For those of you who have been there, done that?

Question

My baby girl is 16 months old and i was told that that is a good age to start potty training...how old was your baby when you started?
Also, any suggestions as to how to ease them into it?
Thanks!

Answer 1

I used this method and it worked. you can slo buy food coloring and mix it with some water. She will think it is magic when the water changes colors. Blue an Red are good choices.



What You Need

A doll that wets

A potty chair

Big boy/girl underwear (instead of diapers)

Lots of liquids for your child and the doll to drink
**Note that the following instructions using liquids also apply to potty training for bowel movements.

Consider Before You Begin

Development: The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests waiting until 2 years of age to potty train.

Modeling: You can demonstrate or have the doll demonstrate the process of "going potty."

Motivation: Find out who your child's superhero is. The hero will provide the motivation in this process.

Step 1: Teach a Doll That Wets
Your child will learn by teaching the doll how to go potty. Have your child name the doll and give it something to drink. Then walk the doll to the potty chair with your child. Pull the doll's "big kid" underwear down and watch the doll go potty together.

Step 2: Throw the Doll a Potty Party!
When the doll successfully goes potty, throw a potty party! Make it a big blowout with party hats, horns and celebrate. Give lots of attention to the doll so that your child understands that going potty is a good thing.

Let your child know that when he goes potty, he will have a potty party too. Not only that, your child gets to call his favorite superhero to report the good news!

Step 3: Get Rid of the Diapers
At the beginning of the process you placed underwear on your child's doll. Now it's time to take away the diapers and put underwear on your child.

Step 4: Drink Lots of Fluids
Give your child plenty of fluids to drink. The sooner he has to go potty, the sooner you can begin potty training.

Step 5: Ten Trips to Potty When Accident
Ask your child if he needs to go potty. Your child might say no and that's OK. Because you've given your child plenty of fluids, he will soon need to go.

If your child has an accident in his underwear, don't scold him. You want this to be a positive experience. Instead, take your child to the potty, pull his underwear down, and have your child sit down. Do this 10 times. This builds muscle memory and your child will eventually go.

Step 6: Let the Celebration Begin!
When your child successfully goes potty, throw him a potty party. Most importantly, your child can now call his favorite superhero and tell the hero about what he just did! Enlist the help of a friend or relative to play the hero and take the phone call.

When your child has an accident, simply take him/her to the bathroom ten times in a row as you did before. This will continue to build muscle memory. And don't forget to keep up the positive reinforcement.

Answer 2

NNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Do NOT force your daughter into potty training until she is ready, you will know when she is. What you can do, is you can buy a potty chair for her to get used to playing with, also take her to the bathroom and have her watch you. This help help peak her interest, but do not force her to sit on the toilet or her potty chair until she is ready, at which time she will do it on her own. Also let her see what you have in the toilet and tell her what it is and have her help you flush the toilet. This will help peak the interest.
Now, each child is different, potty training can happen at a year and a half old, if the child is ready, or it may not happen until they are almost four or five. It depends on the child and other possible factors, like genetic illnesses, or babies born with fetal alcohol syndrome, or problems from drugs. Or if they were prematurely born.
So, just don't force your daughter into potty training, it can cause more problems further down the road, like bed wetting, more "accidents" in their pants, etc. But you may talk to her and show her what you do in the bathroom, she will soon copy and do it too. My two year old, I'm working on with coaxing the potty training, we are almost there. But I am not forcing the issue, instead I let her do her thing of sit on the toilet as she wants to after she goes in her diaper, then she wipes herself and flushes the toilet, eventually she will actually be going in the toilet too....lol. This is what I suggest to you. Good luck, don't listen to those nutheads about potty training early, if your daughter is ready, then she'll do it on her own, and when she does, you just praise her for it. Enjoy!

Answer 3

It's a good time. I also have a 16mo old that I started at around 10mo old. Now she's practically potty trained and wears pull ups already. Get one of those potty seats that actually attach to the adult toilet and let her see you go, you can say things like "listen, mommy goes pee pee" so she knows what you're doing. Then put her seat on and say "you try" and say yay and clap hands etc. and tell her she's going potty what a big girl. Don't use candy or bribery to get her to go and gradually she'll get a hang of it. If she's scared or cries don't force it. Pick times when you know she has to pee, like when she just wakes up or if her diapers dry and she's drank a lot. Good luck.

Answer 4

at about that age I would let my daughter sit on the potty watching tv without her diaper on. She was fully potty trained at 2 1/2. My other daughter, well she's my hellion and thinks the potty is just a stepping stool to get into things. So, it all depends on the child. But it's never too early to start!!

Answer 5

After 2 boys (1st trained at 32 months, 2nd trained at 30 months) my daughter was completely potty trained at 17 months. She always wore little dresses, so many times she would run through the house bottomless. No matter how hard I tried, she would take her diaper off, so I started putty panties on her. I would take her with me everytime I went to the restroom from the time she was 12 months old and just sit her on her potty chair just to get her used to it. Sometimes she'd go then.
Then when she was 15 months old, he 2 brothers would sit on the toilet with a towel over their lap (ages 3 and 7) and then call for her to sit on her potty chair by the open bathroom door. She'd sit there and use the potty chair when she'd hear them going. Within 2 months she was going all on her own. Thanks to my boys. She hated wearing clothes though. It embarrasses her to death when her brothers talk about it, especially her older brother, because if he'd open the door she'd run outside naked and he'd have to run after her.
Just take her to her potty chair every time you go. She'll want to immitate mommy. Get a little table to put by the potty that she can sit a sipper cup of juice or water on. It helps too.
Good luck. Just don't force her. She'll go when she's ready.
E-mail me to let me know how it goes.
[e-mail]

Answer 6

The best time to potty train is to start now like in the morning
when she wake up and everytime she drinks wait 15 minutesthen take her to the potty. Have like Fruit snacks or any type of special of hers or your choice for every time that she gos. then after a while she'll get used to it.

Answer 7

It is an appropriate time, but it must be the right time for them as well. You don't want them tyo get anxious about going to the bathroom. There is a cute book called "Once Upon a Potty" that can help. I believe there is also a video of the same title.

Answer 8

i have 4 kids and each child was different. i usually started poty training them around 18 months, but i never forced them into it. it takes a while so patience is the most important thing. it would be alright to sit her on a poty for a few minutes every couple of hours and see if after a couple of months she starts taking to it, but don't have very high expectations at first. some children are poty trained by 2 others not until after they turn 3. good luck!

Answer 9

don't ever scold or spank her for any accidents she may have! pull ups are great for training and just take her to the potty every 30 minutes and sit her down weather she goes or not praise her and tell her what a great job! before you know it she will tell you mommy potty, good luck

Answer 10

I wouldn't exactly get strict on it yet. I would make the idea of going to the potty and big girl thing and encourage it