To potty train or not, that's the question.

Hello all! We are cruising the Oasis in August and I'm debating whether or not to have my son potty trained by then. He turned 2 the end of May. Anyone have parental advise or experience?

This will be HIS fifth cruise, so no stranger to cruising :)

I'm just really 50/50 on potty training by then :)

Thanks all!

Amy

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Summer is a great time to teach potty training. I used to let my son run around in a long t shirt in the house and we were outside so much that it didn't really matter. When they feel warm pee on their legs they don't like it and quickly learn to use the potty. He was in the baby pool much of the time anyway and he would wear either nothing or his swim trunks. My oldest was completely trained by the age of 2.5 (meaning no diaper at night). My youngest was a little over 3 before he didn't need to wear a diaper at night. Really if your child's diaper isn't dry in the morning for two weeks in a row- they aren't potty trained.

There is no reason to stress about this. All kids are eventually potty trained. If your child is hiding in a corner when they poop (for privacy)- they are ready for potty training. If you see them go behind the sofa or somewhere- they feel the urge and they are going there for privacy. Take them to the bathroom. Some kids are afraid of the big toilets but others are not. My oldest saw a slightly older girl on the toilet and next thing I knew- he wanted to be a big boy and use it like the girl. Mission accomplished. It's so much easier if they use the regular toilet because they will get used to it. The toilets on the cruise ships freaked out my then 3 almost 4 year old though. He was terrified of it because of the vacuum sucking sound. Was traumatic and he had an accident in the youth program even though he was fully potty trained. He was just afraid of the toilets. So I made sure that he had frequent bathroom visits with me. There was a lot of crying on that trip in regard to the toilets. You don't want to set him back on the training. So use the one in the cabin and don't flush it until he is out of there. Don't use the public restrooms on the ship because he'll hear them flush and then will be scared.

If your child is only two- they simply won't be potty trained enough by the cruise in August. They'll still be having accidents in their pants and at night. I think until 3 there is no chance of them not needing swim diapers either. These are general rules but as I say, unless your child is accident free- you shouldn't have them in a cruise pool. They youth program will tolerate the occasional accident but if it is frequent- they'll be asked to leave. Carnival and NCL do allow diapered children in the youth program though. On Royal- he'll still be with the babies anyway because he is only two.

Why would you not? A potty trained child is MUCH easier than a diapered one....and it's less work (in the long run) for you, and you'll have a less stinky cabin!!! I say, do it!

But, at some point your child will potty train himself....I've yet to see a highschool graduate in diapers!

I actually found travel easier with diapers. No worry about suddenly racing to find a toilet (especially in port where they can be nasty), or fear about messy, embarrassing accidents and bringing lots of changes of clothes. Also, the potties are big and loud on a ship. Unless it was a matter of qualifying for the kids program, I wouldn't worry about it. As Rebecca said, no way would I bring a just-potty-trained 2 year old into one of the pools - I'd hate to be the reason the pool is closed for everyone.

Have a great cruise!

All the best,

Mia

It's really up to you. We potty trained our son in a completely non-stressful way. From the time he was about 26 months, we asked him every so often if he needed to use the potty. We put him on whenever he said yes, and gave him a sticker. He started keeping his diapers mostly dry at about 34 months, and then we showed him underwear and told him it was his choice if he wore it, but that it would be really uncomfortable if he had an accident in it. He chose on the underwear and only had two accidents in the next 8 months. If you are willing to be patient, potty training can sometimes be stress free. This doesn't always work, as I have friends whose kids haven't yet trained by three. But if it does work, you might be glad to go this route.

DD was almost 2 1/2 when we sailed Allure last year. We got her potty trained for the cruise. She has been in pools regularly since she was an infant & knew that she'd be miserable if she could not play in the splash area & kids pools. We stressed for months "no potty, no pool." That worked great for the cruise, but once we got home she decided that since she didn't have to do it for the cruise anymore it wasn't important--totally regressed.

