When should I start potty training my 20 month old??

[clairemarie5]

He has just recently started saying 'wet' when his nappy is full up and sometimes says wee wee and poo when he's going to the toilet...not every time though. So I'm guessing he now understands what he's doing but does this mean he's ready to start doing it on a potty? He's my first child so I've never done potty training before I and don't know where to start!
Any advice is very welcome

I would possibly consider getting a potty & just putting it somewhere where he will see it & get used to it, but in all honesty - I would wait until you see definite physical signs he is ready such as him staying dry for several hours, and until he asks you if he can wee on the potty. Then it will be a breeze & he will be dry within a week or so. For many boys this happens between 2.5-3.

My ds was similar to yours & started to recognise what he was doing quite early, then when he turned 2 he saw some character pants & said he wanted to wear them & so we gave it a try. 5 days later we hadn't had a single successful wee on the potty so we went back to nappies. He got to around 2.5 & I noticed he was staying dry for several hours at a time. He still wasnt quite ready. At 2.9 he asked to wee on the potty & within 3 days all wees were on the potty, poos took a few weeks longer but he got there because he was well ready.
Hth

At that age it's best to just start slowly without a great deal of expectation. My DD2 was similar at same age so I had potty around and sat her on it at regular times (when I got her up, after nap, before bath) and allowed a bit of nappy free time if we were around doing nothing much at home. I read her those potty books (you can buy loads) and talked to her when I changed her nappy - 'soon you'll be doing wees and poos on the potty like a big girl etc etc', all a bit boring and mundane and not much happened initially, but after a while she did the odd wee or poo in the potty and got loads of praise (and chocolate buttons), so after a while we swapped to pull ups after to make that possibility easier. At about 22 months we tried nappy free and that was that. I did similar with DS from about 22 months and he went completely nappy free a couple of days before his 2nd birthday. So just keep it simple. Don't expect too much (either from him or from your DS), but make sure he is aware of what is expected and give him a chance and it's likely he'll get it soon enough.

I meant 'either from him or from yourself'!

We potty trained around 22 months. Found a great e-book called 'oh crap potty training'. Her theory is that about 20 to 30 months is the ideal window. If you google it, there is enough info on the website to figure out if you will like her approach or not. It really fit with our parenting style.
I found the book a bit chatty and therefore long, but it started as a blog- so it fits with that. She basically spells out her approach/what to do and then has LOADS of info on trouble shooting.
We loved it, found it worked brilliantly. Had several friends that also followed the same approach with success.
Good luck!

Great info thanks guys :) il buy a potty soon just so he can see it everyday and go from there with your suggestions.

I tried to potty train DD at about 21 months after she showed lots of interest. utter fail! She understood the idea, loved the praise and did fine when I was putting her on the potty every 20 minutes, but if I didn't put her on the potty for a longer stretch she had no awareness that she needed it.

I'm going to try again at christmas (joy!) when she'll be 26 months. In the meantime we just put her on the potty a couple of times a day eg after nap time and before bath.

That e-book sounds good Ticklepot off to google it!