Question
Would you please help me clarify some reasonable expectations for our potty-training journey? We're three days in with an 18-month-old boy. I'm realizing that this is going to be a long process, and I'm wondering if I need to reevaluate starting so early. I'm committed to doing what's best for our son, but all the older mother's I've talked to have told me that potty-training can be done much more simply if I would just wait a bit. I've read and reread TTWT, and I agree with the theory, but as I'm seeing what it means for us in the everyday, I'm not convinced the cost is really worth the benefit. Are we looking at two-three months of being home-bound? I try to keep our lives simple, but I have commitments to my church family, and I don't know if dropping them for several months to potty-train is the wisest choice if the task could be done in a shorter span later. Obviously I know that you are for starting early. I guess I'm just looking for some help understanding how people do this and what to expect. In starting this early, does that mean I give everything else up? For about how long typically? And, If you don't give up commitments, how does that work? I don't feel like I could put him in the nursery undiapered and untrained. Really needing some encouragement and advice! Everyone thinks I'm crazy, and I'm starting to wonder if they're all right.
