Pottytraining?

Question

do you have any recommendations on how to teach an 18 month old how to use the potty? i think its time to start teaching since we are wanting another child at the beginning of next year but she just doesnt seem interested...Any tips?

Answer 1

The toddler bladder can be mature enough, especially for girls, by the age of 18 months. But not all kids are ready. I would watch for "cues" that she's ready - some are waking up dry from naps, "holding it" for a long period of time, interest in the potty, taking their clothes off. If you don't see her exhibiting any of these cues, it may be better both for you and your daughter to wait until she is shows signs of wanting to potty.

One other tip I can share since I have two potty trained children (3 and 5), is that pull-ups are a waste of money. Just put her in big girl underwear and make a big deal about what a big girl she is. The underwear is better because she can feel herself wet if she has an accident and is more likely to train quicker. It will be a rough couple of days the first two days of potty training (with lots of laundry), but she will get there!

Good luck to you and your sweet girl and congrats on the new baby-to-be!

Answer 2

It might be a little young at 18 months. Sometimes they give you signs they are ready to start trying. They will tell you "pee-pee" or "poo-poo" after they've gone in the diaper, for example. But there's no forcing the issue if the child isn't ready or willing. Sometimes it helps to stop and try again in a couple of months. I think most kids are ready to START trying at 24 months. I found that the best way is to just remove the diaper one day and tell the child the diapers are gone. Now the big boy/girl will wear underwear. Please let mommy know when you want to go pee-pee or poo-poo. There will be tons of accidents, but they will get the hang of it. It's important to be very patient and celebrate the triumphs. While training, try to stay on tiled/wood floors, not carpeting. Try to do it in the summer, where you can avoid shoes for a while. Carry a potty when you go out and extra clothes. I found that it was best to sit the child down first thing in the morning after they wake up, every day, like clock work. And after each meal. They will soon learn to do it at the same time each day. A lot of praise and a lot of patience. Good luck!

Answer 3

18 months is too young! I know that there are some people out there that have been able to do it (maybe). Potty training is really something that the kid has to want to do. No matter how much you try, if they don't want to they wont. My oldest son potty trained at 2 1/2 and my middle child is almost 3 yrs. old and only just started training. Do what you want, but I think its still way too early.

Answer 4

I am the mother of a 3 year old girl who is not potty trained yet. All the advice I have read and being the 5th child of 8 kids, the number one thing everyone says is to let the child "decide" when its time to potty train. You simply cannot rush potty training. When the child is ready, the child is ready. You are only creating havoc for yourself in trying to train a child that is not ready. My child does go pee in the toilet, but only when the mood strikes. She knows that's where she is supposed to go, and tells me when she is wet. I have a feeling she knows when she is peeing, but she just doesn't always remember to tell me she has to go potty. I am moving her into Pull Ups during her Spring Break and see if that just pushes her over the line. She is there and ready, I just need to be consistent in the following through. If your child is just not interested in the potty, you are the one who is going to be pulling your hair out. Good luck.

Answer 5

I think its great to get em outta diapers before the new sibling comes along. Every child is different with their progression in potty training. Some parents reward with small pieces of candy like skittles as reward when they go. If you are a stay at home mom you have to be persistant and it can be done. While watching tv you can sit him or her on the portable potty with a toy checking from time to time and if so PRAISE,PRAISE,PRAISE. You need to keep him or her in nothing but underwear during the day and slowly ween them from the pull-up at night cause thats a safety net for children as well as parents. There may be alot of accidents but thats part of the potty training process. What we did with my kids is got em up in the middle of the night while sleeping in underwear so they wouldnt wet which will be alot of work. It pays off to not have to buy those expensive training pants. Let me know if this works for you and Good luck

Answer 6

My kids started training around that age and were fully trained before 2 yrs old! Start putting her/him on the potty whenever you change her diaper. Be excited about it. And hopefully you will "catch" her when she has to go and then take it from there. Once she starts going keep it up and move to underwear wehn she starts staying dry for longer periods of time in between changes. Once you go to underwear don't switch back to diapers, use them only for sleeping and long trips where you can't get to a bathroom. And by the way; girls are easier to train than boys. I should know I have trained probably 100 toddlers as I have been in daycare for 23 years!! Good luck..

Answer 7

Unfortunately this is not something you control. the child has to be ready to potty train before you will have any success.

Some will tell you they did it, but the reality is that THEY were the ones who were trained.......to sit the child on a potty and wait.

When the child is ready you will know. They will show an interest in using the potty. Until then you are just agravating yourself.

Answer 8

Just because YOU want to have another child doesn't mean your first one is ready to be potty trained...The only "tip" I have is to wait until the child is READY to be potty trained. If you don't want two in diapers I suggest you wait until this one is fully potty trained before you even start on number two...that could be a couple of years though.

Answer 9

usually 2 is benchmark for potty training...

take her to the store with you and let her pick the chair she likes best...then to the book store to buy the my potty book... then to the toy or party store and buy birthday favors(appropriate to age of course]... when you get home make sure to read her the book and make a big deal when she uses her potty...let everyone in the household make a big deal also...have a parade of sorts to wave by-by as the waste is flushed away, then give her just one party favor... do this each time for about a week or two and voila...
it worked like a charm with my little ones...

Answer 10

sorry about this but i think they are too young, it is possible. my 2 year-old baby cousin is potty trained. she still wears diapers tho. but sometimes we constanly asks her if she needs to go. then we would rush her to a mini toilet or watever u would call it.
lots of times my cousins goes... and then she tells us that she already did her thing. lol