My 26 month old son is completely potty trained and I recently started him on the big toilet (the one everyone uses in the house). He did excellently and now uses it. For a couple of times, I followed him in to the bathroom to supervise, but he became a pro so fast, that for the first time today, he used the bathroom and I didnt follow. I then noticed he was taking his sweet time, so I checked on him and he was playing with the toilet plunger (beyond gross!. so my question is, how long until you can let your toddler use the bathroom unsupervised?
I definitely watch. It's a total pain in the rear and inconvenience but every time I remind myself of how much more of an inconvenience it will be to clean up the mess.
Congrats on the potty training so early, what an accomplishment for you both!!
Unless it is baby-proofed you should be supervising (at least a bit) until you know they can use the bathroom and be trusted to not get into anything. I let my 4 year old go on her own but if she is not out in a timely manner, I go check on her. At church the other day, I let her go on her own, she was taking FOREVER. I went to check and she had trouble reaching the sink but she was quite excited to go on her own.
Your son just turned 2?? No way would I let him go in the bathroom by himself. Way to much "fun" stuff in there.
My daughter just turned 3 in Feb. and has been potty trained since she was 2 and she can go unassisted and doesn't really mess around in there anymore....I agree that there is just too much temptation (as gross as it is) in the bathroom.
Obviously it varies from kid to kid but I bet if you just keep on him about not messing around or touching things, he will be fine in a month or so.
It really depends. Our 3 year old normally does very well on her own but sometimes calls for me after she's pooped.
Then there are the times she's been in there forever and when I go to see what's up, I find her playing in the sink. She LOVES to play with the liquid soap and water. Empted a whole bottle once, bubbles EVERYWHERE!!! LOL!!!
Then there was the time she was too quiet in there. I got worried when I heard rain drops inside the bathroom. Got to the door and discovered that she had gotten the umbrella, opened it up and placed it on the floor. She was then pressing her finger agaist the fassett, aiming the sprayed water into the opened umbrella. I couldn't be mad because it was so darn cleaver... that and she had pretty good aim!
Children are naturally curious so if there is something you don't want them to experiment with just put the item where they can't reach. He'll be fine.
Sometimes you need to trust your child a little so they can learn to be independent.
I agree that unless it is child proof I would supervise. My daughter was able to go, do what she needed, and come out without distraction around age 4. She still plays in the water while washing her hands, and we do check on her after 2 mins of hand washing to tell her to finish. At most now she sits there and read on the potty, or making a mess because of playing in the water, so nothing gross, but we reminder her to do what she has to and get out because others may need to use the bathroom (we only have 1 bathroom).
I supervised for a long time. Maybe age five and if it seemed long, I would check. When the privacy issue came up, usually it was around 3.5/4, I would just turn my back or stand outside the open door.
My 12 year old still messes around in the bathroom. Im starting to wonder if I should start the standing outside the door stuff again.(JK)
But in all seriousness, if given an inch you can be guaranteed messing around! After all they are toddlers…hth
Well, my son is 4 and I still have to keep an eye and ear open - there's just too much interesting stuff in there! LOL:)
I get worried when my dd shuts the bathroom door, that's when I know shenanigans are going on. Generally I let her do her own thing unless it's poop.
3 - 3.5 if they are a good wiper.
I don't hover (sp?) but our baths are all near where I am all day so I can kind of 'supervise' w/out being right at the door. I usually just peek in even now (4).
Yep, you still need to supervise then.
AND are your bathroom cabinets childproofed, so he does not get into it and the chemicals or any other bottles/containers/cleaning supplies in there?
And if there is a stool in the bathroom, he can always step up on it and try to reach things... and fall. etc.
I supervised until they started asking me for privacy, around age 4.
I didn't supervise much once I saw that they could manage - wiping, washing, etc. However, I learned the hard way that I can't be that laid back in someone else's house. My daughter was taking a while and I went in to discover she had gotten into her grandpa's medicated ointment (for something, don't remember what) - the kind that absorbs medication through the skin, and had been rubbing it on her legs. Talk about panic! After that, I watched them more closely at others houses, especially if I didn't know how kids safe it was.
It gets harder when you have several, our biggest strategy was to just leave the door open (we have a small place) until they want privacy.
