potty training tips?

Angela - posted on 04/05/2011

my son was 3 1/2 before he could do it most boys are 3-3 1/2, boys are lasy and 70% of my mums group of boys were same age.
i my 3 yr old started at 22mths and it took her 2 weeks and she was great i used timed toileting works wonders every hr 1/2. then streched it out.
I am starting the 20mths old twins now by same method now and we are getting poos and wee's on the potty.
girls can do it by age of 2, she is just 3 and she wears jocks to bed now i take her to loo at my bed time bout 11pm and then she goes all night. i will cut it out in next mth taking her. my sone has no idea at night he is drowned nappies in morning

Jennifer - posted on 03/30/2011

Have you tried to go to the restroom first and show her this is how you do it. Thats what I did with my daughter and it worked.

Jenn - posted on 03/28/2011

My daughter is 20 months and we just started potty training. I kinda wanted to wait cause we just had our second child, but my mom was kinda insistent upon it and we went shopping for a potty chair. So all I've been doing is sittting her on it for a few mins before her bath at night. She actually went once but I don't think it was intentional. When she turns 2 I"ll take it more seriously. Till then I'll continue w/ the bath routine, talking to her about/reading books, and letting her watch me potty. I also try to get her tell me whether she's gone in her diaper or not.

Mandee - posted on 03/27/2011

im experiencing the very same problem, i mean 'exactly' the same. and im also opened for suggestions .....i've exhausted alot of options already she just wet herself. but what i am considering is waking her during the nite but she still a baby so i am going to be patient for nw.

Kim - posted on 03/25/2011

Have small toys on hand that she only uses while sitting on the potty. The best book on potty training, in my opinion is, "Diaper Free Before Three". It really helped me with my son.

Ramona - posted on 03/24/2011

My son is 19 months old an dhe will sit on the potty but wont go, he would rather pee on the floor..lol. I think he is too young to fully understand the concept, but that doesn't mean we have to give up. I would suggest just keep trying,and eventually she will get it. Pratice makes perfect :)

Lew - posted on 03/23/2011

I personally believe that 18 months is too young to start potty training; the child doesn't have sphincter nor bladder control yet.

Rita - posted on 03/22/2011

hi i started toilet training my son who is now 19mths @ 15mths. He did his first wee on the toilet at 13mths. At 18mths he was fully toilet trained with wees/poos & doesnt wet himself during his day sleep.I began by letting him run around all day with no bottoms on with water always close by so that he will need to go alot. I would then take him to the toilet every 10-15mins & let him sit there for about 5-10min.He would still have accidents but eventually understood the concept of it & was weeing & pooing more in the toilet.He didnt talk alot but I just kept taking him & now he can control it & when he needs to go he will stand very still & point with some babble & the word psss or toy for toilet.Every child is different & will develop this milestone at their own pace, but there is no harm in starting early as some might just surprise you. Be sure to make it fun. My son loves toy story so we got a toy story step, cushioned seat & sticker chart all with Buzz & Woody. I stuck it up in the bathroom & he would reward himself.Make it fun, sing a song if they wee or pee, use lots of praise, don't give up or reverse all your hard work be patient & goodluck

Diane - posted on 03/22/2011

Are you still using diapers or pullups when she's not on the potty? If so I would switch to panties 100% of the time. They don't like to mess their new panties or their bed so once you make the switch (in my experience) they don't have accidents for very long.

Leah - posted on 03/21/2011

The fact that she is sitting on the potty is a good sign. You might want to try occupying her with a book that she can browse through by herself or with assistance from you. But be careful not to overindulge her in it, so that it will not distract her too much from the main order of business. We started my (now 19mo old) daughter on the potty when she was 2.5 months old, by using elimination communication. Over the months we tried various strategies to get her to concentrate.... and the books seem to be the most effective for us. I think it helps to relax her --think of performance anxiety (if someone was to watch you sit on the potty). I'd be self-conscious! LOL So try giving her a book and then just do something else on the side. As for my daughter, she likes being read to while she sits on the potty. She'll hold the book as I read it, and she'll give it to me to hold and read if she needs to poo. Good luck!

