Potty Training - New Rochelle,NY

It would have been too early for my son, definitely. But you know your baby better than anyone.

My own experience, FWIW, is this: My son came very late to the potty training party. We tried, on and off, but it never seemed to "click." I wound up spending quite some time making our house a "no pants zone." After a while, we graduated to a "underwear only zone." Outside and at preschool, though, N. was still in diapers or pull-ups, even beyond his third birthday. I waited until it was Christmas break, when I would be with him 24/7, and we put him in underwear all day. After that first day, N. was getting himself to the potty just about perfectly -- no tears, no drama, accidents few and far between.

However, my brother tried training my nephew, "E.," at a much younger age -- a little past 2. Basically, it hasn't worked. E is now nearly 3 and has accidents constantly. The whole issue is very fraught with him -- source of all kinds of tears and tantrums. I think he'll get it, eventually, but E. is actually "behind" where N. was at the same age, even though he started much earlier.

So, based on that very limited experience, I'm a fan of waiting. If you really want to try, start by letting him run around naked at home (you might want to wait a month or two, weather wise). Once he can get his naked self to the potty with some regularity, put him in underwear but not yet pants. And so on. The point is to build on successes, not failures. (Let me know if that last part doesn't make sense, and I'll try to explain.)

Good luck!

Mira

i would go for it but dont be suprised if it doesnt take. but he sounds ready

No, it's not too early. That's when people used to potty train their toddlers years ago when most moms were SAHMs. The best time to potty train a toddler is when they are ready. If they are ready early, then go for it. If they need to wait, then wait, but I wouldn't wait until they are 3yo like some moms do. Too old and it makes it hard to find a preschool/daycare that will take them, if you need to put them in one. It's ok to be late, if you're a SAHM. Most daycare centers wait until the toddler's 2yo. My son started when he was around 18mo at home, but the daycare center didn't have enough people to take him potty in that age group so they helped train him when he was 2yo. He was soooooo ready, that he was completely potty trained in 2 weeks and that included staying dry at night. My husband also helped, because....well...you know....guys know how guys' plumbing is supposed to work. (Yes hubby went to the bathroom in front of our son, so he could see that Daddy pees in the potty too.) We treated it as something natural for everyone.

They say that boys are harder, but my oldest son was 22 months old, and my 2nd son was 23 months old. My daughter was 20 months old. It took them each about 2 weeks (my 2nd took longer).
If he's showing teh signs of readiness at 18 months, then by all means give it a shot. When mine showed the signs of readiness, we took a big exciting trip to buy big-kid underwear. They didn't wear diapers anymore so any accident was felt by them immediately (hard wood floors were a blessing) - pull ups at night. We did find some thicker cotton training pants for my daughter that were really great. Target sells them.
Good luck.

There are several different approaches to potty training. Here's one of several sites that gives some great "readiness" checklists, as well as descriptions of how to go about it for children of different ages, and the advantages and disadvantages of each approach:

http://www.parentingscience.com/toilet-training-readiness...

Every child is different, so it's possible yours is ready. But in my experience, especially with boys, I wouldn't start now. You'll wind up in a power struggle and it will make the whole thing go much more smoothly if he is older. All three of my children (a girl and then later, twin boys) were INTERESTED in the potty and loved the Potty Book and Potty Video when they were under 2 years old. BUT, being interested in a toilet doesn't necessarily make a child ready for potty training.
See how it goes. If it's not working, just stop and wait. I waited until all three of mine were 3!! Their preschool didn't require potty training, so I waited until their third birthday. With two of them, I took the diapers away, and they were trained within a day. (the other had a different issue... I posted in response to someone else... he took longer b/c he needed reassurance he was still my "baby"!)

I bought a potty for my son when he was 18 months old and let him wander the house without his diaper on. When he would start to pee on the floor, I would carry him to his potty and sit him on it and told him that this is where you go pee pee. He is not 2 yrs old and is completely potty trained (both pee and poo). He wears pull ups at night and when he go for just in case purposes, but hes been doing great!