what age to start officially potty training?

Ok so now that I have 2 x 2 year olds, I'm starting to feel a little guilty that we haven't officially started potty training. I've had them in knickers/pants/ undies in summer, and they loved to get around in the nude when they were allowed to as well. We have a couple of potties and a step/toilet seat in the bathroom, but I haven't pushed the potty training yet.
I know that you're supposed to wait until they are ready and show signs etc, but they are now 25 months and I'm wondering if I should push it more ie: set a 'date'.
I have 2 older children, so have been through this before, but life is just so busy and chaotic, that I'm not sure I'll ever be ready for potty training. It's just another thing that I'll have to find time for. Also it's coming into winter here so that makes it more difficult.

AM I being lazy? How old have other's twins been before you've really started pushing the toilet training?

 

You say lazy like it's a bad thing. It's my go-to parenting philosophy. If there's an easy/lazy way to do something, I'll do it that way!

So to answer your question, we had potties & undies in the house from when the girls were 18 months. We talked about pottying, read books about it, let them watch us using the potty, etc, etc. I made a few tentative attempts here & there to fully train but the girls were not keen (they'd scream & cry any time they peed into open air for a long time). They just didn't seems quite ready & I wasn't willing to force the issue. Just before their 3rd birthday, shortly after the birth of my niece, they decided they weren't babies & wanted to learn to use the potty. From there on out there was no stopping them. I just followed their lead & it worked well for us.

 

^^ what she said!

I have 2 older kids as well, and one thing I learned from pt'ing them that's etched into my brain for all time is "It's sooooooooo much easier to wait until they are ready rather than push them too soon". And far less stress to wait!

My oldest son was just before 3 when he decided he wanted to wear undies like daddy did. (after repeated attempts to pt him earlier). My oldest daughter was 3.5 when she finally decided she liked tinkerbell better than pullups (again, repeated attempts to pt earlier). So, I didn't even bother really trying with the twins until after they turned 3. Mine turned 3 in feb, and I started about a month ago. My dd did fantastic, pt'd in a few days, rarely has an accident anymore and I'm pretty sure could be nighttrained too, I just haven't braved her without a pullup at night. My ds is a little slower, he'll pee on command, and sometimes on is own too, but he still has little accidents during the day too. Gets too busy playing and forgets to pay attention to the "i need to pee" feeling until it's too late. So he's still a work in progress. Overall though, pt'ing was sooooo much easier with them because I didn't bother pushing it too early, i waited until they were older and showing signs of being ready

 

I agree 100%!

I too had bought potty chairs right around the age of 2. They never once pee'd or pooped in them. I then bought the ring for the toilet and still no luck.

My one DS right after they turned 3 would tell us he wanted to flush the toilet. Little did I know at the time, he wanted to pee. He had a speech delay so he was unable to express to me what he wanted to do.

This went on for a good 5 months and we were at their last day of preschool picnic. He kept asking over and over to flush. We went home and I put him on the toilet and he pee'd and did it the rest of the day.

The next morning, he was eating breakfast, looked at me and said "I need to poop". He ran upstairs and went in the toilet!

We never looked back.

Now my other DS took longer. He was around 3 years 8 months before he would pee. Then another 2 months before he would poop on the toilet.

Looking back,my one DS could have been trained around the age of 3 if I would have made the connection.

I'm glad I did not push it. Their preschool had no timeline for them to be trained so I did not have that added stress.

Sure, I had a lot of people at the time give me an attitude that they were 3 1/2 and STILL not potty trained but I just learned to ignore them.

And in the long run, does it really matter when they were PT? It's not like when they enter college or go on a job interview they're going to be asked " so, at what age were you PT?"

 

We waited and waited in case they showed interest on their own, then just went ahead and started a month ago (they're 4!). DD got it really fast, DS still hasn't got the poopy part, I'm guessing it would not have gone well if we had tried earlier.

Frankly though... for us diapers are just so, so easier. Even with DD we just use diapers when we go out (she just takes it off and uses the potty when we get home, and we don't have to worry about finding bathrooms when we're out, it's win win LOL). We have a trip coming up and I absolutely can't imagine dealing with potty breaks every hour or less in the plane or visiting...

 

Someone told me recently that the average age for PT is 34 months for girls and 37 months for boys, so you have plenty of time. We did some "pre-PTing" starting around 20m, then a bit more starting a few months before they turned 3, then it so happened that we did 3 Day Potty Training when they were 37 months and for the most part it worked. So many moms had told me with boys especially that if you wait till they're closer to 3, it often goes much quicker, so I was in no rush since they weren't showing much interest anyway. I know plenty of moms who have PTed earlier but it sounds like you're already doing some great early PTing and you can always do more when they start to show more interest.

 

I had a similar experience as Rachel. I started introducing the concept of the potty to my twins at 18 months. My daughter was PT-ed night and day by 2 years 8 months and my son was closer to 3 when he was PT-ed night and day. My twins were not ready at the same time to be PT-ed. With my son, I had to put him back in diapers and try again later. The second time worked for him.
I would say at 25 months you have time. A big part of PT-ing is that both the parents and kids are ready for it.

 

I agree with PPs - you have plenty of time, wait until they and you are ready, encourage some basic interest, read some books about it, but do not push the issue.

I did a very gradual approach with DS who was showing signs of readiness shortly after his 2nd birthday - potty in the bathroom, naked time, working on it or backing off according to his lead. He took great pride in his successes and did not mind about accidents but took 6 months to train. DD was not interested at all until she came up one day and wanted to go potty and she trained within a week at 31 months. I wanted to train them in summer but they decided otherwise, so it was the middle of winter and layers and layers of clothing. They are still in diapers for naps and nights, no signs of readiness there. So, both of mine were early, but I totally followed their lead and went with the flow.

 

I'm one that started early, too. No forcing. Just introduced the concept around a year old. I personally never waited until they showed signs, but I also didn't force it on them either.
Just acted pretty matter of fact about it in the same way I introduced cups without lids, etc. They'll be 3 in August and they're almost there. I think what helped more than ever was just the endless repeating of "peepee goes on the potty!" and watching potty training videos online. It hasn't been stressful and the process has felt somewhat fluid.

 

Another thing is if you are comfortable with them watching you or your DH (not sure if you have boys or girls) go to the bathroom. I have two boys and when they would ask what I was doing, I would tell them.

They became REALLY fascinated with my BF when he would pee standing up. They used to say he had bubbles in his penis because of the way it looked in the toilet. :rotflmbo: At times they would get so close we had to remind them to step back, otherwise they may have gotten wet.
:laughing:

Even now, my one DS will still say he had bubbles in his penis when he has to go pee. I really wonder what his teachers think at preschool when he says that.