Toilet-training my toddler: When to start?

Philippines
August 17, 2009 3:05am CST
My daughter is now 20 months old and is starting to show signs that she is ready for toilet training. I seldom catch her holding her nappies as if she can sense that it's already wet. She also holds her tummy just before she poops. My only problem is that she doesn't talk that much and doesn't know how to say the poop and the pee words. Should I start toilet training at this point? How do I start and how do I do it?
2 people like this
5 responses
@nishdan01 (3051)
• Singapore
17 Aug 09
It is time to toilet train your daughter at 20 months. Infact, they gain bladder control around this age. You can buy pull ups that helps train the baby. Begin at home. You can keep track of how frequent,your baby wants to urinate. Then take her every time everyday at the same time. If you child is not speaking, you must use a word to assosciate with that and soon your child may try to mention it. Buy potty for her. It is also a good idea to teach them sign language.
• Philippines
17 Aug 09
Thanks for the tips! Pull-ups seems like a good idea. I'll probably grab a pack later at the store.
@vingyan06 (2486)
• Malaysia
24 Aug 09
Hello friends! Nishdan has so many good tips on potty training! As for me, I have a potty for my son too. He is 18 months old now and he could not talk very well too. So it is hard for he and me at the beginning. He even show no patient sitting on the potty. He would stand up himself and play with the potty. Later I get him a toilet seat, he has more interest on that. He likes to be seated on the baby toilet seat more than the potty. From there, we have a good start on the potty training! It is never too late to start your daughter on potty training! Good luck! Oh yeah, don't force her if she is not ready for it. If she has not showing any interest doing potty train, you may skip for some times and you can restart any time again!
@mac1946 (1602)
• Calgary, Alberta
3 Sep 09
the old potty training age was 18 months to 2 1/2 years before the invent of disposables,now it is much older as the diapers and pull-ups keep the child to dry. As your daughter is showing the signs,I would try buying a few pair of the 5 ply or better cloth training pants and have a number of pair of plastic panties to put over them when going out. The naked method as mentioned,is a good starting point at home,let her run around the house naked for a couple of hours each day( when you have some time to watch her). Let her know that the pull-ups or diapers are for night & nap time only. She is already starting to tell you when she needs to go,it is just that her timing is off,that is where the naked method will help. I hope this helps.
@mac1946 (1602)
• Calgary, Alberta
28 Sep 09
Hello rikittaria. perhaps having her wear a shirt or dress around the house may do the trick,but I would definately get rid of the disposables and have her wear either cloth diapers or cloth training panties,she needs the feeling that comes with wet pants.
@MrsFrizzle (1963)
• United States
25 Mar 10
I have a lot of experience potty training because I used to work in a 2 year old classroom for several years and I've potty trained a lot of children. My son began potty training at 18 months and now about 5 months later we only wear diapers at bed time with only occasional accidents. The good news is if your child is smart enough to go and hide the fact that they are peeing in their pants then they know they should not be doing it. That is actually a sing they are ready to start potty training. It's really important that you and anyone else who watches your child do the same techniques so he does not get confused. Constancy is VERY important. First you are going to need lots of training underwear and pants. Be Prepared for accidents. Start by explaining to him that he is a big boy now and get him really excited about his big boy underwear. Make a big deal about it. All the adults should make a big deal about their underwear too. It helps him want to be wearing underwear like all the big boys and girls. Tell him that diapers are for babies and he is not a baby anymore. I remind my son of the above often. I always ask him do we Pee pee in our big boy underwear and he says "No Way". Also use the example of other big kids and adults. I always say "You go potty just like Daddy, Daddy never pee's in his big boy underwear" or "soon you will never need diapers like your cousin Jackson He's a big boy". Also it is weird but it does help when he see's that you also use the potty. When you make the commitment to potty training there should be no more diapers or pull ups unless he is sleeping. If we are going out for a while I put a diaper on Jameson but I tell him it is just in case he has an accident not to pee pee in them we will go to the potty when we are out. It's good for them to see that their is a potty every where you go so there is no reason to have accidents. Just be prepared for the accidents. Start by taking him to his potty every 20 minutes. Set a clock. I use a watch that beeps so no matter where we are we hear it. Whenever the clock goes off you can make it fun by singing a song and doing a dance. I sing "Tick tock, tick tock I just heard the potty clock" Then take him to the potty and tell him to push out his poopies and pee pee's. At first he might not know how to make him self go but set him up for success by giving him