To Potty Train or Not? - Washougal,WA

He seems to be leading you well. You may want to get some underwear and see if he wants to wear it. Don't force it, but make it available. If he wears it, then he needs to use the potty, etc. I don't think that you really need to do more than having him sit on the potty more often if he is wearing underwear. Keep in mind, this could be a phase, my son went through it. And he may really like the potty for about a week, and then nothing. Don't push is, just keep letting him lead.

He sure sounds ready to me! Get him some big-boy underpants and some pull-ups, a potty and go for it! You'll know soon enough if he's actually NOT ready.

Lucky you! I've known a few kids who essentially self-train that early, and have heard about many others on mamasource. Your son sounds pretty mature and self-directed. Follow his lead, and it could work. Ask him questions, offer him help and encouragement. Ask him to tell you when he needs to go, so you can help him clean up after. Get him some big-boy pants and teach him how to pull them down and up. Make a game of trips to the potty, and celebrate whenever he succeeds (but material rewards are not needed). If he has accidents, handle it calmly, and assure him he'll do better next time.

Be prepared for some backsliding, though. Sometimes early trainers eventually become overwhelmed by the ongoing obligation of getting to the potty on time, every time. That's okay, too. Going back to diapers for awhile makes a good case for being trained, and kids will decide to go back to the undies when they're ready.

If he wakes up dry, then he's probably going to be trained for day and night. If he still wakes up wet, let him stay in overnight diapers until his bladder and nervous system catch up with his ambitions.

Why not try it? Ive read alot about the 3 day thing where you put multiple potties around the house and make them sit on it every hour. I'm very jealous :). If it works then your out of diapers if not your just preparing yourself and him for when he's ready. Also make a huge deal out of him when he potties. I used those little streamer chanpagne poppers from 4th of july when we trained my little sis. She was easy though she never wanted to potty in her pretty panties.

Heck ya! But just do what you're doing and follow his lead. It's not unusual for kids to show a lot of interest and then back off for a bit especially if their parents get really excited about it :). A lot of the advice says to give them a lot of praise when I go on the potty, but other experts say to keep it low key. For me this worked. He'll be much more motivated if he's potty-training for himself and not from praise or treats from you. No judgement on those who've used rewards to encourage potty-training, but I think of that as a last resort. Both my kids (1 girl, 1 boy) potty-trained with no more reward than big kid underwear! Keep offering him chances to sit on the potty and keep it light and low-key and you'll do just fine.

go for it but dont be harsh. dont expect it to happen yet be suprised if it does. keep letting him do what he is doing he has the idea. but change from diapers to potty pants or let him go comando.

My son trained at about that age, just follow his lead.

Run with it! There is no hard and fast rule about age. It all has to do with the individual kid. Let him lead the way, celebrate the accomplishments and be prepared for set-backs. Just ask him if he wants to try on the potty about 20 minutes after he has had a drink (or times that you know he normally goes potty).

My nephew started intermittently peeing (and even pooping once or twice) on his potty at 16 months. For the most part he is still in diapers, but he uses the potty too.

I would absolutely do it! My mom always said there is a "window" around 22 months for most kids, and if you take advantage of it, it is relatively easy to potty train your kid (depending on the child). She said that if you miss the "window" then it's harder when they're 2.5 or 3 years old because it's more of a power struggle. Since he is initiating it, I would go for it. I would buy lots of "big boy undies" and put him in those. Tell him that you really want him to keep his undies dry, and to let you know when he needs to go. He's probably at the age where he wants to please you, so my guess is that it will go well. With that being said, expect accidents, and don't be too disappointed if it's just a phase. My son wanted a single M&M, so I gave him one after he went on the potty, and before long, he didn't even care about the M&M. Good luck!

Potty training is easiest when child-driven and not parent-driven. It sounds like your son's body and attitude are more than ready. My oldest daughter sounds similar to your son. She essentially potty-trained herself in a day when she was a little over 2yo. If I had known she was ready, it probably could have happened much earlier.

Kudos to your little guy!

Go for it! Honestly, I don't know why so many people wait so long to start potty training. I think it's often harder when kids are 2 1/2 or 3, because they get stubborn and opinionated, plus they have had that much more time to get stuck in the habit of diapers. My daughter was just like your kid. She wanted to use the potty at 21 months. I kept her in diapers, but encouraged practice, especially for pooping, which she usually did right after dinner, so it was predictable. I sat with her and read her stories. There was no pressure to sit on the potty, she wanted to do it. I greatly praised her success, but there were never any rewards other than attention, praise, and her own pride. By 23 months she could poop in the potty every time, with no accidents, so gave her underpants and took away the diapers. She had pee accidents on the first day, which she was unhappy about, and that was pretty much it. She was totally trained by 24 months, although she still needed help getting pants up and down, wiping, etc.

The lady that says you can train in 3 days swears by 21 months to start.

Put a pull up on him and let him find his own success with a bit of encouragement.