Has there ever actually been a child who was truly potty trained before the age of 18 months?

[emkana]

Was talking to a mum today who is trying to potty train her 17 month old - and all I wanted to say was "don't bother - waste of time"

Because it is, isn't it?

yes, my baby cousin potty trained when he was just over a year.
But not because my aunt made him, he kept wanting to go on the toilet, so she let him- it was totally his own doing. weird, I know, but completely true.
Her health visitor told her to put him back in nappies because he was too young lol. but she didn't, and he has been fine ever since

so yes, I think it is a waste of time trying to do it early if they aren't ready. But it is possible that a child can be ready extraordinarily early.

My cousin was reliably potty trained by 18.5 months.... and dry at night BEFORE her second birthday

its not the 'norm' though!

I think it doesn't matter how old or young they are, you can't 'train' them (sorry Cod). It's bonkers. You have to wait until they're ready. With ds1 he was nearly 4 and with ds2 he was 20 months. Having gone through huge traumas with ds1 trying to train him, we weren't going to bother even bringing the subject up with ds2 - until he went upstairs, found the dusty potty on a shelf, got it down and did a wee in it when he was 20 months! But that was him and ds1 was ds1 and I think you just have to be laid back and not bother with potty training at all.

er, moi actually.
There is a 18m and 3 weeks between me and my next sister and my mother was soooo happy not to have two in nappies. I was out of nappies day time a few weeks before sis arrived. My mum thought she had cracked it as my older sister was past 2yo when potty trained, but sadly it was just my incredible ability to be anally retentive (grin) as my two younger sisters were in nappies for donkeys years. So its not the parent or the training skills, its the child.

Well, I think it happens all the time in developing countries - because of sheer impossibility of keeping a child in nappes when there's very little water for washing/very little money to buy nappies, etc etc. Keeping kids in nappies for so long is very much a Western thing, I think.

Having said that, DS1 was only truly potty-trained when he was 3 and a half!

My Ds decided to train himself at 18 months last summer, he refused to wear a nappy, so my older ds showed him how to use the toilet and not looked back. I do try and stress to people that i played no part in the process!!
He is the sort of child who is obsessed with putting things in places, likes tidying up etc, so i think he was delighted his wee could be put in the toilet

My mum says I was potty trained at 18 months. I dont remember the details though

the orphanage in Kaz takes nappies of the kids at about 1yr because they can't afford disposibles and the washing for tons of cloth nappies would be a nightmare.

However they;re not poty trained in teh way we think of it - they dont recognise when they want to go, they just all get stick on a potty when they wake up and after meals and are left there until they either do something or its obvious that they're not going to. Then they just have the accidents to deal with.

Google Elimination communication. it sounds mad but its common in many parts of the world.

but its not potty training is it ie the child is not recognising it needs to go, its just spotting the signs and putting it over a potty/ditch whatever.

I have a friend whose dd trained herself at 18 months, my second dd was trained by the time she was 2 and she did it so easily and quickly I'm sure we could have done it a few months earlier if we'd been less lazy. She was dry at night almost as soon as she was daytime trained.

It all depends on the child though - they do it in their own good time!!

Perfectly possible - ask all the generations prior to ours. If a child is familiarised very early with the potty or loo then it is not a stressful experience for them and they make the transition from parent putting them on the loo to requesting to be put on the loo.

The ability to control and anticipate output is obviously physiological and that varies from child to child - I've heard that the control factor is genetic, but I have also noticed that boys find it more difficult.

On another note, it is far more environmentally friendly to get kids out of nappies as early as you can.

85% of the world's babies do not wear nappies and these babies will be 'trained' (I also hate that word)very early compared with western children.

Even in this country, a couple of generations ago it was the normal thing to 'train' an 18 month old baby. It was the invention of pampers disposal nappies in 1961 and a lot of slick advertising between 1962 and modern day to convince mothers that babies have no bladder control (yeah right) and HAVE to be in nappies until the age of 3/4. What a fantastic marketing scam.

Pampers are now currently trying to convince mothers in India and China that their current toilet trained babies are unhygienic and will grow up to be stupid, as they don't wear disposal nappies...just madness that they are allowed to do this.

So in answer to the OP, yes it is more than possible and good luck to your friend

my mum said i was in pants by 18 months and very few accidents, was dry in the night by two years of age.

My Grandma had my dad dry and out of nappies during the day at 9 months old and a bit later on for night time.

My being potty trained I would mean the child takes themself off to the potty/toilet, undresses themself, does a wee or whatever, and redresses themself.

If it involves parent having to look for signs, taking said child to potty/toilet - i.e. them actively engaged in the whole process - then they are not yet potty trained IMO.

My niece was fully potty trained by 16 months, and dry throgh the night by 18 months.

I was 9 months, walking and potty trained. Mum put me on the potty every time she did a nappy change once I could sit up. Although then they only had cloth nappies and she didn't have a washing machine so I don't blame her!! Pity I didn't do so well with the rest of my life...

why saffymum - have you regressed? No longer dry at night?

i potty trained at 18 mths when my sister was born just happened suddenly my mum said cause i did not want to wear nappies (mum used terry towles then), my daugher is nearly 22 mths old and in the last week is getting there with teh potty training, she is weeing and pooing on the potty all the time and very rarely has had an accident,so am now going for it with the knickers and only nappy for nap and bed at night so far its been fab. We use reusables and at home she has always had a lot of time wihtout a nappy on

A close friend of mine has done elimination communication since her DD was born. She is now 11 months and never wears a nappy. She recognises when she needs to go and crawls to the potty or signals to her mum who then holds her over the loo. She even wakes at night and signals to her (co-sleeping) parents so she doesn't wet the bed. I have spent whole days out with them and there hasn't been one accident.

my dd trained herself at 16 months! My ds2 is still in nappies at 3 yrs 3 months so just goes to show....