Seeking Help in Potty Training 13Month Old

Updated on September 18, 2008
K.P. asks from Queen Creek, AZ
16 answers

My son is 13 months old and hates wearing a diaper. I am tired of him taking it off to go potty on the floor so have decided to start potty training him early. He knows when he has to go because he hides in a corner takes off his diaper & does it on my floor. I just need some help on how to communicate to him what he should do. He doesn't quite care about being a big boy or wearing big boy undies all this is Greek to him. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated my floors cant take much more :)

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So What Happened?

Well we bought him his own chair he loves & we go every 30mins to see if he has to. He is doing good still has accidents but not peeing on my floor anymore.

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V.R.

answers from Albuquerque on

I'm sorry but you can't decided to potty train him. Kids will go when they are ready, it's the one thing they control and they know it. Good luck to you.

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C.M.

answers from Tucson on

The only thing that came to mind was to get a little potty that you can put in the corner & see if he will sit there instead of actually going in the corner. :) Good luck!

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S.M.

answers from Albuquerque on

My daughters dr. told me that ANY kid can potty train at 18 months. So I bought her a little toilet at 16 or 17 months. Sure enough at 18 mo. She decided to use it on her own. But I showed her what to do and told her what is was for. She would sit on it sometimes and do nothing. We used a treat system since she was way too young to care about stickers, but she loves candy.
Have you tried different diapers? Cloth Diapers? Maybe jumpsuits or overalls so he can't get to his diaper?
Good luck. I think it will be difficult to start, but with a little experimentation, you will know what he comprehends and what you can do to help him.

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A.K.

answers from Phoenix on

My daughter was 14 months old when she potty trained. Although it was more for comfort in her case (she had a bad case of Chicken pox that made wearing a diaper almost impossible for her without irritation) she did suprisingly well and enjoyed being praised on her accomplishment at such a young age. She was saying a few words but the communication was still a challenge and we had to use pull-ups at night because she would still have accidents then and only then. That only lasted about 2-3 months and we figured how long before bedtime she had to stop having drinks then we were on the road to being a big kid.

I took her to the restroom with me everytime I went and made it a point to go every hour for about the first week or so even if I didn't need to go. She had her own potty and we would sit there and just talk until she was ready to get up. It took about 2 weeks to get her to go by herself without being reminded but it was well worth the effort and cost savings in diapers. At any age potty training just takes patience and time. When you think about it the time you spent with him in the bathroom is probably just as much time as you spend cleaning up after him. It is worth a shot. Just keep in mind every child is different and there isn't one right answer for all of them.

A.H.

answers from Phoenix on

I love the advice that says not to potty train until they are dry through the night! My eight year old would still be in diapers if that were the rule of thumb!! All three of my boys were potty trained (using the potty during the day to poop and pee) at or before the age of two, so don't let ANYONE tell you what is an appropriate age to pottytrain. Diaper companies would love for all us mommies to be changing poopie diapers "until our kids are ready" -- which for some of my friends and family was until 5 years old. No thanks!! Sorry...I was ready way before people told me I should be. Here's my suggestion...set a timer for every 30 minutes. Take him to the potty and show him where he should go. Try and block the corner where he is currently using as an outhouse and just keep showing him where to do it and giving him TONS of praise. 13 months is pretty darn little, but if he knows to go in the corner, you're right, he'll know to go on the potty if you show him enough. Using this method I had my kids trained in less than a month. It's a lot of work, but soooo worth it in the end. Even my 8 year old who still has to wear a pull-ups at night was using the potty at a very young age by society's standards. I do like the idea of taping on the diaper if all else fails. At least you will hear him struggling to get it off and can take him to the potty at that point. Good luck and don't stress!! It'll all work out in the end.

A.
(SAHM of 3 boys and one more on the way)

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T.D.

answers from Phoenix on

Well first, I would like to say good luck to you on potty training him. I know there are people out there who swear their kids were potty-trained at that age so apparently it is possible. Unfortunately I can't offer you any real advice on that...all of my kids were at least 2 before they were potty-trained. However, you could try putting targets in the potty since he seems to like to watch it come out???? If it is just the BMs, the only thing you really can do is catch him before he goes and put him on the potty in the middle of the act. Maybe when you notice him going to the corner, you can take his diaper off, sit him on the toilet and have story time until he does his business.

If, however, you decide he's not really ready or it becomes too difficult a task, you can always duct-tape his diaper shut--one piece right over both of the tabs. We had to do that with my oldest two at night and nap time because they would take their diapers off out of boredom and we would be left with a nice mess. That helped lighten their curiosity until we felt they were capable of understanding how to "hold it" and only go on the potty.

Good luck!

