Controversial parenting topics: Potty training
I mentioned this post was coming in my post about cloth diapering... had to make it into two posts! This is part of my series about parenting decisions that can be controversial or divisive. I'm sharing my experience, no judgment, of what we did (or didn't do), and this topic was super anxiety-provoking for me with Otto so I'm happy to be on the other side and share what worked well for us (and what we'll be doing with Lucy!).
(See the whole list of controversial parenting posts below.)
- Breastfeeding
- Sleep training
- Co-sleeping
- Babywearing
- Baby-led weaning
- Cloth diapering
- Potty training
- Daycare vs. nanny
- Transitioning from the crib
- TV time
Potty training
Potty training deserves to be its own post in this series, though the controversial part is not whether to do it or not! I have heard some strong opinions from moms on which age to do it at, though. I was so nervous to do it with Otto but then when Lucy was born (he was 2 years and 4 months) his diapers just seemed so large and ridiculous in comparison... Jason and I both read this this book, Oh Crap! Potty Training to prepare and followed everything she recommend, and it went great!!! (We did daytime potty training only; couldn't handle waking up in the middle of the night to take Otto to the potty when we were already doing that with a newborn.) The experts (per that book, anyway) recommend potty training for ages 18-30 months. Otto was 29 months. Worked great, and we realized we could have done it earlier!
I figured at the time we could/should have done it around age 2, when he was talking enough he could communicate about it, and would have been nice to do it before I had a newborn to be carrying, watching, putting down for nap, and/or breastfeeding while rushing to the potty with Otto. Ha! But for Lucy... she's not talking much yet but she's already showing signs of being ready to potty train (17 months). I think we'll wait till it's a little warmer so she can go pants-less for a while; that was really helpful for Otto for several weeks even after the 3-day initiation/naked day.
The good thing is, potty training is way less scary than I pictured.
The posts in this series are meant to be me sharing my personal experience only. 100% no judgment if you did things differently! If you don't like the sound of what I did, no worries! I'm just sharing for those of you out there who are interested. Best wishes to you no matter what you choose!
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