Tanya - posted on 03/21/2011

my son did this too. he did better when we ditched the diapers and put him in regular underwear full time. once in underwear, he peed on the floor a lot for the first day or two but once he pees on the floor we sit him back on the potty and make him sit there till he "goes more." even if he cried we made him stay awhile. after one success and lots of cheers he got the idea. very few wet accidents now. poops are harder. no success there yet. hth!

Christina - posted on 03/20/2011

To each their own, I have an 19 month old, she is doing pretty good for the most part, she will have her days where she is less interested in using the potty, but its all training. I dont try to force it.... I make sure she has LOTS to drink during the day so she has to go alot. Something that helps is getting her first thing in the morning, if she typically wakes up dry she will have to go and put her on the potty as soon as she wakes up! That is how we started out and make sure to give lots of praise and treats! We dont usually give our daughter candy or sugar, but I give her dark chocolate chips to reward her! She LOVEs it!

Crystal - posted on 03/20/2011

my son is now 19 mos but he started trying to drag me to the bathroom when he was 17 mos to go to the bathroom and I didn't realize what he was doing..he started taking off his diaper and pants..finally just got tired of waiting for me & went into the bathroom and picked up the lid/seat and put his step stool there and started peeing in the potty on his own...if she is truely interested in potty start taking her every 20-30 minutes till she gets the hang of it and like another mom suggested make a big deal about it and give a sticker every time she does go (i know my sister in law gave an m&m to her girls every time they would go potty)

Kelly - posted on 03/20/2011

Keep doing what your doing. She is young but obviously showing signs of being ready to want to. She is at the age where she doesn't really comprehend the sensation of it coming and can hold it till she gets to the toilet. It may take a while so don't expect it to happen straight away. The best thing you can do now is to persist with it and don't get upset when she hops offs and goes 5 minutes later on the floor. If you can see a sign of her getting ready to go 5 minutes later try running her back to the toilet. These things take time sometimes. Good luck

Joy - posted on 03/19/2011

Mine will also sit on the potty. Sometimes she goes, sometimes she doesn't. We're not forcing it. The potty chair's available and she's been watching me go since her birthday. One of the signs they're ready to potty train is the ability to take their pants off without help and my daughter can't always do that. She's starting to get the idea, but I agree that she's too young to really push it.

I have heard using a sticker reward or treats (other than food) is a good idea for potty training.

Heather - posted on 03/18/2011

My daughter will be 19 months next week, and I have always HATED cleaning poopie diapers. I have had her squatting over the toilet to do her poop's since she was 7 months old. She started telling me at 10 months "poo" when she needed to go. Things were progressing nicely until my second daughter was born, then, she stopped telling me all together.
We have just recently started the process again, and for the first 2 weeks I tried to get her onto the toilet every 45 min (if i could), but now I also use the "Bumbo-potty-trainer" seat and she loves it!
She is not afraid to sit on (nor can she fall out), so she is more confident about sitting. Since we have the new baby in the house, I am trying to remind her how much of a big girl she is and using more incentives to potty like a big girl. She is very much into princesses right now, so when she tells me she has to "potty" I reward her with wearing a big girl princess pull up diaper. If she does not go on the toilet or goes in her diaper, she gets a regular pampers diaper (with no design). I have found that very helpful, because she always wants princesses!
It's worked so far, persistence and patience is the key, she'll do it on her own time.

Heather - posted on 03/18/2011

My daughter will be 19 months next week, and I have always HATED cleaning poopie diapers. I have had her squatting over the toilet to do her poop's since she was 7 months old. She started telling me at 10 months "poo" when she needed to go. Things were progressing nicely until my second daughter was born, then, she stopped telling me all together.
We have just recently started the process again, and for the first 2 weeks I tried to get her onto the toilet every 45 min (if i could), but now I also use the "Bumbo-potty-trainer" seat and she loves it!
She is not afraid to sit on (nor can she fall out), so she is more confident about sitting. Since we have the new baby in the house, I am trying to remind her how much of a big girl she is and using more incentives to potty like a big girl. She is very much into princesses right now, so when she tells me she has to "potty" I reward her with wearing a big girl princess pull up diaper. If she does not go on the toilet or goes in her diaper, she gets a regular pampers diaper (with no design). I have found that very helpful, because she always wants princesses!
It's worked so far, persistence and patience is the key, she'll do it on her own time.

