What is the right age to start potty training? Is it different for when you have a girl child and a boy child? What if my child is hesitant and reluctant to potty train?

These are some of the questions I have asked myself and searched over google in the past one year for my son. He will be turning three this september and I am glad to say that we are going on well with the potty training for him.

But there were several hiccups along the way.

I started potty training when my son turned two years old. I would leave him off the diaper and we would take him to the potty every half an hour or so. It was very tedious and an unsuccessful attempt. Because we would repeatedly take him the potty at regular intervals and spoke to him to tell us when he has to go potty or pee but he would pee outside and not tell. So we decided to postpone potty training 6 months from then.

While his diaper size increased and he learned more and more from his school environment (daycare) six months later at his 2.5 year birthday we gave it a shot again. This time he was a little bit wiser, was going to his daycare regularly and in his daycare the kids were getting potty trained. So we decided to wing it. We did the same thing. Whenever he was home we would leave him without diapers take him to pee at regular intervals and ask him to say that he wants to go pee and poo. But the one mistake we did at this time was that while he was without diapers at home, he was in diapers at school. And therefore the same mistake happened. He would pee outside and not tell. So we decided to postpone again. 

Two months later we tried again. There were several mishaps of him peeing outside the bathroom in the home, or in the park, or somewhere outside. But this time when we took off the diaper we took it off completely both at home and in his daycare. And that made a huge difference. Because at school they teach him to say bye bye to his potty and to tell when he wants to pee, he picked it up and reciprocated the same at home. Its tremendous how the kids obey the teachers so diligently. We have a few mishaps here and there but now my son is very well on his way to be potty trained. He even  poops in the bathroom sitting on the potty and while small incidents of pee or poo happen outside at times. I am not to bothered because I know he has developed a little bit of understanding. 

The thing is kids learn more from their teachers and their fellow classmates than parents. And while as parents we may wonder whether something is right or wrong for our child, the child is learning a lot. I have so many doubts about my parenting because I have done everything unconventional, have taken decisions which would never have been taken in any other household. And to date I wonder if what I am doing is the correct thing for my child.

I just know one thing and that is I will love my child to my death and do everything I can for him. But that also means that I have to be able to work and sustain that income so that I can provide him everything he may need or may ask from me without having to think about asking anyone else for money even if it is my husband.

This is a topic for another post! Stay tuned.

– V

Resources

8 pack potty training underwears (https://amzn.to/3IfSNYf)

Summer infant my size Potty with storage (https://amzn.to/4bU5CFm)

Potty Training Seat and Toddler Step Stool (https://amzn.to/3Ib3rQ5)

Munchkin Sturdy Potty training Seat (https://amzn.to/48u9NVf)

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