We started with our son when he was 2.5 and he was fully trained and in underwear without accidents by 3. I think it took that long because we kept him in pull ups during the day. While he did use the potty, he also knew he had a safety net and had no qualms about using it. Right when he turned 3 (July) I put him in underwear, got rid of all the pull-ups, stayed home for about 3 days straight and set the timer for him to sit on potty every 20 min. We went through a lot of underwear that week. Following week I took him out for short trips and he rarely had an accident. We cruised in October and he only had one accident the whole 8 days. It was at camp. I assumed they took them to potty routinely like in school, but they didn't. He still needed reminders and if he was busy playing, no way he was getting up to pee and leave all those fabulous new toys unattended unless you told him to go. I have to say a diapered child on a cruise was actually easier than a newly potty trained one. Especially in ports, you had to make sure you knew where a bathroom was right away and sometimes it was a fire drill to get him to one depending where you were in port or on the ship. Though I was pretty confident he wouldn't have an accident, we also kept him out of pools for the trip.

No harm in trying but in the end your son will dictate whether or not he is ready. If he and you don't feel pressured it will be easier and just a bonus come cruise time. But if you are still in the middle of training while cruising that can be difficult because you don't him to backslide because it was inconvenient in the vacation situation. We tried when my son was a little over 2 but he was not ready at all. So then we waited until our daughter was born to ensure no digression, and at 2.5 years old he basically trained himself in 3 weeks (pee and poop in the potty with only occasional night accidents). Now he is about to turn 3 and goes standing up. So it all comes in time and if allowed to let them do it on their own time with no stress or pressure I think they do best.

Really if your child's diaper isn't dry in the morning for two weeks in a row- they aren't potty trained.

As a mom to 5, I can tell you this is not true. My kids trained from age 2, to 3 1/4, and none of them had dry diapers before being trained, and some of them wore a pullup for years after being trained. Day training and night training are completely different (and any pediatrician would agree).

OP, in order to determine if my kids were ready to PT, I did the nakey butt test - nothing on the bottom, potty in the room. If they had more than one accident, back in diapers. However, those that passed were trained in a few days (nakey butt training - the name says it all).

We did the intensive, all in one weekend potty training, when DD was 27 months, and it worked for us! Same a mjkacmom described, except that there was no "test" for DD-- she peed all over the place that first morning. Especially on me, because she didn't like the splattering, so she would jump onto me and pee on my nice, absorbent clothes instead. And even sitting on the potty, the splattering sound of the pee scared her, and she'd jump right up. After the first few hours of this, I didn't know how it would ever work. But we broke the "rules" and got out some m&ms to bribe her to get her past her fear of the potty, and by the end of that first day, she was doing really well. We spent two days basically one on one in a room with her toys and a potty, with her pantsless. After that, she had the run of the house, but in a dress without underwear for a few days. By the end of the week, I'd say she was fully potty trained. She seriously never had accidents after that until a couple months later, when we moved. And even then it was just because she had so much fun in her new backyard that she needed more prompting from us to remind her to go inside to go potty sometimes.

If I were you, I'd give it a shot.

Since he is a boy, i wouldnt even worry about it until you get back, boys usually (not all) train later then girls. We travel a lot and always seemed to have a vacation planned during times the kids could have potty trained. I ended up waiting until we got home from the planned trip and having the boys be a few months older worked better anyway.

think about these things:....a potty trained child needs to use the potty frequently and sometimes at exact times, and one that is still training cannot be denied, you have to be free to let them fully train. we always felt we didnt want to be on vacation and have to enforce those same strict potty times or deal with having to put a diaper back on the child if we were going out.

if you plan to do any excursions, you could have problems with lack of a bathroom, could a newly potty training child hold it?

I do agree that summer is great, as both my boys learned to potty train naked as well. I could see you maybe introducing the potty and pull ups in a loose manner to see if he is even interested, that way you arent fully invested and could use pull ups if you cant find a potty.

i guess i also just didnt mind diapers though, they are easy. i found diaper changing TEN times easier then that first month of real learning and both my boys trained fast. but they are learning and accidents will happen.

I have twin girls; one of whom has been fully potty trained since March and the other of whom just got on board about a month ago, but still has an accident or two. For this reason, I have bought and will carry with me in Bermuda in my beach bag, one of these…

http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/product/potette-plus-2-in-1-travel-potty-trainer-seat-by-kalencom/111261?device=c&network=g&matchtype=&mcid=PS_googlepla_nonbrand_beautywellness_&gclid=CjkKEQjwlcSdBRD3wva3-KOAo80BEiQAjNIhiVM5Ap00Ifss3qRoxNYbLg0TNPLsJzsY_6XJ8q7XlKjw_wcB

It will give me a little more flexibility when we go on land and we plan to use it on our toilet in our room. I will also be buying my other daughter a pair of children' noise canceling head phones for the potty, because at home she refuses to go if the bathrooms are too loud (usually Target or the mall); and I don't want her holding her urine or BM and not telling me :)

Good luck!