Cristyl - posted on 03/17/2011

We are working on potty training our 19 month old son. He tells us after or while hes going. Hopefully he will start telling us sooner.

Danielle - posted on 03/17/2011

I started my son at 16 months and I really didn't even start him. We bought a potty seat and left it in the living room. A few days later he went up to it and sat down so I took his diaper off and he peed. He doesn't talk much like your daughter, but he understands what we say. I haven't pushed it upon him, I just let him do it and try to take him every hour. I would just let him sit there for a few minutes until he peed. I hope this helps a little bit. He now poops every once and a while.

Michelle - posted on 03/17/2011

My daughter is almost 19 months and all she wants to do is sit on the potty she hasnt went in it yet but she is interested in it. most children dont have control over their bladders until they are two but getting used to sitting on the potty doesnt hurt thats all i am doing and everytime she feel she has to go she will say potty and whats to sit on but wont go yet. she understands that its hers and she can use it but isnt ready. just keep trying to get her to sit on it. once she is fully comfortable on it she will use it i have been trying with my little girl for a month now. soon she will be ready just encourage her and praise her for just sitting there. make it more fun for her and she will eventually go. its what i am doing. good luck

Brigitte - posted on 03/17/2011

18 months is quite early, so I think it will take you a bit longer than if she were 2. I would put her on the potty at regular intervals during the day and give her lots of praise if she does go. If after two weeks you are still having accidents I would give it a break for a month and try again. When children are ready they can pick it up quite quickly, my first born only took a week on our second attempt. Our first attempt was when he was 2, and after three weeks he still didn't get it, so we gave him a 3 month break and then on our second attempt he picked it up in a week.

Rachael - posted on 03/16/2011

im really glad to see that some parents haven't started potty training yet. My son is 19 months just now and the dr. told me to start *thinking** about it. so we got a potty seat and we just have it out in the room where we play. if i see him trying to poo i will ask he to sit down and push the poo out but most of the time he puts his toys in it. right now we are just getting used to being around the seat and getting comfortable with it. next we will work on sitting on it.

Alexis - posted on 03/15/2011

I am going to be trying again (2nd time) with my son. The first time he got to the point where he would start to pee wherever he was, realise it and then go to the bathroom and finish peeing on the bathroom floor...so at least he got the right room but at the time (14 months) I don't think he could tell he had to go before he was actually going, so I decided to go back to diapers until 18 months. I will be starting in about 3-4 weeks, I will be done with school and it will be warm enough here that he can run around outside with minimal clothing (easier clean up with accidents). You can try waiting another month and then trying again, or implementing a reward system.

Emily - posted on 03/14/2011

She may just not be ready yet. I tried the same thing when my first was around 18 months. He thought it was a fun game for awhile, but he just didn't get the concept and didn't understand his own bodily functions yet. Eventually he got mad with me putting him on the potty and resisted it. Tried again when he was really ready around age 3 and it made much more sense. Not saying you should give up, but be prepared that she might just not be ready yet.

Amy - posted on 03/14/2011

That is great that she wants to sit on the potty...that is a great first step! She will eventually use it and you can praise her lots. I bought a potty for my 18 month old son and he doesn't like to sit on it at all...only with the lid closed...so, I have put it in the closet for later. I think the big thing with potty training is that they have to want to do it for themselves and to push them to do it would be futile. I will likely bring the potty back out in a couple of months to see what he does. My son knows when he's pooped, but still has no idea when he has peed (thanks to diapers)...I think around 2 years old is the norm for potty training...but like everything else, some kids are earlier and some are later...just depends on the child. Good luck!

Kimberly - posted on 03/14/2011

Personally, I think 18 months is too early to start. A child will only potty train successfully if they're really and truly ready to. My daughter is 18 months and for the past two months when she does a poo she comes up to me and says, poo! That's the first sign she's ready to start, but I'm not going to start her until she's at least 2 because starting now would be pointless. Plus, most children don't even have control of their bladders until they're 2.

If you're dead set on potty training her now then just continue to do what you're doing. Every couple of hours put her on the potty, if she doesn't use it just carry on and try again in a couple hours and if she does use it give her lots of praise and a sticker. She'll get a kick out of the sticker and she'll want to get another one, so she'll want to use the potty again! But like I said, she can't at this age control her bladder so you can't *make* her use it.