How to Start the Potty Training Process, and When?

I would just go for it put him in big boy underwear let everytime he start to pee rush him to the potty. Do this for about 3 days by the 3rd day he should be going pee in the potty. If this does not work then stop and try again in a couple of months. I used the 3 day potty guide with my daughter and it worked great. Just remember no pull ups, diapers or training underwear. Use big boy undwear it is very messy and there will be lots of laundry, but what is 3 days of mess if you can hve him potty trained :) good luck!

We started the process with our my daughter around 18 months but I didn't pressure her at any point. We started off having her sit on the potty whe she would wake up each morning and after each nap and sometimes before bed, but not always. The early morning and after nap potty time worked like a charm. To me this is the easiest time because most people use the bathroom during those times. Then we started noticing her #2 pattern would be about 30 minutes after dinner, so then we started letting her sit on the potty with a book or something to distract this. We did this process for MONTHS before we staerted really getting into the groove of things. If your son has started showing signs, then start working with him now but don't pressure him as he is still young. Good Luck, I was thrilled when we got rid of the pull-ups for good.

I am 31 year single mother of one 4 year old boy. A few tips:

When his pull up is dry after waking up from naps and bedtime, he is past ready!

Experts say bring the potty into the living room so he can get even MORE acquainted.

Take straight to potty upon waking up.

Award with M and M's!!! (extra brushing)

Finally, after 3 weeks of doing this and you have gotten no where, put him in regular underwear. They dislike making messes everywhere except pullups.

As for a book I suggest "Everything you need to know about potty training" you can find it at Barns and Nobel.

It has helped me a lot! We will be starting potty training next month and i have an idea what to do now.

There are several signs to look for to know if your child is ready to potty train.

* Having regular bowel movements
* He goes to a more private place when he feels the need to go
* Squating to make a BM
* He interacts and responds to questions
* Helping you dress them and can pull their pants up and down
* Following basic verbal instructions like,
"Come sit on the potty."
* Acknowledging when she is wet or poopy
* Becoming more independent and doing things for herself
* Aware that they are peeing and pooping
* Waking up dry from a nap
* Warning you before she needs to go potty
(this is a huge victory when toilet training!)
* Doing things to earn praise from you
* Imitating the behavior of others around her

As far as potty training age goes...i just attended a potty training class and learned you can start potty training from birth. Apparently you are never too young.

But...if they are not ready dont push them to do so. Pushing a child to start PT can cause a set back in training.

Most people i found on here say wait until they are 3 and dont rush. We started introducing our DD to Potty Seats and Chair at 18 months as well. Although is not ready for the pee pee part she seems to be ready for the poo poo part.

She is also a large child and in size 6 diapers during the day and pull ups at night because they dont sell size 7 diapers in the store...so we are out of luck and forced to pull ups for night time diaper.

If she gets any bigger we will have to move to pull ups alltogether...so we need to start PT soon.

Good luck in your PT.

I wouldn't rush it. My son was doing the same thing at about 19 months. He told me when he had to tee tee and everything. He never was too interested in the potty, though. He went a couple of times, but then he refused. I didn't want to push it, so I let him on his own time. Now, he is 28 months and is doing well. He's been going in the potty almost every time, so we used pull ups. He would wear underwear for a couple of weeks as soon as I picked him up from school until night time. Last week he cried wanting big boy underwear at school and not pull ups. We did it all weekend and today was his first day with them at school. He still doesn't poo poo in the toilet, so those were the only accidents he had today. I think it makes a huge difference because I hear how frustrated other parents get, and I'm sure the kids do too. I think they show that they're interested a while before they're actually ready. I would encourage it and try taking it step by step to see what he's willing to do. I don't think it's the right time to do underwear. That is one thing we did in the beginning when he was seeming to be so ready and went a couple of times in the toilet. He had one accident, and then he didn't want to have anything to do with underwear until recently. Let him 'tell' you what he's ready for, and I think it will make life so much easier for both of you.

If he's interested, it's not too early. My dad bought my daughter a pot when she turned 1. She loved it! She would just play with it, walk around it, sit on it (in her pull up), and put toys in it. I knew she was interested so I started training about about 14 months but nothing serious. Just sitting her on it in the morning or at night just to make her feel big. She did very well but I hear boys are different--so I'm sure my twin boys won't be as easy!!

Look at Dr. Sears website www.askdrsears.com he has great advice on there about how to really know when the child is ready and what to do to not go crazy in the process. It helped me relax and look for TRUE signs of readiness...