Montessori Approach to Potty Training

I would definitely keep the potty out. Just keep offering her opportunities to sit on it. I would put her in thick cotton underpants or let her be naked from the waist down if you are really serious about toileting. I wouldn't every force her to sit on it, especially for any given amount of time. you want it to be something that she has control over. If she seems totally uninterested I also wouldn't push the issue, keep the potty out but let it go for a while. While I do believe in the so called "sensitive period" for toileting I also know that every child is different and some for whatever reason may not master toileting until a much later age. Toilet learning is the term I use as we are not training the children to use the toilet but allowing them to learn with our help where to go to the bathroom. "training" sounds to me like something you'd do with your dog.

When she does go in the potty just reinforce it, you can cheer or clap for her and make a big deal.... but honestly as far as the Montessori approach this would be discouraged. There shouldn't be any emotional reaction by adults when they use the toilet but I've found with my own children this was encouraging especially the first few times as they realized that they had controlled their urine or bm and went in the toilet.

just follow your child, in a relaxed and positive way and I'm guessing she'll catch on to toilet learning when she's ready.

If you buy some of the thicker ones, she may not pee out of them. It depend though. You could use a pull on diaper cover over it if necessary. One advantage of having them uncovered though is that you will notice right away, as will she and then you can take her to be changed right away.

The way we did it when I worked with toddlers in a M school was that as soon as they were wet, I would walk with them to the bathroom to be changed. Not making it a positive or negative thing, or a big deal for that matter. The inconvience of having to stop what they were doing and get their wet pants off was the reality of it. I found that when changed promptly they did not like to be wet and wanted to be in control of it more.

All of this of reinforces their connection between the sensation of urinating and the fact that that is why they are wet. The child would stand or sit on a bench and assist in the process as much as possible like taking off their wet underpants and pants and putting them in the pail, getting a new pair on for themselves... rather then them laying down and having there diaper changed for them, it's best to have them be involved in the process as much as possible.

I also think there is some importance in changing them in the bathroom as that is where you want them to use the toilet. And by having her sit on the toilet afterwards will help make the connection that is where pee belongs.

Oh this all just reminded me how we would even change BM's with the child standing up, I got really good at it but I can't say I've ever tried with my own children, it was a lot more work. LOL

Good luck with this

Hi!
I totally agree with the points raised above, especially
a. keeping "matter of fact" about using the potty and cleaning up after accidents (no pressure)
b. not requiring use of potty, letting child control use...
c. have child wear cloth pants in home (I think having her "go naked" or sit on potty with book are not be necessary)

My daughter was using the toilet around 18 mths. She was consistently dry in the mornings, so she would sit on the toilet right away and have success each morning. I think it may help to find one time each day when she can be successful (do you notice her needing to go about an hour after eating or just before bed?) If you can identify a time of day to offer the potty consistently for a few days in a row, she can experience some success, then you can add another time of day, etc. until she is using the toilet independently. Let her do as much as possible on her own (pull down pants, wipe, pull up pants, wash hands).

We used the baby bjorn toilet when she was very small. It is just the right size and comfortable for squatting.

Give it time.

Great. Thanks for all the tips! Lilliana, we also have the Baby Bjorn toilet. She still sits fully clothed on it when I go and now she is also sitting on it naked while I run her bath in the evening - but she hasn't peed in it yet! I'll just keep letting her do this for now and hope that something comes of it.

Unfortunately, we have never been able to do the cloth diaper thing (one of the reasons that I would like to get her onto the potty sooner rather than later is to ease my conscience regarding our contribution to landfull sites ) but I have stopped purchasing Pampers and Huggies and now only get the (I hope) less absorbent generic brands.

i'm coming from an EC (elimination communication) perspective, not montessori, but my baby (18 mo) has been going diaperless around the house and sitting on the baby bjorn little potty since he could sit at 6 months old. He wears cloth diapers when it's too cold, or when we go out, but at home he always uses the potty.

This sensitive time seems to ring true - at 12 months he starting pooping exclusively on the potty (trying to pull his clothes off - he hated the feeling of poo in his diaper) and just in the past two months he really began to feel the urination, and now I would say 90 percent of the time says "pee!" and runs to the potty. Sometimes he says "pee!" after it has already happened on the floor, but as pps have mentioned, we are neutral about it, we just take him and put him on the potty saying "this is where we pee, is there anything left in there?" if he resists, he certainly doesn't have to sit, but he usually does not resist. I simply make a point of showing him the right place to pee. Sometimes right when he starts peeing in the wrong place I will touch his penis lightly which stops him long enough to slide the potty over to him, this does not seem to scare him and has not at all delayed his progress. I believe that in the next 6 months he will be out of diapers completely. We did not EC dd, who is now 6, but did offer her the option of the potty and invited her to go when we did, etc. and she was out of diapers by 26 months or so, with absolutely NO pressure from us, so I definitely don't think you've missed your chance!

Just keep offering -- I personally would do the diaperless approach, not use cloth undies, if it's convenient at your house, because it really seems to make a difference in their sensitivity and the frequency of sitting on the potty is much higher. I get much more lazy about being aware when he's in a diaper, such as coming in from being outside, or waking up in the morning, and miss a lot of chances for him to use or practice on the potty.

Thanks for your posts. As recommended, we have taken the No Diapers At Home approach and DD runs around bottomless or in cotton underpants. She now asks to sit on the potty to go Number Two . I don't think she is physiologically ready for peeing because she still pees on the floor, including this morning. After the pee accident this morning, she went poo on the potty and while on the potty going poo, she suddenly started to cry. When I asked her what was wrong, she pointed to the floor all around her and said "pee pee, pee pee". I think she was upset that she had gone pee on the floor earlier and not in the potty.

Should I put the potty away for a few more months? I was thinking that since EC parents do this from a much younger age, there would be no problem but maybe at this age she is too "aware" of the idea of failure to start without her being completely physiologically ready? I am just afraid that she will get really discouraged if she is really not physically ready to go Number One yet and therefore keeps peeing on the floor...

Am putting this in the toddler category too.