Potty Training My Son - Bakersfield,CA

Dear S.,
If your little guy is showing an interest in the toilet, put him on it!
Set him on the toilet and hold him there for a few minutes. Let him get in the habit of doing that before he takes his bath. No time like the present.

My kids both had little potty chairs, but they mostly dragged them around the house and played with them or stashed toys in them. They both trained on the big potty. My dad built a little step stool for my daughter so she could climb up by herself. My son used it when he came along. We still have it and I imagine it will get used by my grandkids when I get them someday.
My kids were really easy to potty train. I got them used to the toilet early on. That way....they aren't afraid of it. Sitting on the big potty is fun!
Just be sure to hold on so your son doesn't fall in!

Potty training is important because it helps to determine how they feel about their body. I trained my son to stand up to urinate. This saves the trouble of teaching him later. Since he is already inclined to head straight to the toilet, just encourage what is already happening. I found that it is easy to start just a little bit after they wake up because they usually have to go then. Just keep encouraging him and give him a lot of praise when he goes. My granddaughter comes to me when I am there and tells me she has to go. She is so proud of herself. Now, she also comes to me instead of her mom when we are in public. Those little things make me so happy to have grandchildren.

WOW! What a big boy his is..... 14 months and he's ready! That's awesome. My son was 14 months when he became curious about it so I jumped on the opportunity. He was potty trained in two weeks. You can buy little things at Toys R Us to put in the toilet that he can aim at and "shoot" but I just used Cherios and it worked great. My son thought it was the most hilarious thing in the world. He couldn't wait to be ready to go again. It's worth a try.

I say start now, if your lucky he'll be done by age 2. Boys tend to be slower anyways, so be glad he is interested. I have a 16mth old boy and I have started saying lets go potty, putting him on there just to start getting used to the idea. At bath time I take off his diaper and sit him on potty so I say what the heck if her learns early, that money for diapers is history or gas money...

Trish

I definitly don't think your son is too young to start using the toilet. He seems to be ahead of the game if he is going straight for the toilet already. A fun and effective way to potty train boys is to put fruit loops in the toilet and have your son aim at certain colors. This will kind of help him keep the pee in the toilet and not on the walls, floor, etc. It can even help him learn his colors. :]

I would say that it is way to early to expect him to be fully potty trained, but if he wants to sit on the toilet I would let him. I put my 12 month old on one day and out came some poop. It's OK for him to learn what it is for but not have to use it all the time. My boys potty trained between 2 1/2 and 3 1/2. You have plenty of time.

I started potty training when my daughter was 8 months old, I kept a basket of toys and books by her potty chair in the bathroom, I placed her on her potty when she woke from naps and sleep, after nursing, and every few hours, getting her used to the chiar, the basket kept her amused. so it wasn't a fight or bad experience. of course when she went I praised her

Normally I would say that's too early but if he's interested, hurray for him! Seeing his sister using the potty may have created an early interest. Stay positive and let him go at his own pace. Can he handle sitting on a potty? Does he try to take off his diaper? My son was very advanced in some things but not in others so there is never a hard and fast rule for any developmental stages. Good luck!

Hi S.

I would recommend reading the following 2 websites and the book by Ingrid Bauer about natural infant hygiene. I have been toilet training my baby since she was 2 months and at 3 months, she picked it up and we've had days without using a single diaper. I was completely skeptical, but thought that I would give it a try. She is about 11 months now and I normally have her in a thin cotton cloth diaper in case she isn't in the mood to be brought to the toilet and has a pee accident (maybe once a day), but she always poops in the toilet. Unlike in the book, my baby has no cues whatsoever and doesn't signal to me, I just offer her the opportunity every hour or 2. It sounds like you know when your baby uses the toilet, so encourage it. Make a big happy fuss when he pees in the toilet and they get excited to see you happy. I think a lot of it is positive feedback. The book also talks about how it is easier to train them earlier rather than later as they start learning how to use the muscles earlier rather than losing that ability and relearning it when they are 2 or 3 or 4 when most people start potty training. At that point, it will be even harder as they haven't been encouraged to use those muscles ever. (according to the book, we are born with an innate sense not to soil our area, and putting diapers on a child makes them lose this natural instinct - so relearning this later is harder)

good luck!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elimination_communication
http://www.natural-wisdom.com/

If he is willing you can try it now. It is typically a bit early but every child is different.

