Our child is showing some signs of readiness but still cannot tell us in time consistently. I am not in a hurry, just trying to avoid confusing starts and stops. Did you use a small potty, seat reducer, rewards, no diapers at home, or something else? If you faced the same decision and later changed your mind, I would love to know why.
Consistency between the adults mattered more than the exact method for us. When one person gave in and another held the boundary, the whole thing took twice as long. Our child reacted better once we explained the change in advance instead of announcing it on the day.
What worked for another child may not fit yours, so I would use the replies here as ideas to test rather than a rulebook. We had to repeat the same boundary many times before it clicked. We are in Thrissur, so local logistics may be a little different.
What worked for another child may not fit yours, so I would use the replies here as ideas to test rather than a rulebook. We changed our approach after about a month because the first plan was too hard to sustain.
Interesting — we had assumed the opposite. Helpful to hear a first-hand experience. Keeping the change small made it easier for our child. We made the change gradually rather than all at once.
Thank you. I like that this does not require changing everything at once. The daycare and home using the same language helped us. Your child's response may be different, but this was our experience.
Good point about asking for the details in writing. I had not thought of that. The first few days were definitely messier than the later ones. We are in Nagpur, so local logistics may be a little different.
Can I ask roughly what age/class your child was when you tried this? Keeping the change small made it easier for our child. We are in Noida, so local logistics may be a little different.
This is useful, thank you. The practical detail is exactly what I was looking for. We had to repeat the same boundary many times before it clicked. Your child's response may be different, but this was our experience.
Can I ask roughly what age/class your child was when you tried this? Keeping the change small made it easier for our child. We made the change gradually rather than all at once.
Thanks for saying this. Online advice often makes normal family life sound much more organised than it really is. It took us a couple of weeks before the new routine felt normal. In our house, the practical routine mattered more than the ideal plan.
We tried something similar once, but probably gave up too early. How long did you continue before judging it? We had to repeat the same boundary many times before it clicked. We are in Vijayawada, so local logistics may be a little different.
What worked for another child may not fit yours, so I would use the replies here as ideas to test rather than a rulebook. Our child reacted better once we explained the change in advance instead of announcing it on the day.
What worked for another child may not fit yours, so I would use the replies here as ideas to test rather than a rulebook. We had to repeat the same boundary many times before it clicked. Your child's response may be different, but this was our experience.
What worked for another child may not fit yours, so I would use the replies here as ideas to test rather than a rulebook. Our child reacted better once we explained the change in advance instead of announcing it on the day. The daycare and home using the same language helped us. We made the change gradually rather than all at once.
What worked for another child may not fit yours, so I would use the replies here as ideas to test rather than a rulebook. The daycare and home using the same language helped us. Your child's response may be different, but this was our experience.
A visual routine with two or three pictures worked surprisingly well at this age. The child liked knowing what came next. Keeping the change small made it easier for our child. Your child's response may be different, but this was our experience.
What worked for another child may not fit yours, so I would use the replies here as ideas to test rather than a rulebook. Keeping the change small made it easier for our child. I would still test it for a short period before making a long commitment.
What worked for another child may not fit yours, so I would use the replies here as ideas to test rather than a rulebook. It took us a couple of weeks before the new routine felt normal. I would still test it for a short period before making a long commitment.
We had better luck changing one thing at a time instead of starting a full new routine overnight. Toddlers somehow notice every change at once. Our child reacted better once we explained the change in advance instead of announcing it on the day.
What worked for another child may not fit yours, so I would use the replies here as ideas to test rather than a rulebook. The first few days were definitely messier than the later ones. In our house, the practical routine mattered more than the ideal plan.
Consistency between the adults mattered more than the exact method for us. When one person gave in and another held the boundary, the whole thing took twice as long.
This is close to what my spouse is suggesting too. I may have been overcomplicating it. The first few days were definitely messier than the later ones. We made the change gradually rather than all at once.
Same here. The logistics are what make the 'ideal' option difficult in real life. We had to repeat the same boundary many times before it clicked. We are in Bengaluru, so local logistics may be a little different.
Can I ask roughly what age/class your child was when you tried this? It took us a couple of weeks before the new routine felt normal. I would still test it for a short period before making a long commitment.
Thank you. I like that this does not require changing everything at once. It took us a couple of weeks before the new routine felt normal. We are in Pune, so local logistics may be a little different.
Did your child take time to adjust, or was the improvement fairly quick? Keeping the change small made it easier for our child. Your child's response may be different, but this was our experience.
Could you share what you would do differently if you were starting again? The daycare and home using the same language helped us. Your child's response may be different, but this was our experience.
Thank you. I like that this does not require changing everything at once. It took us a couple of weeks before the new routine felt normal. I would still test it for a short period before making a long commitment.
A visual routine with two or three pictures worked surprisingly well at this age. The child liked knowing what came next. My spouse had a different view initially, so we tried it for a few weeks before deciding. It took us a couple of weeks before the new routine felt normal. We only reached that conclusion after trying the other approach first.
Can I ask roughly what age/class your child was when you tried this? It took us a couple of weeks before the new routine felt normal. We made the change gradually rather than all at once.
Interesting — we had assumed the opposite. Helpful to hear a first-hand experience. We had to repeat the same boundary many times before it clicked. Your child's response may be different, but this was our experience.