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W.H.

answers from Phoenix on

Yes, if he knows he has to go, he can go to the potty.
I think you will just have to watch him like a hawk and redirect him to the toilet when he is getting ready to do his business. After a while (1-2 weeks would be my guess) he should catch on and go there. Do you have a step stool or a small potty he can reach?

GOOD LUCK!!

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J.J.

answers from Tucson on

My kids love the book "What to Expect When You Use the Potty" by Heidi Murkoff. It has an answer dog that helps the kids out with potty training. It might be a good book to read to him and give you ideas of how to help train him. I am currently potty training my 2 year old and we do Potty checks where every 1/2 hr or so we "Check" to see if we have to go. I don't tell him "It is time to go pee" becase he may not actually have to go, but by letting him know that it is "Potty Check Time" he knows that we just have to try.

Good luck.

J.

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A.H.

answers from Los Angeles on

I'm sure there are some kids who have potty trained at that age... so if you really think he's ready you can give it a try. You can aways try again later. With my daughter (who was close to 3 when we did this) we got one of those special cups from the zoo which she just loved and drank herself silly with it. I set the timer and had her go sit on the toliet every 1/2 hour. She got to pick a sticker when she was done. She still wore pull-ups at night until she went 3 days in a row dry and then I took them off and put a pad on her bed. Then she wet her bed for about a week and a half before being dry again. But we stuck it out and she was completely potty trained after that.

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C.M.

answers from Phoenix on

Every child is different of course, and I think boys are notoriously difficult to potty train. That said, one of mine took till age 4, the other trained at 2 in only 2 weeks (though he is still wearing a pullup at night.)

I always teach my kids some sign language to help with things like drink, eat, bath, change, thank you, etc. We're already working on them with my 9 month old. Perhaps, if he doesn't have the language yet, you could teach him a "discreet" sign for poop or pee that he can give to you when he needs to go.

Good luck!!!

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S.L.

answers from Tucson on

Have your sweetie take him into the bathroom with him when he needs to go. Huge amount of praise for going at the same time. Check his diapers more often- is he taking them off when they're dry or wet? As much as possible, they should be dry. Other than that, every twenty minutes, put him on the pot. Huge amount of praise when he goes. Don't leave him sitting there for very long. One minute or so. When you get him off, say, "Oh, you didn't have to go this time! Thanks for trying!" No yelling or carrying on when he does it the other way. Other possibility- put his potty chair in the same corner he pees in- I am assuming that it is always the same corner. Maybe he is a shy creature. Then- complete with praise, etc., if that is successful, move the potty chair (complete with its rubbeer mat under it) into the bathroom. Make sure that the potty chair is his size, clean and clearly available at all times. He will continue to need diapers at night for a good long time. Put a nightlight in his room and the bathroom, or the corner, just in case. Good luck:-) S.

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K.F.

answers from Phoenix on

I would tape the diapers shut and put off the potty training. I have 3 kids and changing a diaper is sooooooo much easier than trying to find a bathroom in public or having to pull over to the side of the road when you are driving a long distance. When they are older they know how to hold it longer thus making potty training a lot easier. I have heard that you should wait to potty train until they are waking up in the morning dry. This helps prevent wetting the bed accidents. Good luck if you decide to do it but weigh your pros and cons first.

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A.T.

answers from Phoenix on

Good luck on the potty training!!

You might want to try putting a potty in the corner he is using all the time. I have also heard of others taping the diapers closed - luckily I did not have this problem with my daughter and we have tile floors throughout our house.

You can also get some books (and although we didn't use them - there are videos/dvds as well). I used everything from candy when she went poop in the potty, to a special box of stuff that she helped picked out (it ranged from books to clothes) that she got after using the potty, flushing the toilet, and washing her hands. I keep a book of stickers (bought at Walmart for a couple of $) and a large sheet I covered with squares - she would get one sticker for herself (1 for pee and 1 for poop) and then a matching one for the wall chart.

Again, good luck!

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C.L.

answers from Phoenix on

He is too young to potty train. Some kids are ready at this age and if he is great. My suggestion would be putting him in clothes he cannot take off. Like onsies, one piece outfits or hard to take off pants. My kids went through the diaper off stage too.

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A.B.

answers from Phoenix on

I suggest looking into the Baby Signs program. My son is 14 months old and he does sign language for "poop" whenever he starts to go. You can't potty train until your child can communicate to you that he has to go. I praise him for telling me and so he always tells me. NOT that we have officially started potty training yet. But this is the first step!

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D.S.

answers from Albuquerque on

Wow, I'm not sure how you would potty train him this early, unless you somehow convince him to use the toddler potty. Maybe if you set it in front of the TV he will sit on it and accidently use it?

In regard to taking off his diaper, maybe you can put those plastic diaper pants over his diaper so he can't take it off. Most kids at that age can't pull up or down their pants, so maybe that would work? Good luck.

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