Best age to start potty training? Best way to potty train?

[HeyBaby]

DS is now 9 months old and his keycarer at day care said that her DS was potty trained at 8 m.o.! Anyway, we have now bought the equipment but not sure how to go about it. DS isn't that regular and the times we have realised he is "pushing", it's been too late to rush him over to the potty and pull his nappy off etc. We have tried sitting him on the potty a couple of times but he seems bemused at first and then just bored and wants to get off and crawl around and explore.

Don't really want to buy another Gina Ford book, so does anyone have any advice or tips on how to go about this whole potty training thing?

Thanks in advance

Ds1 was trained at 2.5yrs, and it went fairly smoothly. Just put him in pants and kept putting him on the potty. Had accidents for two or three days but he gradually got the hang of it. Kept one potty in the upstairs bathroom and one in the downstairs hallway to have easy access.

Ds2 is now 2.2yrs and am gearing up to training him. Have got the potties out and he is keen to use them but I'm wavering at the thought of all the accidents and thinking that maybe I'll wait till ds1's nursery closes for summer break.

IMO 9mths is way too young, but if his key carer has seen it done and thinks he is ready then I guess it's worth a shot. I would start by putting him on the potty first thing in the morning and when he wakes up from naps.

Earliest anyone I know pottytrained was around 20 months. My ds was 2.5 and because he was ready he had cracked it in a few days. Wouldn't have thought it was possible to train at such an early age.

the average age for successful potty training is 2 years 8 months

am very surprised at the potty trained 8 month old!

I was told that a childs nerves don't develop before age 2 approx so they cannot be potty trained before this (I know there are exceptions). What your keycarer is describing is more like elimination training where you guess when they are going to go and place potty accordingly.

Don't believe an 8 mo could be potty trained.

My advice would be to put the equipment away for another year, sorry.

Totally with sweetkitty - IMO (and that of experts I've read, like Christopher Green), potty training an 8/9 month old isn't potty training, it's potty timing - i.e. when you see them straining, hang them over a loo/potty. I don't believe any child can understand what is going on at this age. If I were you HeyBaby, I'd forget all about it for at least another 1 - 1.5 years!

PS even if you bought the book, Gina Ford doesn't advocate potty training so young - she says to look out for signs that they are ready, like able to follow a simple instruction like "pick up the red ball", that they can take clothes on and off, that they are aware when they have gone for a wee/poo etc. Can't remember them all, but she reckons you don't get these signs before 18 months to 2 years, and I reckon that's quite early too!

My ds was potty trained at 2yrs 2 months and did rlly well with no accidents rlly. Did try him before this but he just waasn't ready. i dont see how a child is ready for training until they can physically tell you that they need to go.

Apparently the nerve endings on a boy arent fully functional til at least 18 months so they dont get the same sensation as a girl that the need to go to the toilet.

I know from my grandma that they used to sit a baby on a potty at about 9months as a way of getting them out of terry nappies earlier, but today this just isnt necessary, even if using re-useables.

9mths is way to young. The body is not physically ready at that age to potty train. There is a difference between a child asking to use toilet and going themselves and holding a baby over a potty. My ds was 2.2yrs when we trained as he asked for no nappies. He had weed on the potty before that when naked for about 8months but he physically did not have the bladder capacity to learn about toilet training.

no point in potty 'training' a child who is too young to take their own clothes on and off

leave it until he's between 2 and 3 .. DS was 2 years and 8 months

DD is now 2 years and a month and is still too young imo

your nursery worker is stupid IMO

Great post there Twigs!

Great raspberry there Twigs!

Agree with most that he is FAR to young for you to be thinking about potty training him yet. I've worked with babies and young children for 9 years and I would never advise anyone to start training before aged 2 for boys and 18 months for girls (very rare but have known some girls to be ready this early).
Both my boys were about 2 and a half when I did it, just stopped putting nappies on them (after introducing the potty for them to have the odd go on a couple of weeks earlier). After about 3 days they were both totally dry, with the odd very rare accident (no child is infallible!).