plenty of liquids. When he goes every 20 minutes he will learn what an empty and a full bladder feels like and so he will know when he has to go in the future. I tell my son if he has to go potty again before the clock goes off he should tell me and we can go early or he should hold it in. You'll defiantly need a potty chart. If he goes pee pee give him on sticker and one M&M. If he goes Poopie give him 2 stickers and 2 M&M's. When he fills the chart give him another reward. We always give him one of my husbands old toys and say it is a big boy toy because he is a big boy now. When he does go potty sing and dance and celebrate it each time. Clap and cheer it is a big accomplishment. Make sure to tell him how proud you are of him. Also have him show off his potty chart to people and make sure they praise it and make a big deal about it. Jameson has to show his daddy as soon as he gets home from work and during the day I say wow I can't wait to show Daddy how many times you went potty. He is going to be sooo proud. That will encourage him to keep up the good work. If he does not go potty that's okay just say good try. Reset the clock and repeat every 20 mins no matter what, even when you are out. One of the Hardest parts for the kids when they potty train is not wanting to stop the fun they are having to go to the potty. Going every 20 mins when the clock dings will teach him that being a big boy means having to stop playing to take care of business. If he has an accident which he will. Don't scold him just say something like "oh no you should have went in the potty". Make him take off his wet pants and underwear. He should do as much of the work as he can. Say if you had gone in the potty we could be playing instead of having to change our pants. The inconvenience and the uncomfortable feeling will help him to realize going potty is much faster then having to have a diaper or pants changed. Sometimes when he does go potty say that was so much faster then having to clean up after an accident. When he is being cleaned up from an accident I always try to say "it would have been so much faster if you had just went potty instead of going in your pants". They say after 7 days they should not be having accidents but having worked with so many different kids that's not true. Some are faster some are slower. It is annoying to have to go to the bathroom every 20 mins but every time he goes to the potty that is one less diaper you have to change. Plus it will help him learn how to release and hold his pee and poo. Once he is having no accidents you can go to every 30 minutes and once he is more comfortable and independent with the potty process you'll be able to just tell him to go try to go potty. He'll be able to do it all by himself sooner then you think. I hope that makes sense. Any questions you can always ask me. It is hard work for everyone involved but it is really great to see how proud they are of being a big boy or girl and using the potty. Good Luck
@kezabelle (2974)
18 Aug 09
If you are keen to try now then allow her to run around with no underwear on for now and keep a potty close by this is the first step to potty training but i would think at 20 months it might be a while before she safely uses the potty with no help. She might not be ready neither of my girls were at 20 months and they both potty trained at about 2 and half years in the end with no problems as by then they knew exactly what they were doing and could talk to me. I would just introduce the potty and generally keep it light and stop if she is becoming unhappy she will soon let you know if she is not actually ready and then if she isnt i would put it off for another month and try again good luck
• Philippines
20 Aug 09
Thanks for your response. I'm also contemplating on not rushing things but I have seen signs that maybe she's ready for it. So, maybe, I'll just take it one step at a time like you said. Thanks again!
• United States
18 Aug 09
I actually started potty training my son at 17 months, since it was so obvious when he would poop. I figured, if I could at least get him to go in the potty for just that, and save a diaper or two I would be happy. Well, he took to it very well and would tell me most of the time when he needed to go. I actually had been using sign language with my son since he was an infant and taught him the sign for 'potty' which is an easy sign for toddlers. He learned the sign in a day and would use it to let me know he needed to go. So for us, I got a little potty, one that you can take the seat off and use the seat on the big potty if you like. I let him play with the little potty before trying to get him to use it, just so it was familiar. My son actually likes to sit on the big potty instead of the little potty, but sometimes he changes his preferences. I didn't change him into pull-ups until about two months ago, and I like using the pull-ups better than diapers. Especially if you are out and about, it is much easier to use the pull-ups in a bathroom stall than to try to put on a diaper with them standing up. Hope that helps! Good luck!
• Philippines
20 Aug 09
Wow! Your son started quite early. Good for you. Like you, one of the reasons why I wanted to potty-train my daughter is to save on diapers. I hope I can do it soon coz I find my daughter's diaper expenses to be more than her milk expenses and it just doesn't help my daily budget. Thanks for sharing!