My 2 year old is showing signs of potty training readiness. He will tell me when he wets or poops his diaper and he goes with me or my boyfriend when we "peepee". He used to sit on his potty chair, but he won't now, especially if it's open. I'm thinking...should we just buy him underwear and jump in with both feet? lol Maybe he wants to sit on the "big" toilet since we do? We went on vacation and that disrupted things...
Jump in with both feet and hit the road running! Sounds like you should count your blessings that you won't have to fight with him about it! He may want to sit on the big potty. My son did. To help him fit a little better and be able to "hold" it down...he sat on it backwards. He felt more stable and we had way less pee everywhere.
Why not let him use the big potty, if you think that is what he wants. Did you ask him yet? If so, be sure you get a sturdy step stool for him. It is helpful for them like you wouldn't believe.
Most kids do better with the potty but some train successfully on the big potty. I bought the special seat that goes on the toilet but it was not stable and scared my son. Since he tells you when he goes in his diaper then why not ask him if he wants to go on the potty? Telling after making pee or poop is a big sign of readiness. I would not just put on underwear right away though unless you are ready for a lot of mess and a very confused ashamed child. If you potty train, commit to it and go into it full speed ahead. Use pullups but put him on the potty (or toilet) every 15 minutes for the first day or 2. Give him a reward (like an m&m or gummy) each time. Then after 2 days increase the time to 30 minutes but only give a treat when he actually makes something in the potty. If he asks to go and them does, give him a bigger treat. Wear pullups in between but make sure to discuss "accidents". Don't make him feel ashamed, just talk about it matter of factly. After a week, he should really have it down. At this point, put him in underwear and let him have accidents. If he is having more than 1 or 2 accidents a day then you need to stop training or go back to pullups and go intense again like the beginning. If your child is truly ready, he should be trained almost perfectly (all kids have accidents, especially at night) in a matter of weeks.
Readiness is based on both physical and emotional maturity, and most kids are interested/curious before they are actually able to learn independent pottying.
Here's a really useful website you might find helpful. It gives a few variations on"readiness" checklists, plus tips on various training strategies, the best ages to start them, and the advantages and disadvantages of each approach: http://www.parentingscience.com/potty-training-tips.html
my rule of thumb is: self-awareness on the child's part BEFORE wetting himself. Until that happens, it's just a matter of the parent self-training to take the child to the bathroom. You will set a routine, but that's all....until the child develops that all-important self-awareness. :)
He's ready! You might want to start by encouraging him to use either the small or big potty at specific times of day, for awhile, before completely ditching the diapers.
