Potty Training

Many parents, doctors, etc. have such extreme views on potty training. Many doctors will tell you that 18 months is the key age to start. Some parents say, stick them in underwear, they will be trained in no time! Believe me, I've heard my fair share of rants on the importance of potty training early or about how to do it. I guess, my husband and I might have once gone along with these phrases but we've learned. Your kid is ready when they are ready, age really isn't the important factor.
Amber was ready to start talking about going potty at about 20ish months. She was even willing to humor us by sitting on the potty every now and then. By two years old, we were talking about another baby and thought wow, I guess we'd really better work on this. And we did...a bit. But honestly she just wasn't ready to do it all the time for us. So we got more laid back about it. In March of 09, we found out we were indeed expecting and thought again, now is the time to push the issue. So mommy got a bit more "mean" about potty training. But when I found out we were going to lose Alex, that changed a lot. I realized that every moment is precious in each kid's life and here we were pressing some not very important issues. I realized that all this time, I'd been rushing my daughter and myself. Don't get me wrong, I don't LOVE changing diapers but hey, that's part of being a mom and I LOVE being a a mom. So, we slowed down and I wasn't ready to push her, I didn't really mind the occasional diaper and I totally didn't mind keeping her as my little girl still.
So where am I going with this rant? I'm just saying that as parents, we should pay more attention to our children's needs instead of what everyone else says. It's easy to compare to so and so's kids down the road but every kid is different. Enjoy all the moments of your kid's lives and wait for the right time for these milestones.
I should add, that yes, Amber is ready and has been for a little while. We went and bought lots of cute underwear this past weekend and my eyes tear up when I see my little girl wearing them during the day now. I'm really proud of her and I know that she'll be prepared for anything else that comes her way in the future if I just give her some time. And honestly, I'm proud of myself for slowing down and enjoying the everyday moments and not just wishing the time away.