America: Your Child Does Not Need to Be Two or Three To Be Potty Trained!

Ok this is for all of the parents out there. Let me give you some background on this one. I have a 21 month old and one day at work a co-worker from India asked me if my son was potty trained.

Like the brainwashed American I am...(was) I said of course not He is only 21 months old after all. I don't think he could understand the concept. And she insisted that he could and that she potty trained all of her kids at a very young age.

I was like "that's crazy" Then I went home and talked to my wife about it and we decided to research this. Come to find out THE WHOLE WORLD understands that an INFANT can be potty trained by 8 MONTHS...That's right, before they can even walk a baby can be potty trained. Here is some exerpts from a very informative article.

She adopted a child from China and this is her story

When we prepared for our trip to China last September to pick up 8-month-old Kelli, the thought of toilet training never even crossed my mind. I learned many things about Kelli during my time in the hotel, including that she knew how to potty in the toilet. After four days with Kelli, she was terribly constipated. We gave her lots of liquids and rubbed her tummy, but nothing worked. By the end of day four, I noticed she kept grunting like she had to poop. I thought, “If she can potty in the toilet, why not let her try to poop there too?” Sure enough, that’s exactly what she wanted to do! She wasn't used to pooping in a diaper. What an exciting breakthrough!

Do you see how brainwashed we have become. This little one had NO IDEA what a diaper even was because she was already potty trained. Here is this mothers conclusion on the matter...

The Western world has been indoctrinated to reject any form of early toilet learning. Our doubts stem from maturational readiness theories based on opinion and commercialism rather than scientific proof. Millions of happy babies in China can’t be wrong! By changing our attitude from skepticism to recognizing our babies’ amazing abilities, we open new doors. With infant pottying, timing is based on baby’s natural rhythms and on spontaneous and learned communication between mother and baby. There is no punishment, anger or coercion involved.

And that my friends hits the nail on the head. Big diaper companies have put in front of America a giant lie. They say that you have to have diapers, then "pull-ups" and it has to be this long transition process to potty train...

By the way DIAPERS AIN'T CHEAP

I for one have started right away potty training my child. I hope everyone does the same.

Sources: www.chinesechildren.org...

www.greatpottytrainingtips.com...

I dont think you should start until 18 months old, I am potty training my daughter and she just turned 18 months old, I seriously don't think it is right for an 8 month to use the potty, it just doesn't seem normal,I have a friend that said all her kids were potty trained by 1 year -15 months old, but it was bull,I wouldn't trust the person that is telling you this, it has a lot to do with maturity, although when they start touching their diaper or pulling on it like they know its full then it is time.

Had no idea people waited that long. I dont have kids so Ive never bothered to check it out myself but geez, if a dog can stop crapping in the house in 6 months or so a human should be able to crap in a bowl by that time.

reply to post by brooklyn87


How is this much different then trying to jump start their brain development by using flashcards, or reading to them and things like that?

If we can have our children understand concepts earlier, doesn't it seem to reason that they could advance quicker?

It is not the same thing as having a dog!!

early is one thing but 8 months old!!! they are still on the bottle!! it just seems to much way too soon, 18 months is early and appropriate in a way

reply to post by brooklyn87


Well 8 months is young, but in other countries they have incentive. They can't afford the diapers.

But as for me I just bought my son a little potty like yesterday and he already has gone Twice! He knows EXACTLY what to do. The only reason I didn't start sooner is because I thought he was too young. I was wrong.

My only problem is trying to imagine an infant who can't walk, and possibly not even crawl (some babies just don't crawl that young) being able to effectively communicate that they need to use the potty let alone what the parent or caregiver would have to do in order to allow them to use the toilet. Do you just hold them over the seat? I don't know, it does seem weird to me.

i was trained by my first birthday, and so was my sister my kids i took the leave it up to there mom because i was working and when they were just over two i had enough of the dipper thing and in one three day weekend my kids were using the potty. it all about being disaplined and just take a little time and no trauma invovled, but saves a lot on your pocket book and the land fills. stop being lazy and train your children.

reply to post by thisguyrighthere


LOL, man that is good. I think we don't give ourselves enough credit sometimes.

Originally posted by brooklyn87
early is one thing but 8 months old!!! they are still on the bottle!! it just seems to much way too soon, 18 months is early and appropriate in a way

Says who?

Other than your opinion, what suggests this?

The natural way is the best way, nobody needs a big multinational company with an eye out for big profits to tell them that it's normal for a 3 year old to need to use diapers before graduating into 'big kid pants'.

reply to post by brooklyn87


That is all up to your interpretation, and my opinion is mine I suppose, but to say that people just SHOULDN'T is not right.

If I can get my kid, at the very least, on a schedule to go at certain times, even if I have to take them there, then they will understand what to do when they can walk there, or let me know.

It makes perfect sense.

my daughter went the first day , and the third and the fourth, and then after a week she stopped and then she started up again so it takes time for some kids, not all kids are the same

reply to post by star in a jar


Exactly man, I think this whole potty training issue is two fold

1) It is in the interest of the diaper makers to keep you kid in diapers for two or three years as opposed to one or less

2) As much as it cost, it is FAR easier to just slap a diaper on you kid then to take the time to teach them. I KNOW this first hand.

I found the article very interesting.

I have a one year old and a two year old so I am in the middle of this potty training business. My two year old girl is trained, my one year old boy is not. A few things from my recent experiences I wanted to note:

Just because your kid is potty trained doesn't mean you don't have to buy diapers anymore. We still diaper our daughter for naptimes, night times, car trips in excess of 30 minutes, etc.

I'm assuming these kids are on some type of little kiddie potty? Because a normal toilet with kiddie seat still nearly swallows my two year old. I can't imagine an 8 month old on it. And for boys, good grief at that age pee will be shooting everywhere! And emptying a kiddie potty is just as disgusting as changing a diaper (to me).

Public restrooms are disgusting! At least when they go in their diaper it's their own germs. When my daughter has to pee at Wal-Mart or McDonalds (with me holding her on the toilet) I cringe and mentally check to scrub them down in the tub later.

My only problem is trying to imagine an infant who can't walk, and possibly not even crawl (some babies just don't crawl that young) being able to effectively communicate that they need to use the potty let alone what the parent or caregiver would have to do in order to allow them to use the toilet. Do you just hold them over the seat? I don't know, it does seem weird to me.

Exactly it just doesn't seem right, it seems strange, I definitely agree starting things early as far as educational necessities manners, common sense etc..., but I have 3 kids and they were all potty trained by 2 which is my normal

I'vebeen diong since since my daughter was three months old. She's 99 percent potty trained now (she's two). She's just afraid to use the public toilets. People have potty trained there children early throughout history. People who don't have access to water or diapers still do this. It's called Elimination Communication.
What you do is take your child to the bathroom at regular intervals (like every hour) for the first couple of days. When you sit them on there you make a noise. We started with a psss sound, but right away she changed it to a razzing sound. Whenever they do go, you make the same sound and then that makes them associate relieving themselves with that noise. Eventually, whenver they have to go, they will make the same sound to tell you. It's really easy and it does work. The child won't fall in to the toilet if you get a small toilet seat designed for potty training.

double post

[edit on 28-4-2010 by collietta]

reply to post by jjkenobi


LOL, I can relate to everything you are saying. I think I can handle the night time diaper, just because it is hard to control when you are sleeping and that is a long time between potty breaks.

I am using the little potty with the little pee gaurd thingy. It is working out great so far. But yeah...cleaning it out is gross. I think it pays off though when they can reach the big boy potty and do it themselves.