Potty Training - Sullivan,MO

When my boys were little and they started to squat I would set them on the potty for that part only. My goal was just to familiarize them with the potty and begin to mention that poopy goes in the toilet. I did not push this! My husband and I are children's pastors and we see parents begin potty training their children very early. I had one that began at 12 months old. What happens every time is the children just aren't ready and they build up a resistance to learning. This kiddo did not potty train till after they were 2 1/2. That was a very long potty training time for everyone. One parent began potty training at about 22 or 23 months because it takes 6 months to potty train. The truth is if you waited the 6 months, potty training would take about a week. My sister began potty training both of her kids at 15 months and they both wet the bed for years. Just wait. If you want to talk about the poopy and occasionally sit them on the potty for that but I just wouldn't push it. Resistance is a hard thing to break.

You can try...we did with my son and he loved it (he was 17 months though). My advice would be to try or offer, it he resists at all, just let it go, don't try to reason or persuade...two potentially VERY bad things can happen. If he feels forced, he can become afraid of the potty or he will figure out this is something you really want him to do, that he can control (one of the only things he can control) and you'll have a power struggle that can last years. Realistically, let him try, be happy and positive if he does and just ignore it if he doesn't. He maybe just starting to realize this part of his body is under his control, so it might take a few months for him to really get it, he's young, that's totally fine! Good luck!!

I would certainly give it a try...he may not get the total hang of it (sorry for the pun) but it's worth seeing if he's ready or not... Personally, I liked the seats you could attach to your regular toilet because it made it seem like the kids were already big kids using the regular potty instead of a little potty chair (plus there was no mess to clean up ;)).

You didn't mention what his vocabulary is...if he can understand the basics of peepee and potty then I'd give it a go...check your library and see if they have any of the potty training videos (Elmo, Dora, etc.) they might be helpful too! Good luck!

I introduced all my children to the potty as soon as they were walking. I would bring them into the bathroom with me and sit them on it, with the seat still down and without removing their diaper or pants. Two out of the three started to try to take their own pants off within a couple months and progressed quickly to using the potty. One on the other hand, never was interested and I had to encourage to use it. Always make it a positive experience no matter if it is "productive" or not.

Hi E.,

My son also squats when he is going #2. I am not real sure why. He has always done this. I guess it helps him push it out! I've had a potty seat in the bathroom since he was 18 months old so he could get used to it. He sometimes shows signs that he is ready to try it and he has gone on it a few times, but for the most part he isn't ready yet. I ask him if he needs to go potty and he says no. I ask him if he wants to try sitting on his potty and he says no. Then I'll catch him squatting and going in his diaper! He'll say yes sometimes and that's the few times that he has gone on it. I say try to put him on it and see what happens. If he doesn't act at all interested then I wouldn't push it. He's still very young and I can assure you that it's normal for little guys to squat to push it out. Good luck and have fun with your little guy!

Does he say he has poop in his dippy if so yes he is ready to potty train. He is telling you he is ready.

My opinion is wait. It's not uncommon for kids to squat. It's the natural way to go even on the potty. So he is more comfortable going that way probably. Kids do it all the time at very young ages and are not ready to be trained. Especially being a boy he may need to be older, not always but girls are usually ready a bit earlier. I'd wait until around 2 years old unless he takes your hand and leads you to the potty and says he needs to go. :-) Then of course do it. I doubt that will happen though. In the 'old days' they used to take little kids even 9 mo. and hold them over the potty or stool and if they went they felt they were training them but the mother was trained. He should be able to tell you. I potty trained 8 of my kids and one grandson and all were around 26-28 months old and it was so easy then.

Try it. It cant hurt. I know it might sound personal, but take him in with you when you go and tell him that's where big boys go. If he is interested, try it. I used Elmo's Potty Time video with my daughter and she loved it. It really helped!

If he isn't interested, though, forget it for now.

I would give it a try, at least introduce him to the potty and see how he takes to it. Good luck!

absolutely try it! if he's noticing when he's going it's time for the first introductions....just don't get all excited thinking he'll be potty trained any time soon lol...most kids show a big initial interest and then lose interest when they start getting an idea of what is involved. there are some kids who are truly gifted and "get it" the first time around of course, and there are some parents who force it on their kids and brag that they were potty trained before they were 18 months old or whatever...but it'll just save a lot of stress if you just relax and go by his cues, and don't be disappointed if it doesn't happen right away. my son just turned 3 at the end of september, and potty trained this past july. it only took a couple weeks and was pretty stress free, i truly believe because i waited until HE was ready. GOOD LUCK!!

My daughter started showing multiple signs of readiness at 14 months. I waited until she was 16 months to really give potty training a try. I used 3daypottytraining.com and they recommend not starting until 22 months; however, if I chose to start prior to that I needed to understand that it was going to take longer. We tried it and 5 days later we didn't have much progress so I chose to stop and wait until she was 22 months. 3 months later (19 months) she didn't give me a choice - she was ready and that was all there was to it. We tried again and it took 4 days. She's been potty trained day and night ever since. The 3daypottytraining.com method goes straight to underwear and doesn't believe in pull-ups. It works! I also babysat a little girl who was introduced to the potty at around 14 months or so but they used pull-ups and such. Took her 2 years to be fully potty-trained compared to my 4 day experience. I guess what I'm saying is that, although your 14 month may be showing signs of readiness, he probably is not quite ready to potty train. I would show him the potty and talk to him about what we do there but hold off for another 6-8 months at least. When it comes time I would strongly recommend 3daypottytraining.com. It worked for me and 2 of my girl friends little boys who were struggling to get their boys potty trained. They were really suprised when it worked at night as well! Good luck!