(I will say until you get used to the fully trained aspect, you will miss the ease of having him diapered :))

Since he is a boy, i wouldnt even worry about it until you get back, boys usually (not all) train later then girls.

This is a myth that needs to die.

At that age I would try to train my kid, if it works-great! If not, at least you've started the process.

Signed,

A mom who potty trained her son so he could use the pool on a cruise-and it worked :)

This is a myth that needs to die.

At that age I would try to train my kid, if it works-great! If not, at least you've started the process.

 

Signed,

A mom who potty trained her son so he could use the pool on a cruise-and it worked :)

Girls training earlier than boys is not a myth; it has been shown in scientific studies:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2529421/

Girls are successfully trained approximately three months earlier than boys, with both sexes achieving success by approximately three years of age

Girls training earlier than boys is not a myth; it has been shown in scientific studies:

 

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2529421/

 

Girls are successfully trained approximately three months earlier than boys, with both sexes achieving success by approximately three years of age

Let's not confuse the issue by actually providing empirical evidence! Anecdotal is so much more fun :)!

No harm in trying but in the end your son will dictate whether or not he is ready. If he and you don't feel pressured it will be easier and just a bonus come cruise time. But if you are still in the middle of training while cruising that can be difficult because you don't him to backslide because it was inconvenient in the vacation situation. We tried when my son was a little over 2 but he was not ready at all. So then we waited until our daughter was born to ensure no digression, and at 2.5 years old he basically trained himself in 3 weeks (pee and poop in the potty with only occasional night accidents). Now he is about to turn 3 and goes standing up. So it all comes in time and if allowed to let them do it on their own time with no stress or pressure I think they do best.

I agree with this. We tried for a long time with my daughter (since maybe 18 months). She got to the point where she would do great for the sitter all day, and come home and want a pull up. I tried a few times of cold turkey no diaper and she broke me with the accidents. Before I knew it, She was 3 and still not potty trained. One day about 2 weeks before DH and I were going on a cruise (without her), I had enough. We gave her no option and she was potty trained by week's end with minimal accidents. By the time of the cruise, we sent her to grandma's with 8 pull-ups for bedtime. Now she sometimes wears a pull up to bed, but if we forget or she falls asleep early, its no big deal. However, if I had tried that 6 months earlier, result would have been different. She was just ready then.

Girls training earlier than boys is not a myth; it has been shown in scientific studies:

 

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2529421/

 

Girls are successfully trained approximately three months earlier than boys, with both sexes achieving success by approximately three years of age

I wish someone had told my stubborn daughter that. She did not get potty trained until 6 weeks after her 3rd birthday. And we tried plenty of times.

Summer is a great time to teach potty training. I used to let my son run around in a long t shirt in the house and we were outside so much that it didn't really matter. When they feel warm pee on their legs they don't like it and quickly learn to use the potty. He was in the baby pool much of the time anyway and he would wear either nothing or his swim trunks. My oldest was completely trained by the age of 2.5 (meaning no diaper at night). My youngest was a little over 3 before he didn't need to wear a diaper at night. Really if your child's diaper isn't dry in the morning for two weeks in a row-

 

If your child is only two- they simply won't be potty trained enough by the cruise in August. They'll still be having accidents in their pants and at night. I think until 3 there is no chance of them not needing swim diapers either. These are general rules but as I say, unless your child is accident free- you shouldn't have them in a cruise pool. They youth program will tolerate the occasional accident but if it is frequent- they'll be asked to leave. Carnival and NCL do allow diapered children in the youth program though. On Royal- he'll still be with the babies anyway because he is only two.

Pediatrician's will strongly disagree with you on night training being the same as potty training.