Our daycare teacher gave us a short update after drop-off for the first week. Knowing the crying stopped quickly made it much easier to stay calm at the gate. The biggest surprise was that the practical routine mattered more than the option that looked best on paper.
We tried something similar once, but probably gave up too early. How long did you continue before judging it? The daycare and home using the same language helped us. We are in Jaipur, so local logistics may be a little different.
A visual routine with two or three pictures worked surprisingly well at this age. The child liked knowing what came next. We changed our approach after about a month because the first plan was too hard to sustain.
I agree with this. Once we reduced the number of moving parts, everyone became calmer. We had to repeat the same boundary many times before it clicked. In our house, the practical routine mattered more than the ideal plan.
A visual routine with two or three pictures worked surprisingly well at this age. The child liked knowing what came next. My spouse had a different view initially, so we tried it for a few weeks before deciding. We had to repeat the same boundary many times before it clicked. We made the change gradually rather than all at once.
What worked for another child may not fit yours, so I would use the replies here as ideas to test rather than a rulebook. My spouse had a different view initially, so we tried it for a few weeks before deciding.
Our daycare teacher gave us a short update after drop-off for the first week. Knowing the crying stopped quickly made it much easier to stay calm at the gate.
That is reassuring. We are trying to avoid making this a bigger issue than it needs to be. The daycare and home using the same language helped us. We only reached that conclusion after trying the other approach first.
Good point about asking for the details in writing. I had not thought of that. It took us a couple of weeks before the new routine felt normal. We are in Hyderabad, so local logistics may be a little different.
We tried not to turn it into a power struggle. Offer the routine, keep the boundary, and move on. The dramatic phase passed faster once we stopped negotiating endlessly.
That makes sense. I think consistency is the part we are currently missing. We had to repeat the same boundary many times before it clicked. We only reached that conclusion after trying the other approach first.
This is close to what my spouse is suggesting too. I may have been overcomplicating it. Keeping the change small made it easier for our child. We are in Bengaluru, so local logistics may be a little different.
Did your child take time to adjust, or was the improvement fairly quick? It took us a couple of weeks before the new routine felt normal. We only reached that conclusion after trying the other approach first.
That is reassuring. We are trying to avoid making this a bigger issue than it needs to be. We had to repeat the same boundary many times before it clicked. Your child's response may be different, but this was our experience.
Thanks for saying this. Online advice often makes normal family life sound much more organised than it really is. The daycare and home using the same language helped us. Your child's response may be different, but this was our experience.
Good point about asking for the details in writing. I had not thought of that. Keeping the change small made it easier for our child. In our house, the practical routine mattered more than the ideal plan.
What worked for another child may not fit yours, so I would use the replies here as ideas to test rather than a rulebook. We had to repeat the same boundary many times before it clicked. We made the change gradually rather than all at once.
edited
Same here. The logistics are what make the 'ideal' option difficult in real life. We had to repeat the same boundary many times before it clicked. Your child's response may be different, but this was our experience.
Thank you. I like that this does not require changing everything at once. It took us a couple of weeks before the new routine felt normal. We made the change gradually rather than all at once.
Can I ask roughly what age/class your child was when you tried this? It took us a couple of weeks before the new routine felt normal. We are in Mangaluru, so local logistics may be a little different.
Replying to @rahul_shetty
That sounds manageable.
This is useful, thank you. The practical detail is exactly what I was looking for. Keeping the change small made it easier for our child. In our house, the practical routine mattered more than the ideal plan.
Interesting — we had assumed the opposite. Helpful to hear a first-hand experience. Keeping the change small made it easier for our child. We only reached that conclusion after trying the other approach first.
Same here. The logistics are what make the 'ideal' option difficult in real life. We had to repeat the same boundary many times before it clicked. In our house, the practical routine mattered more than the ideal plan.
This is useful, thank you. The practical detail is exactly what I was looking for. Keeping the change small made it easier for our child. We are in Kolkata, so local logistics may be a little different.
A visual routine with two or three pictures worked surprisingly well at this age. The child liked knowing what came next. The daycare and home using the same language helped us. We only reached that conclusion after trying the other approach first.
What worked for another child may not fit yours, so I would use the replies here as ideas to test rather than a rulebook. Our child reacted better once we explained the change in advance instead of announcing it on the day. Keeping the change small made it easier for our child. We only reached that conclusion after trying the other approach first.
A visual routine with two or three pictures worked surprisingly well at this age. The child liked knowing what came next. The first few days were definitely messier than the later ones. I would still test it for a short period before making a long commitment.
A visual routine with two or three pictures worked surprisingly well at this age. The child liked knowing what came next. The first few days were definitely messier than the later ones. Your child's response may be different, but this was our experience.
Same here. The logistics are what make the 'ideal' option difficult in real life. It took us a couple of weeks before the new routine felt normal. We made the change gradually rather than all at once.
What worked for another child may not fit yours, so I would use the replies here as ideas to test rather than a rulebook. It took us a couple of weeks before the new routine felt normal. In our house, the practical routine mattered more than the ideal plan.
We tried something similar once, but probably gave up too early. How long did you continue before judging it? The daycare and home using the same language helped us. I would still test it for a short period before making a long commitment.