When to Start Potty-training

K.,

I agree with you on potty training early. When they are little and agreeable is so much easier than when they are older, stubborn and set in their ways.

I used a book called "Toilet Training in Less than a Day" with all four of my kids and was very happy with the quick results. They say you can start as early as 18 months with good results. I will say you have to follow the book like a recipe to expect results - picking and choosing ideas out of the book will probably get nowhere. My first three were toilet trained just after turning two and I felt like I had missed the window of opportunity. With my fourth child, I started having her sit on the potty right after dinner while I ran the bath water when she was about 16 months old. It was a 50/50 chance she would actually pee at first, then she got the hang of it. She started going after breakfast and lunch, too, and on her own initiative. When I finally potty trained her at 23 months, it took about 2 hours and she had it down. The only reason I didn't potty train sooner was because of the cold weather. Kids need to be dressed in a way that they can get their pants on and off by themselves. I left my kids in a short t-shirt and baggy underwear for at least a week or two after training. I suppose you can just turn the heat way up, but I was too cheap to do it.

The other good preps you can do are teaching your son concepts like up and down, dirty and clean, wet and dry. Teach him to dress and undress himself - especially pulling pants up and down. Have him clean up after himself - put his own clothes in the laundry basket, his own diapers in the garbage, his own dishes in the sink, etc.

Good luck,
S.

I started my daughter on a potty at 14 months. I just took it slow and praised her and was in no hurry. Sitting her on the potty while the bath was filling usually worked. As she got older, I sat her on the potty more often, then eventually let her go around the house with no pants so she could sit on it herself. By two she was out of diapers. I think the "power struggles" happen when we wait too long, not when they are young.

Hi K. - I think you can start introducing the idea of potty training at anytime now. It's good to let him know what the goal is and that it would be nice for him to start trying. However, and this is a BIG however, be careful your expectations aren't set too high. I just don't want you setting yourself up for failure. The signs your son is exhibiting are pretty common (my kids both did the bath thing at that age) and both HATED their diapers changed as well. But that did NOT mean they were ready to potty train. My daughter was completely trained at 2.5 years old and she did it on her own time. Once she decided she was ready to go...that was it...pretty much trained in a day or two. When I tried to push it on her it had the exact opposite effect and she didn't want anything to do with it. As far as my son goes...he's 23 months old right now and will pee on the potty if I put him on, and he knows when he's going (doesn't like poop in his diaper), but he's still not ready. He doesn't know to tell me when he's going or have the desire to sit on the potty unless I put him there. And to me...that's not potty trained. On average, I would say most boys are trained by 3 years. Not 2. I think you're setting yourself up for disappointment by putting the "trained by 2 years" goal out there. Just slowly introduce him to it and let him progress as he's ready. Good luck!

I have a child that hit the ceiling of his school's IQ screen in kindergarten and is working years ahead of grade level as a 3rd grader. And he still wasn't potty trained until past 3! There is a lot more involved with potty training than just being a "fast learner". It's a body mechanics thing combined with a desire thing on the part of the child. If you want your child to potty train early, part of it is how much do you want to be tied to be reminding or taking your child to the bathroom every hour, and how many accidents you're willing to deal with. We never had a schedule that allowed much of this.

I liked Eliza's comment about being completely independent going to the potty. I know kids that were trained earlier, but were so used to being reminded to go that they regularly had accidents up until kindergarten. Both my kids trained almost overnight.

Many kids don't like having their diapers changed at that age. And if he's interested, by all means, sit him on the potty and get some potty books and try. My son went on his potty a number of times before age 2. But don't be surprised if it takes a while! Good luck!

K., I started introducing potty-training to my son at 13 months old and he was completely trained by 19 months old. I started off with just having him sit on the potty every night while his bath tub was filling up. Usually the sound of the running water would make him go and then I would point out to him that he was going and praise him for it. I didn't pressure him, it was just a part of his routine. Since he was so young, after about a week he didn't remember not going potty before bath time. He also started hating diaper changes so I would tell him (while I was changing him) "if you don't like it then you need to go on the potty". One morning at 18 1/2 months I was removing his overnight diaper and about to put on a new diaper. He got up and ran into the bathroom and went potty and then demanded underwear. He's been in undies ever since. And now at 4 1/2 years it is still a part of the routine to sit on the potty every night before bath and we have started putting his baby sister on the potty too:)

My daughter is extremely advanced for her age. We started introducing potty training at 18 months. She did fine at first, then she hated it. She is now 2.5 and refuses to even consider potty training. I have no idea why. She just flat out says she doesn't want to do it. She is still far ahead in every other thing but this, she hates. So go ahead and try but don't be discouraged if it doesn't happen right away. All in good time.

