Potty training at 19 months??

Heidi - posted on 06/29/2011

I have an 18 mon old who has been using the potty ( not consistantly) since 16 mon. His brother was fully in underwear by 22 mon. His 3 sisters were the same, which include a set of twins. My oldest son is 3.5 and we never have accidents, and wheres underwear to bed. At 16 mon they can be taught. They understand more than you know. I really beleive that there is a window of opportunity before they hit the terrible twos that they are open to learning this...I have 5 children, and it has worked so far.

Amy - posted on 02/28/2009

Thanks everyone. I just bought a potty yesterday and I'm going to just let him get used to it and see what happens. If it takes a year, then that's ok h'es still young.

Katie - posted on 02/25/2009

I think it's the perfect time to introduce the potty chair to him. Just showing it to him and having him sit on it is the best thing to do!! My daughter will be 20 months in just a few days and that is what we have started. Just starting out slow is the best thing!! And try to be routine with it, ya know??

Deanna - posted on 02/19/2009

i have a 7 year old girl, a 20 month old boy, and i'm pregnant. i potty trained my daughter at 18 months, which everyone i knew with kids at that time was amazed at. i also took care of other children, one girl 2 days older than my daughter, who was not potty trained even at 2 1/2. since i took care of her, i potty trained her which took a couple of months. now my son, whole other story. i got a potty chair for him last week at my husband's insistence. but all he wants to do is play with it. i do NOT think he is ready at all. he also is not advanced like my daughter was in many areas. i think it's best to wait till they show signs of being ready, which will very with every child's age and abilities. signs of being ready are being aware that they are having a bowel movement, for starters. being able to follow directions, as well. my son is stubborn and will not follow my directions other than 'sit down', although he does say 'poo poo, poo poo' when he toots or poops, and likes to 'help' wipe himself, he does not want to stay sitting, so i am going to put off further 'training' until he is able to follow instructions better. however i will continue to talk to him about it, place his poop from his diaper into the toilet saying 'this is where poop goes' and have my husband show him about sitting down to pee. when he's ready to 'be like daddy' and sit for more than 5 seconds, we'll try again. just remember every child is different and there's no cookie cutter age! i am getting annoyed with people who don't have children remarking about this, which they have 'oh, so and so's son is potty trained, and he's only 6 months older than your son' yeah, well 6 months is a world of difference at this age! also the girl i potty trained was the same age as my daughter and didn't do it till a year later, and her mom was shocked i was able to train her, she didn't think she was ready, but since i took care of her 3 days a week 8 hours a day (till 8pm at night) i could tell when she was ready. i also didn't mind showing her when i pee'd and my daughter pee'd and etc., which seemed to make her very interested, but some people aren't comfortable with doing that, and i think that makes it take longer. hope my comments helped some!

Kendall - posted on 02/19/2009

does he follow you to the bathroom, play with the toilet try to sit on it, juggel the handel, is his diper dry in the morning & having less wet ones during the day. if so then read up on how to potty train. its better to know what route your going to take before he already has his pants down. some mom's put painters tarp on the carpet and let the kid go for a weekend feeding salty foods so they'll drink more and have to use the bathroom more, theirs also the cherrieos trick( try to hit it) their are super thick underware & super thick with plastic gards you could try to encurage you son with special underware with his cartoon of choice theirs lots of options pick the ones that wll work for you and your kid and if they dont work try something else.

Adrienne - posted on 02/15/2009

I knew my son was getting to the point that he's ready to start when he fights us when he lay him down for a diaper change, does the pee pee dance, stays dry for 2-2 1/2 hours. The potty training is going slowly now but he does let us know when he has to go. Most of the time he never makes it onto the potty and pees in the diaper and we tell him "Good Try! We'll try again." But when he does pee on the potty is so proud he dumps it in the toilet and helps wash it out. Like you, my husband and I don't want to rush him for potty training.

