I’ve made a decision. One that’s not likely to go down well in some quarters.
I’m not going to potty train my youngest.
It’s a decision I’ve come to after a year of trying – and failing – to potty train the boy who doesn’t want to be potty trained.
A year of cajoyling, encouraging, rewarding, bribing and begging after which there was nothing for it but to simply give up: we couldn’t make him do his business on the loo.
And then the unthinkable happened: just when I was thinking we were going to have a four-year-old still in nappies he woke up one day, decided to sit on the loo and that was that. No potty training needed.
Having also potty trained his older sister – at a much younger age and much more quickly – I’ve decided that third time around I’m simply not going to bother. Here’s why.
7 reasons why I won’t potty train my youngest
1. There’ll be fewer accidents. I can count on one hand the number of accidents our nearly four-year-old has had compared to his older sister, who was just two when we started potty training her. It’s because he’s older: he understands what it’s all about and can articulate it too.
2. There’ll be less washing. Owing to fewer accidents, there’ll be less wee ridden (and worse) washing to deal with.
3. When they’re bigger you can put them straight on the loo. So no tripping over potties, or the unenviable task of swilling them out.
4. The older they are the quicker they’ll learn to wipe their own bum. And let’s face it, there’s enough wiping when it comes to parenthood as it is. Why make work for yourself?
5. I can’t be bothered. It’s not that I’m lazy, I just think cajoyling, encouraging, rewarding, bribing and begging a two-year-old and then dealing with the resulting accidents and washing is a waste of time and energy when an older child will simply ‘get it’ straight away.
6. What’s the rush? Admittedly changing nappies is a pain in the bum, but so is potty training a child who isn’t ready. And I’ve never heard of anyone going to University not toilet trained.
7. You don’t need to potty train a child who is ready to be potty trained. I’ve learnt that the hard way, and it’s a mistake I won’t be making again.
What do you think? Have you been through the potty training phase recently? Did you start as soon as possible, or wait until they were older? I’d love to hear about your experience!
If you liked this you may also enjoy reading:
5 reasons to buy Pirate Pete’s potty training book
Why I was right not to write a birth plan
8 tell-tale signs you’re turning into THAT family
Linking up with these fabulous blogs!
Oh yes!!! This is the best. I waited with both my boys until they were 3 1/2. My now 7 1/2 year old had one single accident. My now 3 1/2 year old is doing wees in fine, but number twos are still an issue. Nonetheless…I refused to try any earlier, for all the reasons you listed!
Couldn’t agree more! I tried to potty train my daughter before she was ready and ended up tearing my hair out – it was so stressful for both of us. Then, out of the blue a few weeks later she was just ready. I’m going to let my son lead the way when the time is right #mmbc
My girls started nursery just after their 3rd birthday’s and had to be potty trained. My eldest just about was but my youngest was no where near ready. I think being forced into not wearing a nappy caused us the trouble we had over the years with her wetting herself. If I had it to do all over again, I would leave them until they were ready. #MMBC
You do have a point, you can encourage them when they are ready but it is all a waste of time before that #DreamTeam
Just to add some perspective: My son (who’s autistic) used his last nappy aged almost 10 years old. He stopped wearing nappies years before that, but he couldn’t bring himself to doing number 2s in the toilet, so he’d go to the cupboard and grab a nappy when he needed to. We kept encouraging toilet use, but didn’t force the issue. I’m very thankful that he seems happy to use the toilet all the time now, and I hope he won’t regress in the future. #MMBC
I’ve been dreading potty training but maybe I just need to relax a bit and not worry about it early on. If there’s one thing I’ve learned this year it’s that they all go at their own pace and you can’t force development. #MMBC