Toilet Training Drama

I know that most of the posts you see about toilet training are about HOW to toilet train. This post is not.. sorry. This post is about how sick and tired I am of seeing posts that make me feel like a bad mom because my son is 2½ and not potty trained yet.

Waaaahhhhhh! we're so sad about potty training myths!

After reading about a million articles the other night on how to potty train your kids, and what age is best.. blah blah. I about had a panic attack thinking that I am a horrible mom. I cannot even begin to tell you how many people say that if your kid isn't potty trained by 2- 2½ that you are doing it wrong, and your kid will have a hard time being a functioning adult (slightly exaggerated). So I started crying to my husband saying that I must have done something terribly wrong. He laughed and said that I had nothing to worry about, he said that NONE of his 3 brothers or himself were potty trained by 2 ½. So I started asking all my friends and family when their kids were potty trained. All of my friends and families kids were potty trained from ages 2-5, now.. that is quite a different range than what you see online. And I asked a lot of people, so I know I am not just talking to some strange group who happened to only have late bloomers.

I also talked to my son's pediatrician about potty training back a few months ago before I had my daughter. She told me that in her opinion, we should wait to potty train until our son is closer to 3. Because of the time we were going to have our daughter, he would most likely regress anyways. She said that there is nothing wrong with kids potty training a little bit later, because when it comes down to it.. they are ready when they are ready. Now people.. this is coming from a doctor.. so .. there you go!

I am not saying that you shouldn't try to potty train  your kids until later. All I am saying is that when  your kids are ready... they are ready. And right now my 2½ year old is not ready for the toilet, and there is nothing wrong with that. If you try to force your kids too early to potty train you are going to have problems. These problems will most likely include.. them not being potty trained, and making both of you more frustrated. Or if you are WAY too forceful.. you are probably damaging your child and making them feel naughty when they are not.

This is mostly just a rant post, but hopefully it will give some comfort to other moms. You are not a bad mom or dad just because you can't work miracles and make your child ready for the toilet earlier than they are ready.

Thanks for reading! ♥