15 Month Old Pottytraining Already?

You can always get a chair and put it out and see what he does. But you can't force him to potty train. You have to wait until he shows some interest

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I have a 2 1/2 year old son. My husband and I got him a potty chair at about 15-18 months of age and put it in the bathroom. Whenever either of us would go in to use the bathroom, he would go with us and we would just sit him there to get used to it.

He started showing signs of wanting to potty train around 18 months (early for a boy all of our friends said). It was hit and miss, but we would praise anything he did (lots of clapping and smiles - no rewards yet).

We kept at this til he was 2 1/2 (this past Feb) and literally one day he got up went poop and pee in the "big boy toilet, like daddy" and from that day forward we got him "big boy" underwear. We had a few accidents at home and at daycare, but within a month (by the time he actually was 2 1/2) he was completely potty trained; at school, at night and on trips to the store or anywhere else.

On the other hand my nephew who is 3 has just started pooping in the toilet.

Not every situation is the same, but you can always introduce the potty chair to him and let him take the lead from there. Patience is the key... there were plenty of frustrating times I went through since my husband wasn't home all the time to help me out with our son. Good luck!!!!

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J.-
That is way too young. The average age for girls to be pottytrained is 2 1/2 years and for boys it is 3 1/2 years. There are even studies out that when you wait until the child is 2 to start pottytraining they learn more quickly and master it with less backsliding. My mother swears she had us pottytrained by 18 months, but I think it is the opposite. The parent is trained to rush the child to the bathroom when they see signs they need to go. That is an old fashioned approach and is likely your doctors opinion. I totally agree with getting him comfortable with a potty chair though, just letting him climb on it and play with it. Do not start anything serious until after his 2nd b-day though. After all being pottytrained is not an indication of anything like intelligence so there is no reason to rush it. Is it really a big deal to change diapers for a little while longer? Soon he will be old enough and have it mastered and you won't even think twice about it.
Brekka

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J.,

I would say you should try it with him now since you will be home with him and able to provide a consistent schedule with him now before you go back to work. If he seems to catch on - great -- no more diapers!! If he doesn't stop for a few months and reintroduce the process again later when he seems to be ready to try again. I know that there are great resources online that tell you the signs to watch for so you'll know they are ready to pottytrain. Overall I would say just "go with his flow" no pun intended :) seriously. He sounds like he is probably advanced for his age especially since he gets so much one on one time with you, so if hes ready hes ready if not thats ok too. Good luck and I'm a first time Mom too so I definately understand your frustration of choosing whether to go by the book or by what your child wants or by what everyone else tells you :)

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There are a few different thoughts: they aren't ready, they are too young to understand, and potting training is just that: training, and you have to create the habits. I personally agree with the second one. My sone just turned 2, and he does still wear diapers at night time (partly becase I am afraid to put him in big boy pants), but he is trained during the day and has been for months. I started preparing him when he was 16 months old and hard core training when he was 17 1/2 months old. We still do have an accedident every once in awhile when he is playing too hard and forgets to tell me, but otherwise, we are good. The biggest thing is that you need to be willing to put the time into it.

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Wive's tail to be sure. Starting "the process" doesn't mean he is being potty trained. It is getting him use to sitting on the potty chair, etc. Take him when you go and let him "go" too. My 2 boys were completely trained at 19 months old. The youngest of the 2 (now 26), came to me one day with his big brother's underwear and said "no diapers". I wasn't even in "the process" with him yet, I didn't think anyway. But he had seen his older brother (14 months older) being a big boy (I started his process at 12 months). Their little sister was just a month old. She later trained at 14 months. The youngest daughter was 2 1/2 years old. I have a nephew that didn't train til nearly 4. Starting "the process", he'll pretty much dictate the pace. Some start and never look back, others take their own sweet time. It can take as little as a week or two or as long as a year or two. Good luck and God's Blessings.

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It depends on the child. My niece pottytrained herself at less than 18 months wereas it took my son until he was five. My youngest was trained by three and half. It doesn't matter. Some kids are ready earlier, some later. I think when kids train early, it's mostly the parents who are trained not the kid. They really don't understand how to stay dry or feel that they're making a mess. Good luck!!!!!

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I think he is just too little. My daughter is 22 months and she first pottied at 16 months, but once and that was kind of it. I ask her, but I am not pushing her. She still doesn't fully understand the reasoning behind it, let alone a 15 month old. I guess to have a potty chair around would not hurt, but I think to start would frustrate you both. He is still a baby!

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I had my first son when I was 22 and I'd heard that boys take longer to train. So, my first thought was, why not start early? Well, I bought him a potty chair at 12 months and sat him on it when I would go. Then, I started having him try to go before he would get a bath, since he'd have to get nakey anyways. Don't be discouraged if he doesn't take to it, some don't right away. My son started going potty full time when he was 2, but to be honest, we had a little problem with the BM's so it took a bit longer. TIP: Give him lots of water during the day, especially since it's hot out! And try taking him every hour. He'll get the hang of it sooner or later.
Hope my advice helps some!

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i posted an outline from a class we took about readiness. if you can't find it under potty training let me know i'll send it to you.
also.. with my son, my first as well, at 18 months we started with him.he did great at first, did some pees and poops.. then after about a week he didn't want anything to do with it and would say no when he suggested trying to go potty. so we stopped.
in the past 4 months we have been being more active with it and just june 2nd we put him in underwear and haven't looked back. he had 2-3 accidents sat and sunday but monday on he didn't have any that whole week. now this week.. he's gotten back into playing more intently, and a time or two he'll catch himself and there will be a little wet spot on his shorts. but .. he catches it..lol
he was 3 in january.
you could try now, depending on it you feel he meets the readiness guidlines..
let me know if you can't find it.. ;-)
T.