Potty training should start when the child appears to be interested and ready. It sounds like your son may be interested so why not give it a try. It can't hurt. you can start now just slowly introducing the idea to him and having him watch you and your husband go to the bathroom.

get a small seat that he can sit on by himself and let him sit on it whenever he wants to. Getting them to sit on it is half the battle when you start to potty train. I would say he is way to young to seriously think about it, but it doesn't hurt to let them try. Don't get caught up in making him sit on the pot at this age, or thinking that he will be able to control his bladder yet. If you can occasionlly catch him and he goes in the pot make a big deal of it and don't force him to stay there the next time to try. Just be glad of the tiny steps forward and at about 20-26 months start seriously training.
You can always start whenever you want if you have the time, because that is what makes the difference. If you have the time to go to the bathroom with your child every half hour or forty five minutes and have time to sit there while they try. When Moms train their babies this early they are really training themselves and it does take a lot of discipline. Both ways work, it just depends on how much time you have. By two they are able to go by themselves and pull up their pants and so forth. Good Luck

Go for it. Don't ask him if he wants to use the toilet. Respond with his going to the toilet in a way that it is just what we do. Show him in a "calm matter of fact emotion" that ok, lets do this. In the event he protests it do not push it, that will ruin everything. Some children just do it earlier than the parents expect on their own. Be prepared that the pooping may take a longer time to catch up to the actualy potty training. Yet...maybe you will be one of the lucky ones with a boy and it will go smoothly.
Good luck!
R.

He is way too young to start potty training. However, let him use the potty before bath time and whenever he wants. it will get him familiar with it and it is just fun for him.

You will know that he is ready to train when he starts waking up dry in the morning. My boys were late at potty training but they did it all in three days - daytime, night time, out in public, at home. There was one accident each and we were done.

Also, NO PULL-UPS!!! They teach a kid to "go" in their big boy pants. A huge mistake!!!!

At 14 months, your son is way too young to understand anything about bodily functions. The potty before bath time is jsut fun - so let it be and wait and see.

Blessings

I started training my kids wen they could sit, around 4-5 months old. Everytime I saw the face of "poo is immenent" I would take their diaper off and sit them on the pot. My son was potty trained at 18 months and he has no problem sitting on the toilet. My daughter is 10 months and she likes the potty as well. I found this to be a great way to train because they have no emotional issue with sitting on the toilet because I started them so young. I hope this helps you.
N.

14 months is so young. All the books I've read said not to rush it unless your child is clearly ready for the training, usually between 2 and 3 years old.

I am 33 and have two boys. Now 8 and 5. My experience has been that boys are not ready to potty train as early as girls. I tried too early with both of them and it was a waste of time and energy. My adive, 3 is a good time to start potty training him. But, if he is showing interest and you want to begin there is no harm in tring. The hardest part for both my boys was getting them to use the potty for the #2 stuff.

Too soon, especially for a boy. He is probably just playing and is not serious. It is time when he can verbalize his need and can pull his pants up and down. Hold off or you will set him and yourself up for disappointment.

I am a mother of 4, ages 14, 10, 7 and 4.

Let him go on the toilet when he wants to and in his diaper when he wants to. When he can ommunicate with you that he needs to go you can start to train him. My daughter started going during the night when she was 15 months and at 18 months had 3 days of being nude and by then she was poty trained. Even out of night diapers by 21 months.

I just let her take control on the timing and followed what she wanted without pressure.

Good luck.

I agree w/ most of the moms - boys take longer to potty train - but take advantage of his willingness to sit on the toilet. My mom had an old wooden potty seat that fastened to the toilet and had a duck's head for the baby to hold and a back support - she stuck us on it before baths and whenever she felt we were due for a BM. As a result she changed very few poopy diapers. Granted she was hyper organized and a bit of a germ-o-phobe...anyway my son used "Ducky" when he was old enough to sit up and never developed a fear of the toilet or the loud flush sound. But he is still not 100% trained - at 3-1/2 he's graduated to full time big boy underpants - but we still have pee accidents at home when he is having too much fun to notice it's time to go. So, he still needs reminding and coaxing for pee but had only a very few poop accidents early on and is excellent at telling us when that is coming. Daddy is usually in charge when there's a pee accident....need I say more??
I bought a great little portable toilet seat that fits on top of any size large toilet - it's a bit bulky but fits in a plastic grocery bag - we take it along when we are unsure of the restrooms when we go out in case he needs to go. He is tall enough to stand to pee but sometimes the public bathrooms are so bad the paper toilet seat cover just isn't enough. I got it at Target. We use his little potty stool as a step stool - he only tried it once and then announced that he is a big boy and should use the big boy toilet like Daddy. Save your money - don't bother with one.
Be patient - boys don't seem to mind being wet or smelly as much as girls do - so he might take a lot longer than big sister did.

Wow, that's great if you can get him potty trained at 14 months.....just remember...once he's potty trained you will have to use public restrooms when you are out and about! I'm sure you have seen some interesting ones since you have a 3 year old daughter....I always dreed it when my kids want to go use a public restroom!! GOOD LUCK!

If your son is showing interest, let him sit on the toilet. You can buy one of those seats that goes on top of the toilet, so he will be more comfortable. Before bath is a good time. I wouldn't push training though. It is best to train when your little one is ready. He may show interest for a while, and then stop. This is pretty typical. My son did the same. We are starting up again at 21/2. The potty book for boys (board book) you can get at Target helps keep the interest going. Every time my son sits on the toilet, we get the book out and read it together.