When should I potty train my son?

Question

My son is almost 16months old. When his diaper is wet he will take it off himself. I bring him into the bathroom when I go...to show him what the toilet is for and how it flushes "ickies" down the toilet. He is very smart. He can flush the toilet by himself, but not sure if he gets the concept.I was just curious when you potty trained your child and how did you do it?

Who gave katie a thumbs down? Get a life!!!

Answer 1

Try it and see!

I drove myself mad about the potty training: my son seemed to be the only one (at 3!!!) in his playgroup who wasn't, and all the books I'd read on the subject seemed to state that I'd missed the best opportunity to train him - between 18-24 months as they still want to please you...

However, one day, as I was putting a nappy on, he announced he wanted to do a wee, so I asked him if he wanted to try to do it in the potty - he leaped up and used the potty and then we both went crazy with excitement. This was 4 weeks ago, and he's only had 3 accidents since - all on days when he was either ill or distracted at a friend's house.

I think by letting my son decide, I've had a lot less heartache than some of my friends who claimed their child was potty trained at 16-18 months and spent another year wiping up wee & poo trails.

You know your child best - see if he's ready to start, and if he is, then brilliant, if he isn't try again a few weeks/months, but don't show any disappointment or frustration if he actually isn't ready.

Top tips (from other parents & my own experience):
*Get him to choose his pants (and don't worry if they're all merchandised with children's cartoon characters!)
* Get training pants not pull up pants for night time
* Make sure the potty you use is stable and big enough!
* For the first week or two, have a reward chart and tell your son that if he makes it to the end of the week, you'll get him a treat (we go for a messy play at our local children's centre, or a trip to the Museum of Childhood)
*I've let my son sit down to pee, but if you want to do the standing up thing, I hear a pingpong ball in the loo with a 'X' on it is a good way of encouraging aiming!
*Take a large jam jar on car journeys - apparently, boys think it's great fun, it's less hassle than trawling a potty round with you and more discreet

And make sure you're ready! When I first started trying to train my son, I was heavily pregnant with number 2 and in no mood! No wonder he didn't take to it!

Oh yes, lots and lots of praise, and don't forget to keep reminding him and asking him whether he needs the potty - children are easily distracted! The most helpful thing I ever did was, for the first week at least, to keep a rough record of all his wee and poo motions - e.g. 20 mins after a drink, main poos mid-morning 45 mins after breakfast, etc. - so you can help him to the potty and sit him on it until you're sure he can recognise the signs of needing to go.

Hope all goes well!

Answer 2

The best time to potty train him is when you are ready to train him and he is showing signs of readiness. Typically around 20 months or so is when I have seen most of our family and friends attempt to introduce the toilet to their children. At 16 months some say it's too early and others would say go for it. I started with our first son around the same age and it took all the way until age four! He just really had no interest and it was the last thing that he did have some sort of control over. No big deal it was a learning experience for the both of us. With our current three year old he was well on his way by 18 months but had a set back. Then he picked it right back up the beginning of this year. He goes pee with no troubles and with number two he prefers a pull-up. (he is special needs) Again no big deal, he'll get one of these days. Now our 16 year old daughter, she was potty trained by the age of 14 months! She would always pull her diaper off. I give you my best wishes for baby number two!

Answer 3

It really helped my son to potty train standing up so he could see what was happening and connect the sensations. What worked for my son is The Potty Stool http://www.thepottystool.com I started by just setting it at the toilet. This stool makes every toilet kid-sized. My kids immediately climbed up on this stool and discovered that they could safely and securely use the toilet. This got them very interested in using the toilet and they were potty trained very quickly.

If he has bladder control, your son will be potty trained in a week with this stool. My kids like to use what they know mommy and daddy use. And it really is wonderful having your kids independently use the toilet on their own. The handles make all the difference! My son and daughter felt very secure and the sides makes them feel comfortable and closed in when they use the toilet.

I like that I don't have to double the steps of potty training by training them first in a potty and then training them to stop using a potty. And not dumping and cleaning a potty each time is great. The best thing is that kids use it for years. I hope this helps you

Answer 4

too you you have a year to a year and a half til then boys dont train to really close or over age 3.

dont push it yet

answer these questions
is he dry for long periods 2 or more hours
does he wake up dry from naps or in the morning
does he understand the potty words (peepee poopoo and potty) please use correct terms when you teach them
can he pull his own pants up or push them down
can he using understandable words say pee or poo
can or does he tell you when he is about to or is going to the bathroom

if you can answer yes to all hes ready but this young its very doubtful

the aap peds site says to not think about toilet training until age two see my linkhe third on

Answer 5

12 months. They are usually pretty regular so it's easy to start sitting them on the potty chair about that time every day. Give them a book and let them sit. You can leave the night diaper on for awhile (some do it as old as 4...yuck!) Limit the fluids a few hours before bed and put them on the pot again when you go to bed...even if they are asleep. They won't really wake up and it will help them thru the nite.

Answer 6

Now is a good time to start. For my daughter, she was trained in 2 weeks. HOWEVER, my boys took much longer. My oldest, he was 3, the second boy was2 1/2 and the youngest was 4, yes, 4. Boys are definatly more challenging than girls. I would suggest that if you haven't already, have daddy show him how it's done. Good ludk!

Answer 7

Sounds like you're on the right track! I bought a little kiddie potty for my daughter at 18 months and we would sit and go potty together. She didn't pee, but I did. I also put her in pull ups to get her used to pulling them up and down by herself to pee. When she turned 2, we bought a bunch of panties for her and put them on her. We quit diapers cold-turkey! She had a few accidents a day for about a week, then things were good. She still peed her carseat every now and then if she didn't go potty before we got in the car, but I blame us for that, not her! Now she's 2.5 and hasn't had an accident in months. knock on wood. :)

Answer 8

Just take him to the bathroom as much as you can and keep telling him that that's where he goes potty. You gotta keep at it so that he gets it. My son was potty trained before he was a year and a half. You just gotta keep at it. Pretty soon he'll come to you to let you know he needs to go.

Answer 9

if you want to start introducing your child to the potty in this fashion, that is wonderful. however, please be aware that he is not old enough to become fully potty trained. he needs to gain the maturity and physical development of a 2 year old. that's the year to begin his training. if you want to ease him into it now, swap his diapers for pull ups and see how he takes to it. you may see great results if your child is advanced.

my one bit of advice - don't put pressure on him at this point. try to think of creative ways to make it like a game or to have him earn treats for appropriate responses to your encouragement.

Answer 10

kids will sorta let you know when there ready i think that 16 months is alil early because they dont fully understand. i would wait till hes idk prolly 2 or 3 and jus keep working with him. i dont have any kids but i've watched n helped raise kids since i was young n if theres one thing i've learned that will help me when i have kids is that a lil understanding and patience goes a long ways.. jus keep working iwht him when u think hes ready and before u know it.. he'll be going by himself

good luck