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Wow, I can't imagine why your ped. would suggest that. First of all, can he pull his pants up and down? Is he interested at all? I firmly believe that unless they are interested and seem ready, then it's just going to be stressful and painful for the parent instead of a learning process. I have a 28 month old and we are just starting to talk about it...my ped said it would probably be closer to 3 that he is potty-trained.

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I started pottytraining my son at 15 months old, I bought the potty chair put it in the bathroom and a few times a day, after breakfast, before a bath. I didn't push just let him get used to the idea. If he went of course everyone in the house, even company went nuts about it and he loved to get everybody saying what a big boy he waslol. At his 2nd brithday party I again forgot to get dipears ( when he truned 1 for some reason I could not remeber to pick them up half the time when I got really low on them, more then once I had to call a friend who little boy is a month younger then mine to get one from her because of course the store was closed) well any way I had only one left come bed time and the next morning I just decided that I was not buying any more. I didn't use pull ups and just put on his big boy underware, the frist day all I did was change his clothes and say opps we missed the potty, he didn't pee his bed at all that night and by the next day more than half the time he told me he had to potty. Two weeks later when he made it all the way to the big city for shopping ( that is a hour and half away) and back with out one oops I declared him trained. I think another thing that helped was that his father showed him how to pee behind a tree outside. that took longer to break him form than the pottytraining did!

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I totally disagree with your doctors advice. I have boy/girl twins and I pretty much introduced them to the potty chair at about 18 months but did not make it an issue. I praised them if they went in it but if not it was not a issue. My daughter finally was trained during the day at about 2 and my son at 2 1/2. I think if you start before the child is ready it just becomes a power struggle and you will have problems later. Your son will potty train when he is ready not when his doctor or you want him to do it. Also, pushing him too soon can cause him to hold his bowl movements in this happened to my friend and it took her a lot longer to train her son. Just relax and don't get too caught up in this doctors advice.

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All children hit milestones at different rates. While normally it is rumored that girls hit there milestones faster then boys that really shouldint deter you from putting off potty training. I actually started my son at 15 months and it took till almost 2 years to get him fully trained. Now I didint start "boot camp" potty training at this age, what i did was buy a potty for him and just let him sit on it before his bath and such. If he happened to urinate while sitting on it then I did the whole praising thing. I think that your Dr. bought up the subject because sometimes it takes a while to get them fully trained. Like I said it took almost 9 months to get my son completely out of diapers, during the day, and until he was 3 1/2 before I got brave enough to let him sleep without a pull up. After yours has been trained for a while start letting him nap without a pull-up/diaper, then work up to night after he consistently wakes up dry. Both you and your son should feel completely ready to take this step, because if one of you is not ready then you will probably have a bad experience with training. Good Luck
K.
P.S. It is such a relief when you no longer have to go down the diaper aisle in the store

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I have two girls...8 years and 20 months. My eldest was full potty trained by 18 months because she couldn't stand diapers and she went to the bathroom with me or my mom every time so she was exposed (ha ha so to speak) to the process from the beginning. My 20 month old won't have anything to do with it no matter how much we encourage her and my hubby and I aren't going to push it...when they're ready they'll train. Why push it and stress them when this is the only time in their life where the don't have to live a life of "have to's"
P.S. sometimes doctors are total idiots, you know your child better than anyone, trust your gut.

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To me it sounds a little early but you could definitely give it a try. My daughter pretty much decided herself when she was about 18 months that she wanted to try it herself and she did really well, but from what I know with my sisters boys they were all just about 2 yrs when she started potty training them and they did well at that age. The only thing that bothers me about starting so early is that everyone seems so eager for their kids to grow up and be adults when I know that me personally I want my little guy to stay a baby forever! But, if he is ready now, go for it. If he doesn't do well jst wait a few more months and try again. There really is no right or wrong time to do it as each child is different. Good luck and keep plenty of newspaper on the floor!

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I would certainly not stress about it until he is completely ready...physically and emotionally. That is typically not until closer to 3 for most kids...boys especially. My son just turned 3 on Sunday and trained himself about 3 weeks ago. We have always talked about using the potty and wearing underpants but never pushed him unless he wanted too. In the independant stage that he is in now he is the one who chose to potty train and I wouldn't even call it training. Literally, one afternoon when I asked if he wanted to wear underpants he said, "sure"....after I got over being shocked, he picked some out and put them on and has been in underpants since then. Pull ups at night but that's it. I was amazed!

Another tip....we started telling him a couple of months ago that when he turned 3 he would have to start wearing underpants because they don't make diapers for 3 year olds. Diapers are for babies and when he is 3 he'll be a big boy. Something must have gotten him thinking because it was like a switch turned on one day. He does tell people now that he is a big boy and wears underpants because they don't make diapers for big kids and he is so proud!

Good luck and please don't stress over it yet, it will happen and it'll be a great experience if you wait until he is ready to lead.

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We started about about 18 mos. with our son. We started off pretty good, then decided he didn't want to. Which that typical, it just means there's some other skill their concentrating on. He started again then backed off again. It was right around 3 that he finally just decided to do it for real. But even during the times he didn't really want to, we still talked about took him to the potty, but if he just absolutely refused, we didn't push it.

A friend of mine's son didn't finally master it until 4 1/2.

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