To think that my 16mo old cracking potty training in a day means she's a genius?

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Just that really. My just turned 16 month old has been interested in the toilet for a few weeks and very keen to get changed when dirty so on Saturday, despite reservations about her age, we went for it. She's been phenomenal. She takes herself to the potty if she needs it even if you're not in the room (discovered that when I was getting the pram ready in the hall), will let you know accurately if she needs a wee or poo and will also have a wee if you ask her to if you explain we're going out now. Today we've been all over town with zero accidents (actually she's only had two tiny wees on the floor full stop and that was Saturday). Is she a genius?! I think so.

Wish my ds would do this.
I don't even think he's capable of pushing his own trousers down.

Yes mine was 2.5 when she potty trained but she is according to nursery and the HV who did her 3 year check very advanced for her age intellectually (in terms of her speech, drawing ability, number and shape recognition, etc). There are different types of bright I guess!

Yes .. I believe that the chances of becoming a genius are directly related to how much younger you were when you decided to crap in a pot in the corner of the room, compared to other people.

I mean those of us with kids who had physical issues that stopped that from happening, must be raising a generation of thickos.

Mine was the same. Just took her nappy off one day and was toilet trained fully thereafter. She actually literally was a genius (and there were other signs of that at that age) but it also turned out had a hefty helping of neurodiversity to go with it.

DS mostly cracked it at 21 months. DD was hit and miss at the same age, then had a big regression so went back into nappies for a few months. Think she was about 2.5 when we tried again with more success.

Those that went straight to using the toilet, did you all have downstairs loos? DGD is the right age to potty train but DS and DIL only have a loo upstairs. I foresee way more accidents if trying to get her up the stairs each time (and they are steep stairs so possibility of non wee/poo related accidents running up the stairs too!).

My middle son toilet trained himself in a few days at 2. I was hesitant to start him as I was pregnant and expected him to regress. And my oldest took forever. He did it himself including overnight and never had an accident. Including overnight.

he’s now 13 and I wouldn’t say he’s a genius but he’s probably the most independent of my kids. He does well enough at school and is mature for his age.

Can't you just be happy for others

That is quite amazing! This is really probably a coincidence but my daughter was trained at just turned 18 months and I definitely thought she was a genius. 😁She is 15 now and really incredibly smart, both academically and emotionally. She was an early walker too. But realistically, these milestones at early ages mean nothing really. Her twin is much better at sports compared to her despite being trained later. My son was potty trained very late (3 and a half!) but he is still thriving at school and quite academically gifted too. They definitely really don't matter.

I was walking at 9 months old. My sibling didn't even try to get up to walk till 18 months old. You can't tell the difference now. 😀

My first was a sweet little angel who was walking at 9 months and potty trained, pretty much dry at night by 2.

We were definitely lured into a false sense of security. my youngest DS currently has a penchant for talking all clothes off and shitting on the floor in secret places. Including on a nursery forest walk. He’s going to school in September…. Excellent vocabulary though.

We have a toilet downstairs but he seems to be able to hold it whilst we run from the front to the back, so could probably make it if we went from downstairs to upstairs.

He’s 2 years and 2 months though, so don’t know if that makes a difference? We started last Saturday and by Tuesday he had no accidents during the day then from Wednesday he’s been dry over night for context.

My DD was fully trained at 3 years, so fairly late but she is now top of the class in Science and Math's, (Yr9) DS was fully trained at 17 months and is average at best in most subjects, he's just not into school at all, he likes his sports but again doesn't really excel at it and that's fine.

You’ll get loads of snarky comments but congratulations to you both. Potty training was the single worst thing about small children for me. An absolute slog.

i think it’s ace.

Interesting take on someone who writes '16mo old'

And there the charmer lurks 🙄

My eldest decided to potty train herself at 15 months.

I walked very early (a week before I turned 9 months) but my physical abilities since then have been deeply unimpressive 😂

Thank you, that's good to know. She is 22 months, but quite little, so would probably need to be carried swiftly up the stairs to get there in time!

Well you are extremely lucky because potty training was one of the worst parts of parenting! But, no, I don't think they are a genius. But maybe it's a positive sign that they pick things up easily.

This is super helpful! Thank you. I think my daughter is switched on enough to do it, and interested, I just need to bite the bullet now

Well done. DS was just under 2 when he cracked the toilet and I wish we did it faster. It gave him so much time to just focus on learning when he didn’t have to worry about anyone needing to help him.

My second did ( female) but she was 2.5.

I read the “Oh Crap Potty Training” book which has a similar approach to the above. We followed it for a weekend but by day 3 he had cracked it.

For my first I bought a white potty chair thing from mothercare. It had a wooden bar across to for some reason. I removed that and left the potty in the bathroom next to the white toilet . From about 18months my LO would take herself to it when I removed her nappy a little while before bathtime. I didn’t pursue potty training earnestly until I stopped using a childminder (didn’t wan5 to inflict it on them! ) She virtually trained herself within a couple of days at 22 months .
First child did turn out to be a genius ! Not that it made her easier to live with though!
Next child 2 and 3/4 . And the one after that just about 2 years .