To ask what is the earliest you have toilet trained your dc?

[pandarific]

I have a bright little 16m old ds who is very interested in the big toilet, and always wants to do everything himself - eg he has to brush his teeth himself, he puts his shoes on 'himself' (actually we do it but he wants to put his feet in himself and hold the shoe etc).

As we're in for the foreseeable, i thought maybe I could try to start teaching him to use the potty, if it's not miles too early - I think he might get it! I've seen these little potties on amazon, complete with flushing sounds... what was the earliest yours used the potty?

@BackforGood
Good points! This is my first child and I’m happy to admit that I feel very close but everything! The best advice I was given about potty training is to wait until they’re ready and then it will be very fast, so that’s just what I did. This is my first child and I’m happy to admit that I feel very close but everything! The advice I was given about potty training was to wait until they’re ready and then it will be very fast and less stressful for all concerned - so that’s just what I did. I need to work on my critical thinking skills 😂

DS was dry in the day at 24 months and dry at night a couple of weeks later, when I had the guts to try him.

I thought that was early until I read this thread

Mine were both done at 2 1/2. I waited till they were talking well enough to tell me when they needed potty. However my mum says she had us potty trained at 16 months. It was before disposable nappies, and she'd had enough of the washing.

I started my oldest at 2 because my mum was outraged I hadn't yet... I'm one of 5 and we were all on the pot by 18 months mum said she was potty trained by 11 months! Still can't understand how because my no 2 was 2.5 yrs and no 3 was just 3 yrs. I couldn't of done it any sooner.

I had a small age gap between my DD’s and the youngest had to do everything her sister did.
Tbh I didn’t make any effort to train her, she copied her sister, and I know she was dry in the day before 2, and dry in the night just after 2yrs old.

Oooo I'm planning to try with DS who is 21 months. A few people have asked if we've started yet, and I thought it was a little early but I guess why not try? I've also had people laugh at the idea of trying at this age.

I work full time so I have no idea when else I might get a chance to potty train him. We're in the house almost constantly at the moment and he's very interested when he sees me using the toilet and often finds his potty and carries it around the house. He also asks to sit on the toilet whenever I get him ready for a bath (although he hasn't peed in there yet). I think tomorrow I'll make the living room nice and warm and make him go bottomless, and keep an close eye on him!

9 months. I have five children and he was the only one. He also cruised furniture from 7 months.

Put a nappy in to go for a walk. Don’t use a potty in a graveyard.

If you’re at home near a toilet potty training is fairly straightforward. I think children manage later now because they are lead much more multi-setting lives.

My mum (RIP) reckons my oldest DSis was trained at 3 months.
The rest of us were 6 months!!
Babies can't even sit up properly at 3 months.
She stuck by that story for all the time she was alive.

My DD was trained at 2 yrs 4 mths
As I always say to my friends - careful what you wish for!!
Best friends son was clean by 3 1/2
But this is certainly a good time to try.

Just out of interest, how does it work with early trained children when they’re out and about but can’t dress themselves or communicate as well? My (normally very advanced) 3 year old was very difficult to potty train. She just didn’t care and while she was out of nappies by 3, she still had a lot of accidents when out and about.

I can’t imagine how you go to softplay etc with an 18m old out of nappies because it was so hard for me with an older child. I think my second will be earlier as at 12m she is far more aware of doing poos, doesn’t like a dirty nappy etc. I’m hoping I can train her earlier than no.1.

Mine were both 20 months, trained within 3 days.

Cremebrule at 20 months mine were both able to communicate to me that they needed the toilet and to dress/undress themselves... that’s why I decided to do it really. If they couldn’t I wouldn’t have attempted it.
Neither ever had a single accident out of the house (they’re 6 and 4 now).

