Pros and Cons of Potty Training Before 2 Years Old

What are the Pros and Cons of potty training?

When my oldest was 18 months old I started potty training. It was ROUGH! Now that I have done it once, I am considering potty training my 19 months old. There are lots of pros and cons to this one!

Pros of Potty Training Before 2 Years Old

1. No more diapers! Yay! Even though diapers sound like the easy answer. Once your child is potty trained, they can make themselves while you're cooking dinner, cleaning, or helping another child. I don't have to stop in the middle of something I am doing to change a poopy.
2. You will be saving a lot of money when you make up your mind to just do it. If you have ever looked at the price per diaper, it can range between 9 cents to 25 cents apiece. So if you are changing your child 4 times a day at 25 cents per diaper, you are literally spending $365 a year on diapers. That is a lot of money! Then think about if you are changing your child 6 times a day. The dollar signs keep rising.
3. You get to spend a lot of time with your little one cheering them on. Some of the most time I have spent with my little girl was during potty training. Every 25 minutes I took her to the potty and would read her stories for 10 minutes then. Then 25 minutes later, I did the same thing. It was a lot of fun reading to her and seeing her face when she was proud of making it to the potty.
4. Less waste because you don't have the thousands of diapers being thrown away. Have you ever seen the image of a baby that is sitting by a massive pile of diapers? Well, if you haven't, it is mind-blowing how many diapers a baby really goes through! Just think again, if you go through 4 diapers a day per month, you have added a waste of 120 diapers to the world's junk stash.
5. Fewer things to pack on an outing when your child is potty trained. I have been terrible at packing a diaper bag the whole time I have been a mom. Trust me when I say some mom's diaper bags probably weigh more than they do. As nice as it sounds to caring everything but the kitchen sink. At least you won't have to worry about diapers.
6. Increased understanding and new words. From a young age, my little girl was able to talk really well. During potty training, she picked up so many more words. This might have to do with all of the potty training lingoes like "Oh no!" "Messy." "Poopy everywhere!" and "Not again"! Overall I think it was more from the extra time I had to talk to her as she tried to do something hard to understand.
7. Learning how to work as a team at a young age. Potty training really is a team effort. If your child is not willing to pull his/her, weight it won't happen. It also takes a ton of effort on the parent's part. As you are your child, learn to work together with potty training. It teaches life skills that might not have been learned another way. 

Cons of Potty Training Before 2 Years Old

1. It is so frustrating! After a few perfect hours then a massive mess, it feels as though life is ending. I remember calling up my sister-in-law and wanting to cry because my little girl was just not getting it. I think I still have PTSD from poop everywhere on the floor. 
2. Most of the day is spent in the bathroom. If you want to set life aside for a couple of weeks, potty training is for you. Work, cleaning, fun is all put on the back burner. 
3. Lots of messes. While potty training my first, I was pregnant with my second and so sick. I was on the floor one day feeling like I was going to die. When once again my little girl pooped in her underwear which got smashed into the carpet. Ahhh! Nasty! The thought makes me sick all over again. 
4. Before 2 years old, a child might not be able to communicate fully. I know a lot of kids that can barely say a few words when they have turned 2. So you can imagine that when you are trying to understand if they really need to go potty that they can't tell you, it becomes very hard. 
5. You have to be close to a bathroom if you go run errands with your child. Imagine you have just completed 2 weeks of potty training in the car with your child running to the store. When they say they have to go potty, you have about 30 seconds to stop, find a bathroom, and get your child there. Potty training is one thing. Teaching your child to hold it when they say they have to go is another.
6. Doing laundry from poppy and wet underwear. I don't know about you, but I hate laundry as it is, but while potty training you, are doing 6 tiny loads a day to keep up on soiled underwear. It is rough!

"Our goal is to help the world make decisions with a list of Pros and Cons. We invite all to add to our lists to help others make the most educated decision possible. We are all in this world together to help each other and learn from what others have learned from their lives journey." - Pros and Cons Team

Written By: Sarah 

Cost of diapers:

 https://mymomsanerd.com/whats-the-average-cost-of-disposable-diapers-per-year/#How_much_does_the_average_diaper_costnbsp

Lots of time with your little one: 

https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/toilet-teaching.html

Waste that comes for diapers:

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/disposable-diapers-add-millions-of-tons-of-waste-to-landfills-each-year-according-to-epa-report-300384344.html

Potty Training Schedule:

https://www.kandookids.com/blog/potty-training-schedule/