When do you start potty training?

Australia
June 19, 2007 1:02am CST
I have a 15 month old son and havent got the faintest idea when to start toilet training? I actually have a 9 year old as well and cant even remember toilet training him at all so I just dont know when is the righ time.....any help would be appreciated?
1 person likes this
5 responses
19 Jun 07
Potty training isn't always easy, but some parents make it a little more difficult than it needs to be by making some all too common mistakes, especially starting the whole potty training process before their child is ready. Other common potty training mistakes include: starting potty training during a stressful time in your child's life, such as a move or around the arrival of a new baby in the house quickly moving your child to regular underwear as soon as you begin potty training, even before your child shows signs of staying dry for long periods of time or regularly using the potty continuing to push potty training when your child obviously isn't interested punishing your child for having accidents while you are potty training expecting potty training to be a quick process and being able to finish in a few days or a weekend expecting your child to complete all aspects of potty training at the same time, such as potty training in public, having bowel movements on the potty, or using the potty each and every time he has to go relying on the same potty training method for each of your kids, which unfortunately, may not work if your kids have very different temperaments not realizing that your child may continue to wet the bed at night, even after he has finished potty training, since bedwetting is not usually related to potty training The root of most of these mistakes are parents who have unrealistic expectations about potty training, which usually include that they should start at a certain age or that they should be finished by a certain age. Although some people now talk about potty training their infants, most parents will find that their kids aren't ready to begin potty training until they are about 18 to 24 months or older and that the whole potty training process can take a good 6 months or more to complete. Not surprisingly, the older your child is when he begins potty training, the quicker the training typically is. So while a 2 year old might take 6 or 9 months to finish potty training, a 3 year old might just take 3 or 4 weeks. And keep in mind that 3 is not a magic age when all kids are potty trained. About 25 percent of kids finish potty training after they are 3 years old. As quoted by http://pediatrics.about.com/od/pottytraining/a/06_pty_mistakes.htm I hope this helps!
25 Jun 07
My three seemed to pretty much do it for themselves. What I did with them was to have the potty around, so that they got used to it and used to sit them on their to eat a banana or something similar in front of the t.v.. The other thing that I did was to let them know when I/we were going to the loo and say that that is what big children do on their potty's and this is how the body works-in child speak of course. The other thing, which has sort of made a rod for my own back is to let themrun around with bare bottoms(and tops in my kids case) so that there was no restriction for them to be able to get on the potty. My little boy was the easiest to train, used to praise him if he went for a wee in the garden etc and he just loved it playing with 'going wee' in the potty. The only reason that it was a rod for my back was the fact that the 'babies' are now 3 and 4 and still don't like wearing clothes! Hope this helps :-)
16 Oct 07
i had my kids trained by the time they were 12 months old i started as soon as they could sit up without any assistance just put then on the potty every hour on the hour till they get the idea of it
• Canada
19 Jun 07
Hi It all comes down to interest in the potty for kids. My yougest was a little over 2 when I started her. At first it was just getting her to like her potty not about using it. Then gradually she wanted to use her potty. I even had it in my living room for a bit. She was complete just after her 3rd birthday. Hope this helps
• United States
3 Aug 07
as soon as the child turns one
@nobbsy123 (851)
• Australia
27 Sep 07
Easy lol. when your son starts to hold himself to prevent him from urinating, hes ready to start toilet training. My son was nearly 2 when he started toilet training. This holding himself shows that he knows when he needs to go. hope this makes sence.