M will tell you when she is ready and then she will no longer give you any cute curtain pictures.

Jen, I think potty training scares us all. At least it scares me.

Everyday Mom- Maybe we should start a support group for each other? It will happen when they are ready, or at least that is what I keep telling myself…over and over and over!

Michelle and Nate- I love you guys. Michelle, I remember all the trouble you had with B. We are taking our time with Maddy and totally letting her call the shots… if she wants underwear she gets underwear if she wants a diaper she wears a diapers. Nate, I laughed through your comment and then read it to Luke and he basically said "Exactly, Nate is exactly right!"

Aargh we are at the same point. Little One knows when he is going he tells me. But we put him on the potty and he holds it till he is allowed off and gets a "cween diaper". He will come and ask for me to change him. We did all the excitement of decorating the potty, picking out big boy undies etc. Didn't work!! Little One sounds like M though, he does things in his own time and will get stubborn about it if you try and push. I am giving him a few more months to see if he comes up with it on his own. HERES HOPING!!!

I think that you are on the right track. Truth be told, I can't give any advice. Potty training scares me and I am avoiding it right now.

Nate's guide to potty training:

1) Don't do anything at all.

2) When your kid tells you that they don't wear diapers anymore, don't put them in diapers anymore.

3) Done. (if they do for some reason have any accidents after this mostly foolproof method then you just make them clean up after themselves.)

I pretty much apply this method to everything. Whenever my kids want to do something then I make sure they get all the responsibility that goes along with it. Sink or swim. If you're consistent then kids figure it out pretty quick and start to recognize the natural consequences that go along with things. (like if i poop my pants i have to clean up my poop.)

If you want to hurry her along to getting to step 2 on her own then I suggest making her carry her own diaper bag around until she gets tired of hauling her own diapers everywhere she goes. I made Fifi carry her own diaper bag everywhere. Michelle thinks I'm mean but I'm just preparing my kids for the realities of life.

I literally laughed out loud and you and Luke's conversation. Sounds exactly like a conversation Nate and I would have (if we had a 2 year old).

I could've totally written this same post when B was potty training. Potty training B still is pretty high up there on my list of difficult parenting tasks. Maybe only 2nd to transitioning from crib to toddler bed.

I was also gun-ho with B before 2 and he seemed very interested. His interest quickly waned and turned to stubborn opposition. At this point I backed off completely. He was in daycare by this point and they worked with him there too. Finally at 2 years 9 months the center director told me point blank, B's BFF would be moving up to the 3 year old class (he was 4 months older), and B was more than ready developmentally and emotionally he just needed to be more potty trained. She suggested going cold turkey putting him in underwear and never looking back, they did not care at daycare either, they were equipped to deal with lots of accidents. I had mixed results with B at 2 years 9 months. He was out of diapers yes and within a week or so down to about 1 daytime accident a day but daytime accidents persisted with him. When he was 3 having an accident was a fairly regular occurance. By 4 it was down to maybe once a week. I still have a 9 year old who wets the bed twice a month and a 7 year old that wets the bed 3 times a week. Needless to say potty training was not the easiest issue in our house. With the night time wetting I am not as concerned because I know it is out of their control. As long as they are making progress over time.

Each child is different though. Nate had both girls by himself when Wyn was that age and didn't do anything to potty train Wyn. He said a little after she turned 3 she told him she didn't wear diapers anymore, and has never had a single daytime or night time accident ever! Needless to say he was shocked when he went to potty train FiFi. Guess it was good I had the experience with B when he was going through it. People will tell you they had their kid potty trained at 18 months or 2 years which is great but potty training being easy is the exception not the rule so expect it to be difficult.

Maddy is a smart girl and I know you are more than ready for her to be potty trained but before you jump into it full force again maybe hold off awhile longer and continue to watch for her clues while encouragaing any progress she makes. No one says it has to be an all or nothing approach but as she gets older at some point you will want to draw the line and push forward for your own sanity just make sure it is the right time for her.

Love you!

Your conversation with Luke had me and my husband laughing. I love the picture of Maddy all wrapped up in the curtain with her little feet sticking out too!

We are working on potty training in our house right now too. I didn't push it for a long time because he would scream if I put him on the potty. It didn't seem like a good idea to push that. He now is going on the potty once or twice a day. I guess it is an inprovement.

Tonight he pooped on the potty. When I came upstairs with his potty treat (yeah, we use bribery) and he said "I have enormous poop on potty. Like elephant!". Nice!

Elizabeth, A potty party, huh? I'll have to check that out.

Deb, I can imagine that it would be be hilarious and frightening all at the same time!

JAM, She totally thinks that if she can't see me I can't see her. What a nut!

Kids crack me up. I think, they think that if they can't see you… you can't see them. That pic of Maddy in the draperies is hilarious.

Oh, the good old potty training days.

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