Potty Training

[big-mama]

If you take your 2 year old to the potty every 30 minutes to see if he needs to go, and often he does but sometimes he doesn't, and he doesn't go in his diaper any more, is he considered potty trained? 

[JuliMummy]

I don't know if there are official criteria for when a child is considered potty trained, but I would have thought it's not until they can tell you that they need to go and can hold on until they get to the potty.

[big-mama]

Me too, but I have heard moms "brag" their toddler is trained even though he/she isn't requesting to go to the potty on their own.  So I didn't know if criteria had changed. 

[melon]

I just recently started considering my son potty trained during the day. He wears regular underwear during the day, even when we go out. (it was hard for me to take the plunge, but he does know the difference from a pull up) Also, now he tells me when he has to go, and holds it till we get there. Usually.  :)  It was a long and messy journey, but I do believe we are there.

[aells]

Big-mama you are cracking me up!  I just finished (knock on wood) potty training my son and asked myself the same question today.  Is he potty trained?  I've decided you can finally take the deep breath sigh of relief when their 5 and say "oh yeah, he's potty trained" because he's been pee free for a few years and knows better.  LOL!

[~Amy~]

I'd consider myself potty trained if I were doing that! LOL

[juneboymum]

I say my 2.5 yr old is "out of diapers" but not 100% potty trained.  He still has an accident here and there.  He tells us he has to go 75% of the time and a few times a day we have to remind him that he hasn't gone in a while.  We still put a diaper on him at night but most of the time he wakes up dry and tells us he has to go.  Just in the past couple days he's woken up in the night and told us he has to go.  We've been diaper-free in the day (including trips out of the house) since August.  It's a long journey but we're getting there!  We didn't do any special program, reward system, etc.  One day he just woke up and said he didn't want to wear a diaper anymore so we put him in undies and off we went.  He was 2 yrs and 2 months old.  I would not consider him "potty trained" until I no longer have to bring a change of clothes when ever we go anywhere, or when I don't have to even think about the last time he went.

[lifeguard]

It's such an individual thing. I've heard people say it's not really potty trained unless they are 100% independent - well, ds has been out of diapers 100% of the time for 1.5 years now but still needs/wants help much of the time.

For myself, once they are at a point where they are out of dipes all the time (during the day at least as we know nighttime is a different thing) & reliably able to stay dry (let's be real even older children may occasionally have an accident) it should be considered potty trained.

[organicviolin]

my kiddo is getting there!  He seems to be training himself a bit but prefers to be naked in order to do it.  We are day #2 of nakie (it's 25 degrees out but he's perfectly fine). lol