Help me decide if dd2 is ready for potty training, because she is showing the signs but is too young.

[SheSellsSeashellsByTheSeashore]

She is only 18 months but she removes her own nappy if it is dirty/wet.
She is dry for long periods of time

No it isn't. My DD started asking for pants at 17 months. I would go for it.

If she's ready, she's ready.
I think it's quite a modern phenomenon, leaving children until they are 2, 3 or even older to start potty training.
18 months is early by current standards, but not unheard of.
You could try putting her in some "big girl pants" and see how she gets on....

I might get her a potty an give it a go then. Would I just do the same as I did with dd1 and leave the potty accessible and put her in pants? She can't even talk yet she can only say 'cat' and 'out'

hi, my dd is 18 months next week and has been showing signs of readiness, says wee and poo when doing them, says nappy and gets change mat and wipes when she is wet and stays dry for quite a while. We are taking it slowly, she has a potty which we offer at nappy changes and bathtime and morning etc and as soon as she says wee or poo but we have left her in nappies as she can't undress quickly.

ds was a couple of months older when he showed signs of being ready but I did it a gentle way and used pull up nappies (so they were easy to get up and down but would hold accidents) and then took him to the toilet regularly - he only used a potty for pees and only if he could stand up and I had to hold the potty under his willy to catch the pee. When he got to the stage of asking to go to the toilet even when wearing the pull up and was managing to hold it in until we got to the toilet in the supermarket, etc then we switched to pants. He is nearly 2.3 years now and is dry/clean in the day and is now starting to be dry quite a lot in the night too.

if she is showing signs then give it a go, don't put pressure on either of you but my dd is 18 months and reliably able to tell us when she needs and can hold on for ages. Give her plenty of opportunities to use the potty or toilet if you prefer it, like first thing in the morning, before meals, before going out etc. get some nice pants and take loads of spare changes to start with. Just cause they may not be able to talk and get pants/trousers up and down independantly doesn't mean you have to make them wear wet and dirty nappies till they are 3! it is a myth (peddled by pampers??) that all children cannot have bladder control till at least 3. Some will have it a lot earlier, also depends in part how motivated (stubborn in the case of my dd) they are! any other questions, just ask! (ps your friends/hv/etc will tell you not to bother! so don't tell them unless you have to- people are threatened by it like you are trying to get one up on them, but i think bladder control is like walking, talking etc, if it is ready to prgress, it will and probably cannot be forced)

my dd doesn't have may words but invented 'shwshwsh' for going to toilet. be aware that if she gets a sound she may over use it as it is guaranteed to get a reation, ie if she is bored, wants out of car seat, down from table etc she does it but we know she can hold on for ages so are reasonable about it and don't now leap up every time she says it. You can keep her in nappies a bit longer as a back up but lots of people say it confuses them. I went straight to pants with ds1 at 25 months, but dd was already dry in nappies from about 15 months so she is not confused. When i sometimes used to put them on in the car just in case if she needed i would say you can do it in your nappy but she preferred to wait. pants are actually a lot easier to get up and down than nappies.

oh she can dress/undress herself. She is v v independant and bloody minded. She likes to copy dd1 a lot. This is where this toilet thing came from, she has seen dd1 on the loo and wanted a go. The ironing pile is often kept near DD2's cot and I have caught her more than once nekkid bar a pair of DD1's pants after her nap.

I think I might buy her a potty and some pants/pull ups and give it a go and see how she goes.