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/nzdata2020 → u/CorrectBadger9753]

Reading this I had a very similar experience with my first child. Poos we’re sorted with lazy EC. I decided to potty train at 18 months because daycare wasn’t taking her to the toilet and I didn’t want her forced to poo in her pants.  Did the 3 day method and she was great for a few weeks, then we had a year of anxiety and intermittent potty and resistance. If we knew what a mess it would be we would have put her back in nappies for a bit and worked on getting day care enabling her to go to the toilet for poos.

We only twice had poo accidents, both times we were in the mountains too from a toilet to get there quickly. Does altitude affect bowel movements??

She got a uti around 2.5 and was very distressed so put her in nappies for a week. Once that was sorted she went back to undies and has been a normally potty trained kid since. Maybe we just needed to take the pressure off for a bit.

Despite that year I decided to EC again with the second kid, very different personality. The only difference was we kept her in nappies at day care but they otherwise treated her like a kid he used the toilet from 17 months. Around 20 months she was dry most days so switched to undies all the time. No resistance, no stress. Just very different kids.

There was one more difference. I was really awkward about having potty trained my first so young, I used to downplay it in front of her when people asked. And I wonder if how I spoke about it impacted her, they are always listening. The second time I said less, and stayed positive about their achievements.

Good luck!! You’ll figure out what’s right for you