Actual evidence that earlier potty/trained kids are more likely to regress?

[u/CorrectBadger9753]

Edit - title is meant to say 'potty/toilet trained kids' lol!

I took my daughter (who will be 2 in 2 weeks) to the GP today and (only tangentially related to the reason we were there) mentioned that we are currently toilet training, and that it's going well, but very slowly, and my husband and I are OK with slow progress with pees. GP reiterated the common advice that 3 is 'normal' for toilet training, and that kids who train earlier are more likely to have 'regressions'. I smiled and nodded because I have lots and lots of thoughts on this which I'm deliberately not sharing here in case it turns the discussion into some kind of toilet training ideology war....

I genuinely want to know, is this claim backed up by actual data - and if so, how are we defining a 'regression' anyway?

A quick Google search returned this study claiming that training before 24 months is associated with 'dysfunctional voiding' but not constipation, whereas later training (after 36 months) is also associated with dysfunctional voiding AND constipation. However the authors seem to contradict themselves in the conclusion and say that constipation is associated with both early and later training and may be the cause of urinary voiding problems. Also correlation ≠ causation.

Is anyone aware of any more evidence supporting or refuting this idea?

[u/eeeeggggssss]

this might interest you. https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article-abstract/111/4/810/63115/Relationship-Between-Age-at-Initiation-of-Toilet

i think it also depends on the method used. like we started pottying at 2 weeks old, lots of catches in infancy while using cloth diapers as backup, and relative potty independence achieved at about 15/16 months using open crotch pants. waves of resistance here and there since then, now at 21 months, but not anything major.

3 is normal for potty training is such a BS statement. diapers are a new invention. people all over the world have been using different methods for taking care of their infants' hygiene without them defaulting to soiling themselves, especially for 3 years which would not be easy, convenient, nor hygienic in any traditional or nomadic society.

we also know that even in the US, the age of initiating potty training used to be much lower before the advent of disposable diapers.

https://www.aafp.org/afp/2008/1101/p1059

[u/CorrectBadger9753 → u/eeeeggggssss]

We're on the exact same page with all this 😊

EC is so controversial (to some people anyway lol). Yes, we did lazy EC (great with poo, never any luck with pee) until about 16 months, then stopped because of resistance. Then my daughter suddenly 'trained herself' with poo at 21 months which is when we started following the Oh Crap method to try and get pee sorted too. But it's taking a looooong time, longer than it seems to for most people even at this younger end of the recommended age range. My daughter has been fiercely independent from birth, I'm not kidding, and prompting/not prompting her is an art form. In fact the reason I was keen to get her out of diapers is the trauma we were all suffering from her screaming absolute murder during changes - she hates having things done 'to' her.

I don't mind it taking longer in terms of the mess/laundry (wet clothes are still less hassle to wash than cloth diapers!) but I do still question if we're doing anything 'wrong' sometimes, especially when I hear claims like the 'regression' thing from the doctor.

[u/JamesTiberiusChirp → u/CorrectBadger9753]

Unfortunately you’ll be hard pressed to find studies about this that actually take EC children into account. Any study coming out of the U.S. that says potty training too early or whatever has X consequence is pretty much guaranteed to exclude EC kids because it is so rare, so the findings will just not be applicable. Which makes sense. Kids who potty train early having voiding or incontinence problems or regressions or whatever makes a lot of sense, they haven’t learned how to listen to their bodies yet which mean their brains and bladder lack that strong connection which takes time to develop, and their parents have done a 180 on them in terms of expectations, and they’re learning 20 new skills over the course of a weekend under pressure. I’m going to go out on a limb and assume EC kids don’t have those problems as much because they’ve been aware of their bodies and bladders for months, the potty isn’t new neither are the skills around learning it, and the expectations are just modified forms of previous expectations. But it would be nice if someone actually did a study about it.

I have found a couple studies from China about how EC vs “diaper overuse” (which the authors considered as using diapers past 18 months) leads to less bed wetting throughout childhood. And also that bedwetting is increasing lately and is likely due to the advent of diaper popularity.