When Is the Right Time to Start Potty Training

My daughter is 2 years 4 months and is just showing signs of wanting to potty train. I have been told that if you force them to do it, it will just backfire and they will be even more uninterested in it. Let her make her mind up when she is ready. My daughter will do everything but go on the potty. She likes to sit on it, wipe, flush the toilet, take her diaper and clothes on and off and everything. Occassionally she will go in the potty, but not every time. She doesn't even come to me and tell me when she needs to go. She just goes in there herself. She also doesn't mind being wet or dirty. Hopefully this will change soon. I am also anxious to potty train. Good luck with everything.

Hi Nechele, I have heard as early as 12 months, but 6 really sounds like some work. Babies are just learning how to sit up at 6 months, I can,t see how they could sit on the pot or even communicate that it is potty time.

My daughter is 17 minths and we are just starting to talk about it and sit there...not expecting anything. I plan to spend a week with her next week to work on it. Her signs right now are, she tells me everytime she pottys, she hates being wet, she is dry over night, and she can sit on the pot for 5 minutes without crying or force.

Everyday we talk about next month how she is going to wear panties and get rid of the diapers. We will see how it goes. If it doesn't work, we will try again after about 3 months.

I would definately wait so you are not execting too much out of such a little one.

C.

Ok,my mom told me something funny,and I've come to believe it's true,I was having trouble potty trainging my daughter,and she said "well,eventually she will potty train herself",which was true.I would take her to the bathroom every twenty minutes,give her a candy bar when she did go to the bathroom,and eventually it came down to letting her run around naked because my daughter didn't like being wet either,the one time she peed on herself,she relized what to do,and haven't had any problems since,she'll let you know when she is ready though,I wouldn't push it,might make her that much more stubborn on wanting to be potty trained.By the way,my daughter just turned 3 and is just now fully potty trained about a month ago.Have no fear,everything works out in due time.

When they are ready, at 6 months you are not potty training your child, you are potty training yourself to the child's ques. Talk to your pediatrician about it, our gave us a list of things that lets you know your child is ready to start, and none of those things occured at 7 months.

I had a friend who was trained at about 7 months. Her mom just didn't want to buy diapers and just sat her on the potty at certain times every day, put her on a schedule. I personally would wait until they can do it on their own (just help wiping of course). I started my daughter at 18 months. It took one full year for her to be of diapers completely. It wouldn't have even taken me that long except that I wasn't willing to go without her wearing a diaper when we went out. My two littlest sisters however were scared to death of the potty at 12 months, and then it took them until they were past 3 to be trained.

Yes like everyone said they will let u know when they are ready.. My 5 yr old didnt start using the potty till she was 3 yrs old...

All kids are different developmentally and it's a matter of them having control of those muscles... it happens at different ages depending on the child. I've taken physiology and anatomy and it's very unlikely that a 6 month old has nerves that are developed enough to be able to control that function. Kids are unable to even grasp the concept till they are physically able and mentally mature enough so it's futile to begin training so early. All you can do for so-called "training" is wait for cues, make the potty available, get books to introduce the concept, show them as much as your comfortable showing them... like flushing the toilet etc. Most importantly, KEEP IT POSITIVE and don't obsess about it or force them AT ALL. I don't even agree with bribing them with candy, but that's your call. Like everyone else says they will do it when they are ready and willing. My son is 20 months and I can tell that he has the control because when he sits on the potty he makes himself pee and gets all excited and we clap... it's funny. But, he hasn't reached the point where he understands when he has the urge, to actually go sit down on the potty and go, it's my feeling that he's not mature enough... trust your intuition... you know your child. My mom has a funny story... as very young mom, she used to take me to the potty and put the poop from my diaper into the potty and cheer, until one day she saw me run in the house from playing in the yard, pull my training pants down, dump it in the potty, pull em up and run back outside to play. How's that for training? LOL! It's natural to want them to acheive things early and the thought of not having to change poopy diapers, especially the older they get, is fab but allowing them to do things on their own when they're ready is SO good for their self-esteem. SO, I'm just taking it slow, guiding him and letting him figure it out... he'll do it when he's ready.

Ok. Potty training should not be tried until a child is AT least TWO years old. Before that their bladder is too immature and you can wind up making them sick or worse. Try doing a web search at Pampers.com or other baby sites if you are unsure of my advice. Hope it helps

K.

Hi. My Pediatrician said, "wait until they are ready & make it convenient". Well, that's exactly what we did. My mom was watching my first daughter at the time while I worked full time & I needed her full support since I wasn't going to be there during the day. We tried at 2 1/2 & she just wasn't interested, so we waited until she was 3. I felt it was time to give it a good try. Well, my mom put the potty chair in the game room where she played & showed her what she was supposed to do. That's ALL it took. She went from that day on, by herself. She only had 3 accidents that first week. So, she started on the little potty in the same room as where she played & every day we would gradually introduce her to the bathroom, then the toilet. She was FULLY potty trained by the end of the first week, night time and all. Of course, every child is different & it wasn't that smoothe with the other 3, but they too potty trained when they were ready. I noticed that when I tried to hard because I felt that it was time for me...it just frustrated me & the situation more. So, I'm not a Pediatrician, but after 4 kids & my youngest being 3 now and just finishing potty training, my advice to you would be...take your time, wait for the signs (not wanting to wear a diaper, wanting to mimick you on the potty, flushing, telling you that she wants to go potty, asking you to change her because she went in her diaper, etc.) and don't rush it. It WILL happen. :0) Honestly, the people that try to potty train at 6, 7 mths & even 1 years old, is a little silly in my opinion. Why? That just seems way too young! Well, take care & have a blessed week! Good luck with potty training in the future! :0)

you can't really make her be potty trained. She has to be ready. I started potty training my daughter at 16 months and she just turned 2 in March and she is just now really starting to go all day with out a diaper.

hi N.

hope you are having a good day, potty training can be an issue, like you I have heard from other people they have started potty training their kids at a really early age, I am a mother of 5 kids, 3 of which I gave birth too, all 3 are boys. they are 16,7,4. when I potted trained them I didn't start potty training them until they were interested in the potty. ie. started playing with the lid of the potty. I did start with a baby potty on the floor so every time I went they could copy me on their own potty. my 7 yr old he didn't get fully out of pullups until 6 mnths before kindergarten. on the other hand my 4 yr old he was potty trained in 2 weeks, he said he wanted to go to preschool, I told him he couldn't where diapers to preschool so he would have to start using the potty more often like a big boy and you know what I quit buying diapers 2 weeks later cause he didn't want to where them anymore he was 3 at the time. and the only time that my 4 yr old has wet the bed at night is when he has a nightmare, my 7 yr old has never wet the bed. if I were you go and buy a potty for your child instead of putting them straight onto the big potty that we all use sometimes it scares them too much and then they will not want to use the potty at all. hope this helps good luck,