New and I have a 16 month old

Stacy - posted on 10/10/2012

I think so, and they say if you try to start early, it can cause them to be trained a lot longer than normal. Mine is 20 mo and he is doing the same thing. I let him go if he wants to, I wouldnt stop him, its very encouraging that when he knows he has to go and he wants to in the toilet, let him. But fully training him i think its early. I have done alot of reading up since we are about to start on this ourselves and at that age he is not able to control when he pees or poops. it takes a long time for them to get control of their sphincter (anal) after they turn 2. It takes developmentally until 2 1/12 - 3 yrs of age for them to mentally get the concept of going potty in the toilet. When some parents train there children early, they read the cues of a child very well. They can tell when and know around the times whent he child is about to go and they rush them to the bathroom. So it seems like they are trained but the toddler still yet fully comprehends it. Some parent also force their child on the toilet and make them wait until they can go and wont let them get up until they do, and thats a thing that causes kids to delay the process.. Toddlers feel like they are disappointing their parents because they arnt physically able to go yet and dont understand.

Potty training doesnt begin with letting them use the toilet. It starts as early as you can to describe to the child what a dirty or wet diaper feels like. Expecially when they start grabbing the diaper say "oh have you peed? Is your diaper wet? Yes it is we will need to get you a clean diaper. First its helping them acknowledge when they pee/poop and what it feels like. Then letting them see others of the same sex use the toilet (if its opposite sex they will get confused). You can also buy the potty chair early andlet him put it where he wants it. Let him play and explore it, let him get comfortable with it and describe to him what it is, and what its used for. I have also heard when the the child is ready to start actually training people will let their child be naked for a short period and put the potty chair in the middle of the floor and tell them when they are ready to pee or poop they can do it in the potty chair. Their will be messes regardless of the where he does it, but positive reinforcement is the best, make sure he knows it is normal for accidents to occur. I think that is the most successful part of training. Knowing the physical and mental development and reading the cues on when you child is ready, and always keeping positive with him

Jaime - posted on 09/20/2012

it's never too early if he's truly ready. if you don't have a potty chair for him it'd probably be a good idea to get one now and see how he interacts with it. plus it's just his size and he can actually use it if he wants to.

Brittney - posted on 09/19/2012

Most people will tell you that, but I trained my daughter by 15 months. I would start with the basics and from there move up. Start putting him on it every so often...like when he first wakes up and gradually increase the times you take him until he is going quite a bit. Then you can start to use undies/cloth trainers or bare bum. I used bare bum because it allows them to notice immediately when they start going.