when should i start potty training my son?

Question

My son is 18 months and I have a daughter who is 3. My daughter is potty trained. My son wants to sit on the potty only with his diaper on. If I should take the diaper off he will not sit on. Is he just to young for me to start potty training or should I just let him sit on the potty with the diaper on. Is he just not ready to be potty trained or is he?

Answer 1

Showing interest is the biggest sign. Children who have older siblings to watch & emulate usually train earliet. My 1st was regular in his habits (peed 20 min after waking up, BM 35 min after lunch) so he was easy. He was totally trained by 1 yr & dry at night. He'd wake up & call me, "POTTY!" during the night if he had to go. It was practically his 1st word.
The others actaully were later than him. I like potty training best during the summer. They can go w/out pants & you can see. Little boys are easiest, they get an erection about 30 seconds before they start to spout, just watch for it & catch it.
Many people say that a child who is 'trained' early isn't really trained, it's the parent. That might be true for the 1st month, but you let him get used to being dry, in underwear & feeling big & he'll dislike messing his pants just as much as you do. It's not a pleasant feeling, once you're used to being dry. Then.... the child gets trained.... VERY quickly!
I also carried a potty chair in my car, they have little bladder control at this age. When they tell you, you have ot react QUICKLY

I also believe in treats. My kids don't get candy. They believed that V8 was soda, we take veggies when we go somewhere (my kids were fighting over the last peice of broccoli in the Matterhorn ride at Disneyland.... got lots of amazed stares from parents!) When they successfully performed on the potty, they got a single M&M, or sweet-tart, or good & plenty... whatever they liked. We called it potty-chair candy & that was the only time they got candy (aside from Easter, Halloween & Xmas.) Yes, they are almost all into healthy eating as adults.

Answer 2

Actually if he is showing interest in the potty, then it's okay for him to start. When he sits on the potty, you have to tell him that the potty chair is for potty only. And if he's sitting on it with a diaper, he has to get off. Then try to coax him to take his diaper off so he can sit on the potty. If he wants to do it, begin training. If not, then maybe he just thought it was a cool place to sit. Having your daughter already potty trained, can be a great thing too. She can help. The more he sees her using the potty, the more he's going to want to do the same. It worked for my three youngest sons. All of them were potty trained before they were two, just because they wanted to wear the big boy pants like their big brother.

Answer 3

I don't know why this is but boys generally take longer to potty train than girls. My eldest son refused point blank to sit on a potty and went straight to the toilet instead but he took much longer and wasn't toilet trained until 3 and a half.
Generally a good sign that they are ready is when they become aware of their bodily functions ie. pointing to their nappy(diaper) telling you when they've soiled themselves etc. I would keep sitting your son on the potty with his nappy (diaper) on and let him tell you when he's ready. Don't make a big deal about it. If he doesn't want to then put the potty away until the next day. You don't want him to get negative associations with it.
If you know what time of day he normally passes a movement try taknig his nappy (diaper) off before and leaving the potty out (be prepared for some accidents on your floor though lol) and then encourage him to use it.
When he finally uses it make the biggest fuss of him ever. He'll be so pleased with himself.
By the way don't forget to tuck his bits inside the potty or it'll go all over the floor.
I'm sure he'll do it in his own time, try not to get too stressed about it or he will too. Good luck.

Answer 4

My son is 3 1/2 and is finally fully potty trained. He started potty training at 2 1/2. I got impatient because most of his friends are girls and they were potty trained long before him. One sign to look for to know if he is ready is if he keeps his diaper dry all night long. If not, he is probably not ready. We tried the Elmo potty doll and potty books. He will be ready when he is ready.
One thing my son loved was peeing outside off the deck!
Those potty seats that sit on the floor are overrated. My son loves his Dora soft potty seat that fits onto the toilet. Less mess to clean up too.
I don't think it will hurt to let your son sit on the potty with his diaper on. It is just curiosity and learning.
Good luck and be patient.

Answer 5

Take his diaper off and leave it off for as long as you are in the house. You will see that he will most likely sit on the potty without it on if given enough time. Potty training takes patience above all else, and you must be willing to clean up accidents. They will happen but my twin boys were potty trained by 2 years old by doing as I have described. Good luck.

Answer 6

Just let him go ahead and sit on the potty with his diaper on, what's it going to hurt?

So he isn't ready to potty train, but when he is he will be much more ready to do so because he will already be used to sitting on the potty.

Remember that boys usually take longer to potty train than girls so he may start at a later time than your daughter did.

Good luck.

Answer 7

A good rule of thumb is when your child can say the word and you can tell what they are talking about then they are ready to be potty trained. I have 2 boys and potty training them was very easy but neither of them was quite that young when it happened. My oldest was 2 and my youngest was 2 1/2.

Answer 8

Sure, let him sit on it while watching TV to get him familar with it and if still seems interested in it, go for it. He may be ready, because if he has another sibling he sees using the potty, he may want to! My son was 2 1/2 and he was totally ready. It only took a week to get him using to pee! A little longer for the other!! But when they show an interest, you should go for it!! good luck

Answer 9

When my son started taking off his diaper by himself and when he started to tell me when he was dirty is when I began potty training. I do know that boys sometimes will take longer than girls to potty train so my advice to you would be to just be patient, he'll let you know when he is ready!! Hope this helped ya!

Answer 10

let him sit there. Don't make an issue of it.


You'll know when he's ready.