cues, but because our children have such a strong bond with us, they have more confindense and security to branch out and be independant. Now, our children are, by no means, potty trained before age one, but definitely by age 2. We don't pressure them and there is no strict routine. We introduce them to the potty chair around 15 months and let them play on it and get used to it. Eventually they warm up to it and make the decision to go. Our job at that point is to just make sure they get there on time. My daughter was "Day-time" potty trained by 2 and completely potty trained by 2 1/2. My son was "day-time" potty tained by 21 months and completely potty trained by 23 months. We believe he had an advantage over his sister... He is a big fan of going... ahem... "All Natural" if you will. He also wore cloth diapers, so he's always been in tune to when he's gone potty.

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6. Posted by Adrianne on Fri, May 09, 2008, 3:12 am PDT

A few years ago, I would have disagreed, but I have learned alot since becoming a mom! I have a 5-year-old daughter and a 2-year-old son. I thought that my daughter would be potty trained by age 2 at the latest, but she had other ideas. She was a little over 3 when she began going potty "full-time" and I think that it was because she is very stubborn and independent and she wanted to go when it was her idea, not mine. I am having the same experience with my son. Usually when I ask him to go potty, the answer is "NO!" After he's had a few minutes to think about it (and it can be considered his idea) he changes his mind. I've learned that they have to be ready and when they are, they'll let you know.

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7. Posted by Adrianne on Fri, May 09, 2008, 3:13 am PDT

A few years ago, I would have disagreed, but I have learned alot since becoming a mom! I have a 5-year-old daughter and a 2-year-old son. I thought that my daughter would be potty trained by age 2 at the latest, but she had other ideas. She was a little over 3 when she began going potty "full-time" and I think that it was because she is very stubborn and independent and she wanted to go when it was her idea, not mine. I am having the same experience with my son. Usually when I ask him to go potty, the answer is "NO!" After he's had a few minutes to think about it (and it can be considered his idea) he changes his mind. I've learned that they have to be ready and when they are, they'll let you know.

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8. Posted by dharman07 on Fri, May 09, 2008, 6:37 am PDT

I have to say that I agree, there is no one "right" way to potty train. A lot depends on the child's personality and the situation a family is in. I waited until both my kids were ready (around 2 1/2 for my daughter and 3 for my son) and they learned in days with very few accidents. My in-laws gave me grief both times about waiting so "late" but I felt like I knew my children's abilities better than they. Each time I made a reward chart and ONLY gave the reward (candy for my daughter, Hot Wheels for my son) when they went pee or poo no matter how much they begged. Potty training can be really stressful for parents who worry about cleaning up accidents. Try to relax and listen to your instincts (not your mother-in-law!!)

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9. Posted by mommyagain3511 on Fri, May 09, 2008, 8:41 am PDT

Hi There. When my daughter was 20 months old, I followed the advice of my mother and grandmother, who all but guaranteed success with this method. We picked a weekend when we didn't have plans to go anywhere and made a commitment not to leave the house for the entire weekend. We stripped her down naked and she spent the entire weekend (except nighttime hours) with no diaper. This allowed us (and her) to see exactly when she was going pee or poop. We would promptly move her to the training toilet (often mid-stream!) We carried the training potty with us to whatever room we were in all weekend so that it was always nearby. Low and behold, by Sunday afternoon, she was going to the training potty on her own! It was a long, stressful weekend for us because we had to keep our eyes on her at all times but in the end, it was a success.

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10. Posted by jennmandy555 on Fri, May 09, 2008, 9:39 am PDT

Where is the information?? I know it's a blog - but hello??

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11. Posted by jennmandy555 on Fri, May 09, 2008, 9:41 am PDT

Where is the information?? I know it's a blog - but hello??

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12. Posted by jennmandy555 on Fri, May 09, 2008, 10:16 am PDT

Where is the information?? I know it's a blog - but hello??

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13. Posted by Min on Fri, May 09, 2008, 10:31 am PDT

You always have insightful and fun to read blogs. My youngest son is flirting with potty training now. He'll be 3 in September... I don't have any special ideas for you, but I do keep reminding myself of our pediatrcians thoughts... "They'll learn someday. If not, a single day in Kindergarden will help them learn through peer pressure." He's right. I can't remember the last adult I saw with incontinence (without obvious cause.)

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14. Posted by Min on Fri, May 09, 2008, 10:36 am PDT

You always have insightful and fun to read blogs. My youngest son is flirting with potty training now. He'll be 3 in September... I don't have any special ideas for you, but I do keep reminding myself of our pediatrcians thoughts... "They'll learn someday. If not, a single day in Kindergarden will help them learn through peer pressure." He's right. I can't remember the last adult I saw with incontinence (without obvious cause.)

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15. Posted by Leilani T on Fri, May 09, 2008, 1:06 pm PDT

I have 5 children. The oldest is now 25 and the youngest is 15. When I tried to train our oldest we lived in Japan where the bath was in a seperate room than the toilet. Before bath I would put my daughter on the toilet and hope she would pee there instead of the bathwater. She never had to go....till she hit the warm bathwater. So I would RUSH her to the toilet and of course her muscles would tighten up and we would be back to step one. With our next child I would give graham treats as a reward. He was doing great! Did you know that they can cause the runs? Well that blew that out of the window till his bowels were under control again. With our youngest we were in process of builing a home and living with family since our other home sold. He was so up rooted that he didn't get completely trained till he was 4 years old. So you see each child is different and cercumstances play a big part.

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