The sooner the better! :) We used Elimination Communication with our boys, started at 18mos with our oldest and he was out of diaper and totally bathroom independent (except for wiping #2's) by 2yrs old. We started much sooner with our youngest and he was diaper free by 9mos, and in undies full time at 12mos. It was stress free, very bonding for us, and even though we used cloth diapers (and didn't have the added expense of purchasing disposables all the time) it was so nice to have them out of diapers.

www.diaperfreebaby.org, or there is an entire forum on mothering.com dedicated to EC. If you think about it, your baby gives you signs he's hungry, he's tired, and also when he has to potty. Babies are born with the full bladder control. The pee all at once and with force (Ever been peed on by a baby boy? LOL). as children age and spend years in an ultra absorbant disposable diaper, they lose that ability and control, therefore must RELEARN it at age 3 or 4 when parents int he US start training. So if you start before age 2, when those body functions are still easily controlled, they won't be lost adn the transition is quite easy.

my oldest son is 3.5 and my other son is 21 months. the younger loves to follow directions. His vocabulary is probably close to 75 words. He will go pee and poo in the potty. I let him do it when he is interested. I don't do it on a regular basis. My oldest was completely potty trained for about 3 months. He has now regressed for the past 2.5 months-- now he will go on the potty if we make him but he will not go on his own any more. The more people i talk to i learn that boys are harder to train, less mature, and don't really get completely trained till 4. Of course there are exceptions. I have a new baby on the way so i'm hoping we have a break-through soon. Good Luck. My main advice is don't put too much pressure on your or him. It is all a phase and at some point they will definitely be out of diapers-- could be 2 or later.

Hi K.! Go for it! My daughter was ready at that age and I don't think I believe that boys automatically train earlier (my son trained a year and a half before another girl his age).
It certainly can't hurt to try!
Good luck! I hope it goes very smoothly for you.

I only have a daughter, so I've never trained a boy, but this is how I started with my daughter...

I had her own training potty in the bathroom near the real potty. Anytime I had to go, I took her with me. I had her sit on her potty while I was on the real potty. I'd talk to her about how big girls use the potty instead of diapers, and how much better it was, etc. I think I started out letting her sit there with her clothes on, and eventually started pulling her pants down to sit on it. Sometimes she would go, sometimes not. From there we had our ups & downs with potty training... haha I felt that was a good way to start & introduce her to the process, though I may have started too early or pushed too hard for her.

I would think you could introduce your son to the potty by taking him to it and having him sit on it, talk to him about it, etc. Just don't push too hard!!

Hi K.,

I agree that you may be setting yourself up for a power struggle if you are insisting that he be out of diapers by age 2. That is very early . .. especially for boys. I started training my two oldest boys around 15 months, but they were not fully trained until closer to 2 1/2 years. It's not entirely impossible to have them trained by 2 years . . .espcially if you're using a specific program like was mentioned by another mother. However, from what I understand a program like that requires A LOT of effort on the parent's part. You'll have to decide how much time and effort you can spare to put towards potty training. My advice would be to follow your child's lead. Young children often use eating and pottying to exert their own power. So, if you become too overbearing he may just show you who's boss :o) Good luck!!

You can try putting him on the potty, but don't get too confident that he'll be out of diapers by age 2. That is the exception, not the norm. You may be setting yourself up for a power struggle if you push potty-training too hard.

I would follow much of the advice of the people here, but here's my two cents: I have a two sons, a 5 year old and a 28 month old. My 5 year old was pee-trained by 2 1/2 and poop by 3, and, compared to the majority of our friends with boys, he was on the early side for both. When we trained him, it was literally done in less than a week and he was 100% done with "training" (ie, no accidents) after it was done. The friends I have that have tried to train sooner end up having to constantly monitor their child and ask him frequently whether he has to go. For some people that is very worth being done with diapers; for me, it was important that my kids also be potty independent (with the exception of wiping #2s). My 28 month old is in no way ready to dress himself. He can take his pants off and take his diaper off, he knows when he is going in his diaper, but he's still not ready to use the potty regularly. I also think you might be setting yourself up for failure if you plan to be done with diapers at two; most boys aren't. I know there are exceptions, and your child may be one of them, but many, many boys are still in diapers at 3. I'm sorry this is so negative, but I also wanted to chime in in the event that things don't go as you hope; I wanted you to know there are many many kids out there that don't potty train that early.

Oh--and my 28 month old has been peeing on the potty regularly since he was probably 16 months (like at bathtime). Put in front of the toilet, he WILL pee. To me, however, potty training means HE tells ME when he needs to go, not me dictating to him when he should go.

Hi K.! I know we all want our kids out of diapers as soon as possible - and we all want them to be amazing! ;) But trying to potty train before he can verbally communicate his need to go will be pretty tricky. It won't be so tough at home but will be hard out on the go and especially if he's in daycare (not sure if he is or not).

16 months is really early. Has he shown other tell-tale signs of being ready: able to pull his own pants up/down, able to stay dry through naps, able to use toilet paper, interest in the potty?

I think most active kids dislike diaper changes. At least the ones I know! I'm not sure that's a sign for potty training. My best advice would be to start slowly down that road and back off if he's not taking to it. The last thing you want to do at this age is push.

Also - I know you said your opinion is that diapers should be "off the table" by 2 y/o but you have to be open to your child's readiness and body. Some children's muscles just aren't developed enough to "hold it" adequately by 2 y/o. If I remember correctly the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends potty training no earlier than 18 mos with an emphasis on 24 months.

Here is an article that offers some great tips: http://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/toddle...

you can start by letting him be interested. if he wants to sit on the potty, great!

one thing i know for sure - i have a 3 year old son who finally caught on in the past couple months. he stays dry all day long, even poops on the potty. he wanted to do it completely on his own, he never asked for my help or told me he was going to the potty, he just went. but the thing is, he has to WANT to go. if he didnt want to go, tantrums would happen. so remember that you can never force a kid to feel like going potty. let it be fun, and remember it might take another 20 months before hes potty trained, but theres no harm in introducing him to the idea of sitting on the potty, and all of that. my son started sitting on the potty when he was 9 months. so it took a long long time. :)