Andrea - posted on 02/15/2009

The child needs to have the mechanical ability to pull their pants down (up may still take time) and be big enough to stably sit on the potty. Boys typically take longer than girls, and each child is different. I don't even start til they are 2. We have a potty chair in the bathroom that our 20 month old will sit on while I'm in there to mimic me - but I'm in not hurry. When they start telling you that they have a dirty diaper and realize what's going on down there in their diaper that's a good cue to start thinking about it. Don't listen to people that say their children were potty trained at 18 months - most of the time it's not entirely true. ;)

Nicole - posted on 02/13/2009

Here's a funny story!  My son D went to the bathroom door the other day and said his garbled version of bathroom, so I opened the door and let him in, figuring if he wants to start with sitting on the potty, whatever!  I am still struggling with having his sisters completely potty trained at 4, so I figured I can encourage D!  I was even going to take off his diaper.  He cruises to the toilet, lifts up the cover and sits down with his pants up--he would not let me pull down his pants.  He sits there for a minute, then he points to the toilet paper, so I give him a square.  He scrunches it, wipes his nose, and gets up to throw it into the garbage.  He again sits on the potty and points to the toilet paper.  I gave him another square--he again wipes his nose and throws it away.  I asked him if he was done, so he gets up, closes the toilet cover and washes his hands.  He then cruised back to the breakfast table.  I was laughing--this was a great start to the day.  Next time I may try to get his pants and/or diaper off!  :)

Celeste - posted on 02/07/2009

My son didn't train until he was 3 1/2 & even then I was rushing it so he could go to school (public school - no pull-ups allowed). He just wasn't ready. My daughter on the other hand, is 19-months-old & is BEGGING to use the potty. She is even going when I do sit her on it. I'm not entirely sure I'M ready for her to start training 'cause 19-months seems really young to me too, but what can you do? Your son will let you know when he's ready. The whole process will go alot more smoothly if you take your cues from him (like when to start, when to switch to underpants, underpants at night, etc.) Also, from what I've heard/read, boys seem to potty train later than girls do.

Dana - posted on 02/03/2009

my mom bought me a book called toddler 411 that is VERY helpfull on this and many other issues. my son has no interest,so im not pushing. maybe the end of summer i'll try.

Jeana - posted on 02/03/2009

well my daughter has been imitating me with her potty. does your son imitate his dad? our kids are the same age by the way. but shes been doing this since she was 14 mths. but only now does she realize what it feels like to have to go. maybe if he sees you or his dad use the bathroom frequently he could get the hang of things.

Amber - posted on 02/02/2009

For my daughter, she tells us that she's wet and brings her diaper and wipes to us.  A lot of times she'll go in the bathroom, take off her diaper, & grab some toilet paper & try to wipe herself. :) lol.  I'm not exactly training her yet, but we've introduced her potty into the bathroom.  I sit her on it  right when she wakes up for her "morning pee." (we've gotten 2 so far!)  She likes to sit on it when i go to the bathroom or while she's brushing her teeth.  I want to get her used to the idea of it, then we'll be more active about making it to the potty when she needs to go.

Corey - posted on 01/31/2009

The book I'm reading suggests that boys aren't necessarily harder to potty train than girls, rather, girls tend to follow mommies into the bathroom more often. And, because mommies are generally in charge of potty training efforts, girls tend to have earlier and more explicit discussions of the process with their moms.



For that reason, we decided to drop any assumption that boys aren't ready until 3+ years and bought a potty seat. Otis (19 months) sits on it every morning and night, about 5 minutes each time. We read a couple of books and he climbs off and flushes. At this point, he doesn't always produce anything in the potty, just sits on it. But, he's enjoying it and displays pride in his expression afterward.



My plan is to establish some level of comfort with just sitting on the potty -- no rush and no expectations. Sometime this summer, we'll have a couple of bare-bottom weekends during which I'll let Otis run around outside sans pants/diaper, another tactic that many books recommend will help toddlers learn more about body functions.



Slow, but persistent -- that's my approach.

Nicole - posted on 01/31/2009

Every child is different--my 19-month old sons are not ready and are not giving any indication that they are ready.  My girls did at that age, but they are 4 yo and we still have plenty of days with accidents for Adri.  Brenna is pretty good every day.  I would not say they were truly ready to potty train until 3 1/2, which seems late for girls.  I am hoping the boys are willing to train sooner, but I won't rush them!