If you do it too early you risk destroying their confidence, plus they need to have the co-ordination to pull their own pants up and down.
You'll know when he's ready.

Have been training my 2.10 year old DS for 4 days now and he has had no accidents today or yesterday - he was ready. We did it 'cod style' ie - no nappies or pull ups except at night - pant on all day. It has been working very well. I think anything under 2 is too young to start in most cases. Usually if you leave it until the child is really ready it is quicker and more painless IMO!

I was round my friends today and she's training her twin DDs who are 23 months (same as my DD1) they had about 4 accidents between them and got a wee in the potty about once. My friends was constantly asking them if they wanted a pee-pee and to me it just seemed like a load of hassle (I think I am a lazy mum), DD1 was happy just toddling about in her nappy. To me she is nowhere near ready.

sweetkitty, again, totally with you! DS is 2.1, and although at home we can have a morning in pants, and often naked in the garden at the moment I do have to ask him to go often, he doesn't tell me, unless he's naked in which case it seems to work - but he can't be nude forever! So I am relaxed about it - when we go out, we go in a nappy, if I'm feeling brave we have a few hours with pants on - probably totally not what I'm meant to do, but we will do it "cod style" (presume this is reference to the threads I've seen on Cod's boot camp (what is this please!?!?!)) in a few months when DS is really ready.

"DS is now 9months old" exactly a baby, no point in training a baby, they are only babies for a short time, why waste their baby time and yours running around with a potty, babies grow up far too quick. My ds and dd both trained at 2yrs 4m and only took 3days, i find that more successful and not one ounce of stress for either the kids or myself, i just don't get it why some parents feel the need or is it an urge to potty train, theres one key point that parents miss when training and its communication, a 9m old can't say "i'll have a wee now thanks mum"

I trained DS at 2.2 and DD at 2.0 both at the beginning of the summer. Personally I believe it can be done earlier - from 18 months but the earlier you do it the harder it will be. DD is now dry apart from overnight and has been for a few weeks but cannot altogether manage her clothes.

ds 3 - dry day and night in a week
dd 2.5 day trained 3.5 ngith trained
Leave it until they are asking you to be toilet trained, also do it in summer, leaving pants off.
whoever says baies are trained by 8-9 mths is talking through an bum shaped hole.
You can train the parent by then... sheesh

HeyBaby, are you persuaded not to bother yet?!?!

My son was dry day and night at 16 months, we asked him every morning if he was going to use the potty and he always said no, till one day he said yes and after a few days that was him. He was quick to speak and was very bright. My daughter was 23 months, she definitely was not ready before then and we did it over a weekend no outings at all, just keep an eye on them.

Forgot to add 9 months is way too young, babies dont need pressure and neither do you. Enjoy your baby and wait till they show signs of understanding.

Just to be different I think you should go for it )

But it wouldn't be potty 'training' as such, as people have said you'll have to help him to go every time but they do understand. I did EC from very early on with my daughter, only part time and with nappy back ups, but by 10 or 11 months she could sign potty to me when she needed to poo, and a bit later on to wee. She's 15 months now and although she can't pull pants down she can take a nappy off get the potty and use it, or ask me to help her by bringing me the potty.

She's not doing it independently perhaps, but you know what, she doesn't cook her own dinner either and I don't mind helping out with that. So its a bit insulting to suggest that by doing this I'm 'not letting her be a baby' as some one said. Of course she's still a baby, just not a baby in a nappy full time.

If you can't get him to the potty before he goes put him on it after it, talk to him about it. do a search for Elimination Communication which should give you more tips for starting 'later'. After sleeps is usually a good place to start, and as much nappy off time as you can cope with while its warm.

Just wanted to let you know it is possible, if you do want to try it.
Anna

Can't believe it's workable or worth it to start at 9 months, but I do think it's a good idea to have the potty around from 1 year or so. My DD is nearly 2 and wees on the potty every day and poos on there most days. She's not potty trained, because of nursery and my own laziness, but she's had the potty around for ages, and she's totally comfortable with it. I think it could help to make it a familiar object, rather than just sticking her on it for the first time at 2.