If there is one thing I can tell you about potty training it is this, no child is the same just like with milestone development and development in general every child is different and what works for one will not necessarily work for another.
Loghan potty trained at 3 and a half, yes three and a half this was part in parcel due to me being pregnant and being told this was the worst time to potty train as well as that he was just not ready, it was very difficult to potty train him and I think that if he could have he would have stayed in a nappy forever thankfully once we got him used to the idea he was really great and he was fully potty trained night and day within a matter of a month or so.
Gabriel potty trained at 2 and a half I didn't feel that he was completely ready but his father did and didn't really give him a choice, it took a few months but he was day time potty trained by 2 and a half and night time trained by 3, it was I felt an incredible frustrating and horrible process Gabriel didn't quite understand and he made many many mistakes which he would get into trouble for and it really made the whole process terrible.
Jesse showed an interest in the potty from 18 months... yes 18 months we didnt show him he started asking to go after seeing the other children go, after speaking with his teachers we decided that he was still young and well we would encourage him we would not put to much pressure on him as we did not want him to regress, he is currently 25 months and almost fully day time trained, he prefers to go to the actual toilet with a toddler seat than the potty and his favorite thing is to flush the toilet after and wash his hands... strange monkey =).
We are still not pressuring him, I personally believe that your child should guide their potty training and they shouldn't be forced into it because you are tired of buying nappies or because all your friends children are doing it, every child is different just because you neighbors child potty trained at some insane age doesn't mean that yours will, I have been through this 3 times and no method has worked the same however I have found a few tips helpful and they are as follows.
1) Wait until your child is ready or expresses an interest, it is o.k to keep a potty around or show your child the potty however do not force them if they are not ready.
2) Allow for a few options or allow your child to pick out their own potty as I've said Jesse prefers the toilet seat but Gabriel loved the potty and the potty he liked is one that Jesse hated so every child is different.
3) Make it fun, teach them a song, wash hands with them, make a reward chart with them if you feel they will understand one.
4) Encouragement and Praise, this is incredibly important you can never praise your child enough and this will only encourage them to do it again and again.
5) Accidents happen- do not get angry if your child messes in their underpants or if you have to change them often or keep reminding them, it is all apart of the process, if they have an accident tell them its ok and encourage them to try again.
6) Tackle day time training first, night time training is a whole different board game it is not as easy for a child to control their bladder at night.
7) It is easier to potty train in Summer, this is because children have a harder time controlling their bladder in Winter than Summer.
8) Lastly work with your child's school find out if other children are potty training as children love to copy their peers at that age it will also help tremendously to work in conjunction with your child's school and they should be able to see if your child is ready or not.
Potty training can be an awesome and fun learning process but it can also be a complete nightmare if your child is unhappy and fights the process do not be disheartened wait a while and try again it is as much a learning cure for you as it is for your child, make it one you fondly remember not one you regret.
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