I also think the blanket statement that the child won't be potty trained by August is wrong. Some might not be, but if he's ready, it may not take long at all. All of my kids were trained in about three days. Very very few accidents. My youngest (boy) never had an accident. I literally asked him if he thought he could stop wearing diapers and go potty like a big boy. He said okay, and that was it. He was 26 months old.

OP, training before the cruise can be good, but I suggest a pull up for the plane or a long car ride, just in case. My youngest loved being able to go in the pool, but he also learned very quickly that when he was bored at dinner, insisting over and over again that he had to go potty was a great way to get out of there.:cool:

What makes you think the decision is up to you? Your son will decide when he's ready to train. You just have to figure out when he's made that decision. ;)

Honestly, the very best child-raising advice I ever got was not to stress about TT.

Six weeks is not a long time to train, especially for a 2 YO, at least to get to the point where they are completely trained with no worry of accidents. I wouldn't put that kind of stress on my child or myself if I wanted a relaxing vacation.

Slightly off / on topic but did not want to start another thread about it.

My DS turns 3 right before the cruise and we've been potty training and he's doing very well. I was nervous he wasn't going to catch on but he has the past few weeks and done very well (1 accident in the last few weeks).

I toured the kids club on Allure but I did not check out the bathrooms. My DS can handle everything himself if the bathroom has kid sized toilet/urinal/sink. Does anyone know if the bathrooms (On Oasis) in or near the kids club area has kid sized toilet/urinal/sink?

Thanks!

We have a cruise booked for October and plan to start potty training our 2 year old in the next week or so. He is so interested in it due to watching his big brother (almost 4) go. I've talked to his daycare teachers and they are on board as well. We have the potty seat that a previous poster mentioned. We'll bring that just in case. I have a feeling that he'll learn quickly because he's asked on several occasions to sit on the potty. Grant it, it was AFTER he went in the diaper, but I'll take it, lol.

My son is potty training right now as well, and he's 2.5yrs old. He does really well going every 20 minutes, with hardly any accidents. It's the poo we're trying to get handled. Saturday night he told DH after the fact "Daddy, I have to go potty" and in walking to the bathroom, DH saw the droopiness in his underwear and asked him "Did you already go poo-poo?" And DS said yes.....we just started out 2 weeks ago, so I am hoping that's good progress. And here is to more hoping that he can completely tell us in 35 days when we go on a 5 day cruise :-/

--Nervous Momma

Early on in the potty training my DS was doing 1 fine but 2 he had issues with. Got it all worked out before the cruise. So don't worry he'll get it.

Our cruise was 8 days after my son turned 3. I was nervous leaving him in the adventure ocean program even with his potty training it was still fresh. Well, he did very well. He had one accident on the ship and a semi accident at the kids program. He pee'd on his shorts a little as his aim was off. Heck grown ups have that problem sometimes.

My DS was the smallest and youngest in the Aquanauts program (on Oasis) and he did very well.

The staff was great. When he had his semi accident the staff threw some shorts on him (Adventure Ocean shorts) and said we could keep them. I gotta say the staff on Oasis was amazing with my 3 year old DS. Even when he wasn't in the best of moods.

I wish there were a few more public bathrooms around the ship, but pretty much there was one nearby most places. Just make sure you know where they are ahead of time. Use the deck plans to find them.

Any questions on my experience on Oasis recently let me know.

Thank you SB9!:)

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What makes you think the decision is up to you? Your son will decide when he's ready to train. You just have to figure out when he's made that decision. ;)

 

 

 

Honestly, the very best child-raising advice I ever got was not to stress about TT.

 

 

 

Six weeks is not a long time to train, especially for a 2 YO, at least to get to the point where they are completely trained with no worry of accidents. I wouldn't put that kind of stress on my child or myself if I wanted a relaxing vacation.

This exactly. It's not up to you, as much as society Iikes to suggest parents can determine when a child is potty trained, it's ultimately up to the child.

I have 2 boys, the oldest "showed all the signs" that he was ready to train around age 2. He wasn't, and we all spent a year and a half being frustrated. Yes he eventually learned but it wasn't a pleasant experience for anyone. Ds2 comes along and I decided the "rules" were wrong and I was going to let him decide. Except oops, I forgot his diapers on our trip to Cuba when he was 28 months old and he was daytime trained during that trip, night time trained a few months later. He wanted to do it.

Good luck op!

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