potty training at 17 months

Angela - posted on 03/13/2009

My little girl was potty trained at 15 months for "peepee" but took a little longer (~18 months) for bowel movements just because she tended to get constipated a lot.  However, once we started givng m&ms to stop her from squatting in the corner  and use the potty; she was going all the time.  She does not stay dry through the night but that will come.  

I would encourage your little one to use the potty  but without pressure.  Also if comfortable, have her in there when you use it.  My little girl used to praise me when I used the potty- very adorable:).

Jeanette - posted on 03/13/2009

my daughter also showed interest just as yours when she was 17-18 months old.. also would tell us she had to poo, then 2 mins later would go, so out we went to get a potty ... We were told by some she was too little, but I say if your daughter is showing interest, go with it as we did, u dont want to discourage it........ Anyway, here are some tips we used, we went out and bought her panties which she was totally thrilled with, so made her feel like a big girl, we didnt use pull-ups, only diaper at bed... then we would take her to the potty every hour or so, to try to catch her, once she did it once was like she realized what it was for and we praised her so much, she loved the reaction... yes there was a lot of wet clothes and messes to clean up sometimes, but we have wood flooring so not a big deal, and helped with her realization of it rather then pullups that they dont really know are wet...... Funny thing is, it was poo she first told us about, but was the last thing we got her trained for, really hard for some to let go, was told they feel like they are loosing apart of them,.... just be patient, dont ever get upset with them when they have an accident, just explain to her where she does that and say its okay we will try next time..... plus I wouldnt recommend ever forcing her to sit longer then she wants to, let her sit, when she wants off, let her off and try again in a bit..... We had a potty in our frontroom, so it was close, as when they realize they got to go, its like right now... Good luck with it, hope this helps, also some times a little sticker or something your daughter is into for a reward helps, for my daughter to finally poop on the potty all it took was a special Potty dance lol.... Have fun, be patient, dont get discourage, way to go on your daughter, cause a lot of kids are 2 1/2 or later now, so good on her....

Joanna - posted on 03/13/2009

You're both very fortunate! My 15 mos old was running around naked after her bath the other day and she pooped on the floor. She was thrilled when her older brothers laughed at her. My 4 yr old thinks we should try at get her to use the litterbox like the cat does.

Missy - posted on 03/13/2009

Both of my boys were fully potty trained at 19 months, including underwear at night. Same scenario.! It was summer, and i let them run around naked for about 4 days...that is all it took. They were mortified the first time they peed in the floor, and only had a couple of accidents before they learned. Of course, my husband and I were the only ones home with them....

Joanna - posted on 03/13/2009

Lucky you! Why not encourage her and see what happens? I have friends who's daughter was potty trained by 17 mos. Maybe get some children's books about using the potty and read them to her while she's sitting there.