Michelle - posted on 01/28/2009

My 19 month old daughter started wanting to go on the potty because the other two girls at her daycare do. So I let her when she wants but I don't push anything. She's too little to use pull-ups or training pants so I figure why rush it. Half the time she has already gone in her diaper when she asks to go but I let her try anyway because she's getting familiar with the sensation and the need to go to the potty. And when she does actually "go" we cheer and make a big deal out of it so she will want to do it again. She's far from potty trained but has started telling me when she's got a dirty diaper so we're on our way.

Adrianna - posted on 01/27/2009

My son tells me when he needs his diaper changed. As well as taking his diaper off. He also wants to go in the bathroom when he's going. These are signs of wanting to potty train.

Janie - posted on 01/27/2009

My son wanted to be like his dad and pee-pee in the potty at 18 months. So we got him a potty and few books to introduce the idea. He more or else trained himself to pee in his potty by 19 months, though pooping is another story. He is now 2.5 yrs and will not poop unless he has a diaper. I am sure that he'll let me know when he is ready.



I would start with having your child visit you in the bathroom. start the converstation about bodily functiuons and see how your child reacts. Books are another great way, we got my DS no more diapers for ducky and my potty book.

I wouldn't worry too much about it, your child will let you know that he or she is ready.

Good Luck!

Ashley - posted on 01/27/2009

my son is tottally in control! he tells me he has to go and tells me when he is going and when he is done. he has a little potty and a toilet seat and he will use both "when he feels like it" -->he knows how to do so and everything but he has his days, so im stuck waiting until he "feels like it" -->cant drag him to the potty screaming. but its a great start! he has been doing this since he was about 16 months old.

Jodi - posted on 01/26/2009

I have the same question right now. Elizabeth hasn't decided to strip on her own yet and tells me definitely 'No' when I ask her if she wants to potty, but she prefers to wear the Dora pull-ups to her diapers. I'm just going to be patient and let her tell me when she wants to go. I don't need a power struggle from her on this one.

Kelly - posted on 01/25/2009

Alfie is almost 20 months i have not started training him fully yet but i have started asking him if he needs a wee or poo, and he does shake his head if he has not or does not want to go, which is good, after hiss tea i put him on the potty everyday so he gets used to it, he has used it for both and knows what it is for he knows about pulling trousers up and down but i still dont think he is quite ready for full on training so if you introduce slowley they can get confident with it all, dont forget its hard for them as well as yopu too, i also bought pull ups as he was not weeing as much, but be carefull cause if they start weeing more they do leak abit

Billi - posted on 01/25/2009

MY 19 month old is a stripper, we can't keep a diaper on her! :p People are telling me we should potty train. But I'm not sure, it seems young to me too.

Katy - posted on 01/24/2009

You play it by ear. Like if they seem interested in it then you can start trying but in my experience its better to start boys a bit later. I have toilet trained a boy and a girl and my girl was completly trained by 21/2 and my son was at 31/2.So if I can give you any advice it would be to get a potty tell him what its for and just wait to see if he is interested.

Ashley - posted on 01/24/2009

hey i have been looking into this as my daughter has recently shown intrest in using the potty, the stuff i have read says that the muscles and control of the muscles that somones needs to be able to use the potty are developed around 18 months, but there are a few signs you can look for in order to kwo if your son may be ready,

1) he has an intrest in the potty, and wanting to use it

2) he wakes up from his naps with a dry diaper

3) he doesn't like to sit in a dirty diaper

4) he can undress himself

5) he can tell you in some way he has to go

he doesn't have to have all of these signs but if he has a few he may be ready, you coudl always get a potty book, and start reading it to him, and get him familiar with the potty, and what it's for, if he doesn't seem interested then dont worry about it , he will let you knwo when he is ready, lots of kids aren't ready until they are older but it's definatly somthing you dont want to push becasue it can lead to constipation, and the whole process will just take longer. hope this helps.

Christine - posted on 01/24/2009

My 2 1/2 year old just started to train, i think you are doing the right thing by waiting, if you start to early it will be harder on both you and your baby! The only reason my 19 month old is starting is because he watches his brother. To be honest i never thought of doing both of them at once but once Caleb (my 19mth old) asked me to go "pee pee on potty" i put him on and he did it. There is nothing wrong with introducing the potty and getting your son framiliar with it, but i would not rush it he is only this young once!