When and how to start potty training?

[uhoh2016]

My ds turns 2 next week. He has started to tell me when he's had a poo. It's always after he's done it not before and never says when he's had a wee.
Is it too soon to introduce underpants and a potty?
With my eldest ds I didn't work and he was my only child when he potty trained at 2yr 3m and it took about a week. However now I work and 2yo ds splits his days with me GP and nursery so not in the same setting each day.

[Orangedaisy]

Way too soon to start. A wise childminder I see in the park and whose advice has worked on EVERYTHING told me not to even think about starting before 2 and a half.

[uhoh2016]

Really?? Like I say ds1 was 2yr 3m and was dry after a week, having said that from being a tiny baby he never liked to sat in a dirty or wet nappies

[twolefttweets]

I did both my children easily at 22months. Sounds like your son is showing signs of being ready. You need to work on him telling you he needs it before he goes rather than when he has done it. All children are different but it's entirely possible to potty train from 18 months +

[Somehowsomewhere]

Give it a go! DD1 was potty trained at just 2, DD2 is 19 months and showing signs of readiness (tells me she's done a poo, sits on the potty before her bath and does a wee). There's no hard and fast rule as to when to do it.

[uhoh2016]

I've done this twice before but a few years ago now lol. What do I do?
Put him in underpants? Leave him bare?
Will it be confusing for him only to do it at home?
Oh God I hate the toddler stage roll on school age

[mrsjlb1986]

No harm in trying for a week if your little one is telling you.
I bought night time pull up pants and day time pull up pants. I keep a potty down stairs and one in the bath room so ones always visible.
My sons 2 half and I've just started potty training, he did previously randomly ask to do the odd wee on the potty and at nursery at every nappy change they offer a potty just before they put a new nappy on him, that seemed to encourage him to use the potty, so you could try that first for a few weeks before going all in.

[uhoh2016]

A few times today he's told me he's had a poo when I've looked he hadn't but I'm wondering if he had had a wee because he was holding his nappy and tried to pull his pants down

[Kiwiinkits]

He sounds ready to me.

I started both my girls at around 20 months from memory. Both trained before two. One way to do it is to make the potty part of your normal every day routine. For example, every time they wake from a nap or wake in the morning, they go on the potty. Every time before the bath, they go on the potty. Every time before bed, they go on the potty.

I've read advice not to wait too long into the twos because they get very stubborn. They're more maleable before two.

Also, instead of pull ups you can buy washable plastic lined pants that are like underwear but help keep the wee in a bit better if there's an accident. They're more environmentally friendly and will cost you less in the long run.

[Kiwiinkits]

Talk to nursery. They've seen this ALL before, I assure you. If it's a good nursery then they will work with you to keep a good toileting routine for your son.

[skankingpiglet]

Even if you don't go for full training yet, it sounds like it'd be good to start having a potty laying around for him to see, play with, and be sat on. We started sitting DD1 on it at 16mo before a bath and singing songs whilst on it to make it fun. No pressure, just to get her to get used to it, but huge praise if anything (coincidentally) was deposited. As above, this then moved on to being sat on it at set times eg before/after a nap, and she then started sometimes asking to use it. We trained at 22mo as she knew when she needed to go (and could articulate it), was barely using her nappies by that point and getting them on and off to use the potty was a PITA. Although it took some time she was trained by 2yo. We've had the odd set back since such as the arrival of DD2, but otherwise it's been ok. I've much preferred going for it early and dealing with accidents than waiting another year (with all the extra washing it would have entailed as we cloth nappy, although another 12m-worth of nappies to landfill isn't great either) and having over-night success.

[neversleepagain]

My twins decided to toilet train themselves at 2.8 with very little input from me. They were both reliably dry in 3 days. I am a firm beliver that the longer you wait the easier it is.

[Witchend]

Depends on the child. Mine didn't show huge signs beforehand.

Dd1 at 22 months was told by an older friend "you're a baby you wear nappies". She was dry during the day from the next day. Had shown no signs of even wanting to beforehand. She sat on the potty that evening and went, and from the next day was dry with hardly an accident. She had one accident when 3yo after the first week of training and no others since then.

DD2 had lots of signs from about 18 months. About 20 months she wanted pants like her big sister, would sit on the potty, tell us she needed to go, and was dry consistently overnight from before 18 months. She was dry before she was 2yo generally but had the problem she'd leave it to the last minute to tell you, and in a town where all the public toilets are down one end wasn't the best, so she used to wear equivalent of pull ups when out.

Ds showed no signs, but I realised he was going to have to train during the summer holidays as I had a round trip of an hour and a half (walking) for picking his big sisters up from (two different) schools. So I thought I'd give it a go in the summer holidays he was 25 months. First day wasn't great, then second day it clicked, and he also refused a nappy overnight. Again he hardly had an accident day or night after that day. Really the easiest boy training I've come across.

So dd2 showed the most signs and was the hardest.

We did use washable nappies though, which do make a difference.