Sugarfreejelly I don’t think it’s ‘better’ necessarily (although the fewer disposable nappies going to landfill the better), but mine were ready at 20 months so that’s when I did it. There seems to be a view on here that if you do it before they’re 3 then you’re forcing them too early and you’re faced with months of accidents. Mine were both dry in the day within 3 days at 20 months, DD1 was dry at night before 2.5 and DD2 was dry at night before she was 2.

My great grandmother said she potty trained my grandmother from 6weeks- apparently she used to hold her over the potty after a feed!

Anyway, OP, I think go for it. I reckon he at least sounds interested and it will normalise it all for him. I wish my 2.8yo would take a bloody interest - he has to be bribed to sit on the damn thing and still has only managed 1 wee in it and we've been trying for flipping ages.

My daughter essentially started training herself from about 18months . I really didn't do anything apart from letting her run around happy less after her bath and buying the potty a bit like the one you have. By 21 months I would say she was trained and I very suddenly stopped putting nappies on during the day.

Conversely the next was nearly 3

Both my dds were dry at night before 18m, I kept putting them in a nappy at night for months just in case, but they were always dry in the morning. I think you could start suggesting to your ds now, anecdotally boys tend to manage it later than girls, but it is worth a try. My generation were out of nappies by two generally (i was born in the mid 60s) , as terry nappies were such hard work before automatic washing machines. I remembered quite a few things from before two, and I have a very vague memory of nappies at night but I was out of them completely well before two.

DS1 - Dry in the day 2yrs, dry at night 2y6m.
DS2 - Dry in the day 3y3, dry at night 3y5m
DD - Dry in the day 18m, dry at night 19m

HoffiCoffi13 I wonder how much of it is personality dependent or genetic? My mum said I wasn’t trained until 3 which would have been v late for the 80s but my sister was out of nappies by 18m day and night. I just desperately hope my second is easier. My eldest is 3 but nearly 4 but still has the odd accident when she’s deep in play. It drives me crazy.

Cremebrule I imagine a huge part of it is personality, I definitely don’t think I potty trained ‘better’ than anyone else... they were just ready and took to it perfectly. I have a 15 month old now so will see how it goes with him! I just don’t like the assumption that everyone who trains early is forcing the child before they’re ready, or is doing it because they think it makes them superior in any way... I just did it because they showed the signs of readiness, could communicate well, could dress and undress themselves and there was no reason not to really! I also didn’t want to use more nappies than was necessary.

My mum's another one who had all 4 of us 'toilet trained' by 6 months. In actual fact, she trained herself to keep holding us over the potty, I'm absolutely sure of it, because we are not outstanding physical specimens. She was of the war generation though, and terry nappies were a lot of work.

I used cloth nappies, but left son to toilet train himself as and when he was ready. He was dry by 3, dry at night by 5 - sounds bad, but he has quite severe dyspraxia and so was physically slow in general.

But a child who is showing signs of interest in a toilet is indicating they are ready to start in some way or another, so I'd go for it, OP.

mine did it day and night at 19 months,he was in reusable/washables and was very big for his age(height and weight)

we cut the potty out and did it straight on the toilet

Under 2 for day time but she wasn’t dry at night until she was about 3.5. I think that was because I was too scared to let her sleep without a nappy so she knew she could just wee! Once I finally took the night time nappy she never had an accident.

10 months was my earliest.
12 months for 2 of them
16 months for 1
3 years for 1

A physiotherapist told me that as soon as a child can walk they are capable of learning to control their bladder (as they can control their pelvic muscles) so guided by that, mine were all very quick and apart from 1 (see above) very ready.

Turns out my slow one is autistic.

My 3.5 yo is still nowhere near dry and still in nappies full time :-(

He's always had disposables but since the virus they are becoming harder to buy and are expensive so I recently put him in terry nappies, whether they'll help speed things up I don't know yet.

Any other mums had a toddler in terry squares?

My daughter was interested in the potty aged 11 months. She sat on it one day and did a poo and from then on (11.5 months she did poos in potty). But it was about 18-20 months for week’s.