<p>This would make for an interesting essay.</p>
<p>One week spent with his slightly older cousins and my S was trained. I think younger sibs learn faster with role models.</p>
<p>Too late for me–my youngest just got trained a couple weeks ago at 2yrs 10mo. This was a huge milestone for me because I’ve been changing diapers for 19 years straight (without a break, with overlaps, I have 7 kids).</p>
<p>I told a couple of my kids that 3-year-olds can’t wear diapers, so they couldn’t have their birthday if they didn’t use the potty. Worked instantly.</p>
<p>A midwife I know has been working in China over 10 years. She gave me all the details on how they train their kids from birth. Apparently it is the rule over there–everyone does it. I lived in Africa for 2 years and never saw a diaper or kids squatting in public places (they did go to the “bush” or outhouse). I heard that families kept dogs that would clean up the little babies’ #2–the mom would prop the baby on her feet and the baby would go on the floor and the dog would take care of it. However they did it, they were very discreet about it.</p>
<p>Diaper free is more environmentally correct, but if you have to be in constant contact to recognize the baby’s signals and take him to the potty/sink/tree whatever–then you’ve only trained yourself and not the kid and it seems like more work than changing diapers. Also, our standards of sanitation are higher than most places, and most people in the US are not going to accept any accidents. I have no problem with someone peeing in a sink–but #2–yuck.</p>
<p>OMG if I saw some idiot parent using a public bathroom sink as a toilet I’d slap them silly.</p>
<p>My 19yo S recently flew off for his second year of college. Unfortunately, he forgot a lot of his clothes which were stored in his brother’s room (because we are in the process of moving). Anyway we had been collecting a lot of boxes for the move–many of which were “adult diaper” boxes from a nursing home where H works. </p>
<p>Anyway, I purposefully used one of the diaper boxes to ship S’s stuff, thinking, “That’ll teach him. . . to remember his stuff next time!”<br>
S got the box yesterday and was not amused (though GF was–she said, "Your parents have a weird sense of humor). The box has instructions on the outside–pictures of the diapers and step by step how to put them on.</p>
<p>He had to pick up the box and carry it across campus to his dorm. On the way he met last year’s roomie–who wanted to know what was in the box. . .</p>
<p>Makes me think of the line from Napoleon Dynamite: “He’s a tender little fellow. . .still wets the bed.”</p>
<p>My kids were both 3 1/2 YEARS (not months) old, but once they decided to do it, there were no accidents. Both were dry through the night long before they decided to use the pot all the time. One was motivated by specialty underwear; the other saw all the boys lining up in the bathroom at pre-school and decided he should get with the program. </p>
<p>AND they still managed to get good grades and test scores despite this obvious developmental delay…so there! 
</p>
<p>As for me, I decided early on that this was a battle I would not win. The other reality smacking me in the face was that my kids were 15 months apart; I wasn’t getting out of diaper duty anytime soon, so why worry? :)</p>
<p>I’d have to be restrained if I saw someone holding their child over the sink to pee…but then again, given the behavior of some college students, amybe peeing in the sink IS an EC…</p>
<p>Unbelievable. Inconsiderate. Pretentious. YUCK!!</p>
<p>atomom.
I’m going to need those adult diapers, I am laughing so hard!!!</p>
<p>Atomom, 19 years of diaper duty? I think I’d have gone mad! Your Depends story is hysterical. It kind of reminds me of my saintly, younger brother’s story. He would do the shopping for our elderly, eccentric aunt. One day he told me of how the ladies at Shop Rite were really digging him as he pushed around a cart full of cat food & cat litter, Depends, Milk of Magnesia, and Preparation H.</p>
<p>Yep, honestly 19 years–and I even used cloth diapers for two of my kids–until my wrists went bad from the wringing. Maybe I am crazy, but I don’t mind changing diapers–I guess it just became part of the routine. I also noticed how disposables got much better and cheaper, too, in those 19 years. Sigh. Well, there’s always grandchildren–unless my crazy kids/kids-in-law decide to go diaper free.</p>
<p>I took my toddler D to Nordstroms and bought her lovely lacey panties. They were wrapped in the “silver box” and offered if she would use the toilet. D was toilet trained that day. Nordtrom’s bribery works to this day and I use it whenever necessary! No regrets!</p>
<p>blucroo - brilliant parenting!:)</p>
<p>My 2 1/2 year old had been trained for about a month when her dear grampa
left the seat up during one of his visits. I remember vividly the wail from upstairs when my DD fell into the toilet. “GET ME OUT OF HERE!” :eek:
Could be heard across the canyon and to the next town.</p>
<p>It took a couple of weeks before her confidence had been restored.</p>
<p>sbmom and stickershock: definitely the posts of the day. No, make that the week.</p>
<p>Our S was fully walking upright, no holding on, etc. by 9 months. And completely potty trained by . . . 4 years. Sure wish it had been the other way around.</p>
<p>Well, I had my kids in day care and just let their respective day care “moms” figure out when they were ready and tell me what they wanted to do. I figured the day care providers had more experience than I did – and I think they in turn appreciated the cooperation they got from me in terms of following their lead, rather than insisting they try to potty train a child too early – since in my case it would have been the day care provider who either enjoyed the benefits of or suffered the inconvenience of dealing with a diaperless toddler. They were the ones who had to deal with active toddlers during daytime hours 5 days a week. Both my kids were in small group family day care homes as toddlers - my son shifted to a larger Montessori classroom at age 2.5 – I honestly don’t recall whether he was potty trained or not by that time. My guess is that he would have had to be, but I think they also required that the kids be supplied with a change of clothing each day to deal with accidents. </p>
<p>Boys are somewhat different than girls - one problem with training infants is that they aren’t standing and walking yet. I don’t remember my son having any difficulty at all with the concept of standing & aiming. </p>
<p>To the parent in this thread who had no difficulty training the kids as infants – I suggest talking to the mom with 7 kids. I thought I knew everything about childrearing after #1, and then #2 came along and everything I “knew” was wrong. So I don’t pass judgment on the behavior or developmental milestones of other peoples’ kids – you never know.</p>
<p>My kids would kill me if I discussed their toilet training in a public forum!</p>