The Right Age to Potty Train

Updated on March 28, 2007
A.K. asks from Kent, WA
12 answers

i have just recently found out that i will be expecting again in sept 5th i i have a 14month old little girl how do u tell when there ready ?????

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J.S.

answers from Spokane on

Well, girls are much easier than boys! I'd start her at about a year & 1/2...as least getting used to the idea. However, they will do it when they are good & ready...there is no forcing a kid to potty train!

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T.J.

answers from Seattle on

I agree that it's a little young. It might work for you, but I believe that a child will go when they're ready, and if you push them to do it before then, you're asking for a setback later. PLus I've read that a child will sometimes go backward with potty training after a new sibling is born. I say it's easier that your daughter is still in diapers while you have a new baby, because then you can change her when you're ready rather than having to stop everything (nursing, etc..) to help your daughter go to the bathroom. My daughter is halfway to potty training and is doing great on her terms, and I will miss diapers when I have to stop every ten minutes for her to go potty.

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J.E.

answers from Seattle on

14m old is very young to potty train. you could introduce it but i would not push it. it may be another 1 - 1 1/2 years before she's ready. theres going to be so much going on and a new life with the baby, now might not be the time. look at it this way, have you ever seen a girl get married with a dipper on?

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K.O.

answers from Portland on

Not to sound discouraging, but I have a 2 year old (27 months) that still has no interest in going on her potty chair. She is the youngest of my 6 children and they all learned at different times. She will sit on her potty chair when I am going, but she refuses to let me take her diaper off to sit on it. Right now, she gets mad when I catch her pooping in a corner, which is usually a good sign that they are getting close to being ready. When they are aware and understand.

Good luck and CONGRATULATIONS on your new baby coming!

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C.M.

answers from Eugene on

I am in a very similar situation. I have a 14 month old and am due in August. We do things to help prepare her for toilet training. We ask her if she is going potty when it is obvious that she is……poop faces yah know. We show her poop to her and then we put it in the toilet and let her flush. She watches me go and I tell her that Mommy is going potty just like she does. She has a potty chair and it is mostly just a toy for her right now. We have started to think about her clothes more. We are saying goodbye to onesies and zip up pajamas. Trying to get her to have things that will be easy for her to pull up and down on her own. She participates in getting herself dressed pulling her pants up and down etc. We are waiting for her to show signs that she is ready. Such as using the word potty, dressing herself, and staying dry through a nap. I hope this was helpful and good luck!

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J.S.

answers from Portland on

Hi A., Congrats on your new one. Try reading biils on potty training. When I was potty training my 4 year old I had him watch the video of Bear in the Big Blue House on potty treaing. After that the peeing clicked. It took a while longer for him to learn how to go poop. Always let her know that if she has a accident that it is ok and everyone has them. Good luck

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H.R.

answers from Seattle on

You'll know when she is ready. She'll probably hide in the closet and not want to wear a diaper anymore. Luckily girls tend to train before boys but I still think you probably have a year. My boys didn't train until they were about three and a half.

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S.P.

answers from Seattle on

My son is only 6 months old, so I haven't gone through this yet, but I'll tell you what worked for my mom to potty train me. When my mom found out she was pregnant with my younger brother, she didn't want to have 2 in full time diapers. We are spaced about the same as your kids are. Well we all know that pregnant women have to pee about a million times when they are pregnant right? Everytime she had to go to the bathroom, she took me with her and had me sit on the potty seat and "try". I never have asked for the full details. ;)
I was fully potty-trained before my brother was born, and I was less than 2 years old when he was born. If you are due in September (congrats by the way!!) thats 6-7 months of her practicing or "trying" everytime you go during the day time. Obviously you won't want to wake her up in the middle of the night to go since the goal is no accidents in bed at night. Even if she isn't completely trained, she'll likely be a long way towards trained by the time the next one comes along and needs changed every 5 minutes. ;) Hope this idea works for you!!

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S.G.

answers from Portland on

hi A. your going to have your hands full when sept comes i have to kids a little girl that will be 5 in march and a boy that will be 2 in june potty training is not the same for every child but i never started till they are 2 becauce you can scare them if you start to soon when they wake up from a nap if they are dry for a few days you can start to put them on the potty but don't tell her she has to it mite make her wait longer to go just ask every 2 hours or so but not till she shows intrest in the potty i have been a nanny for 14 yr and have potty trained 7 childern not counting my own well i hope i helped but dont't worry you will know when she is ready and a sticker chart work well when she starts to use the potty you can always ask me for advice i will see if i can help good luck S.

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T.A.

answers from Seattle on

When your daughter starts waking up with a dry diaper, then she's ready. She's able to hold it while sleeping so she might be able to (with proper coaching) start the potty training process. If you have any more questions, let me know. ____@____.com.

I have a four year old daughter who will be 5 in april.

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R.N.

answers from Seattle on

I have done alot of reading on this subject because I have recently been training my oldest. Some studys show that a child isn't ready to potty train untill around their second birthday. (Although there are exceptions.) Some suggest that a toddler doesn't connect having the urge to potty and going potty until after 18 months.
My daughter start acting interested right before her second birthday, then decided she wasn't interested a few months later. So I waited on her to be ready. She was potty trained at 25 months but then relapsed when her baby sister was born in Oct. (This is very common.) Then in January she woke up one morning and said no more diapers mom. She hasn't use one since then.
Rewarding her to go or even just to sit on the potty for awhile might peak her interest. We did a potty chart, everytime Willow went she got a sticker and once she filled the chart she got something special. A toy or a trip to Cold Stone Cremery. If your daughter doesn't seem interested don't push it right now. She is still pretty young, and there will be alot of changes for her with the new baby coming. When she does seem ready make a big deal of it, tell her how proud you are and what a "big" girl she is. :0)
Congrats on your new little one.

R. N
mother of two girls
Willow 3yrs old
Kodi 4 months old

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S.B.

answers from Bellingham on

I found out we were expecting our second when the first was 6 months old, she started walking at ten months and we got a potty chair for christmas. Since most pregnant women have to pee all the time I just took her in everytime I went, we also allowed her to take the potty chair to other rooms of the house(we would make sure it was clean of course!) so that she would get used to sitting on it. She got the idea pretty quickly as she was mostly potty trained by the time her sister arrived and she was just 14 mo. I think it really depends on how you go about it, as my second took longer to walk and potty train, but she was also trained well before two years. I really do suggest taking her in to go potty when you go though, she will learn from you, also give her lots of praise when she does go it gives her more incentive to try!
Good luck and congratulations on the new baby!

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