Is 17 months too early to think about potty training?

[BroccoliSpears]

I have no intention of rushing dd to potty train and am quite surprised to be thinking about it to be honest. Let me explain...

Dd has recently started getting quite upset about weeing and pooing. She was distraught to poo in the bath and very tearful when she came to find me to tell me she had weed on the floor. She is a bit of a naturist and so obviously accidents on the carpet happen - dp and I have never been anything but positive and low-key about these. She also seems to have started getting upset about going in her nappy, insisting on having her nappy changed as soon as she has done anything - wees particularly.

Other factors to consider...

• She knows what her potty is for and likes to sit teddy on it to do a poo, then she wipes his bum.
• She likes her potty and will sit happily on it as it's been around for months.
• She sometimes tells me when she needs to go.
• She is very interested in her father and my loo habits, sternly informing us whether we're doing a wee or a poo, and then cheerfully waving "bye bye wee!" as we flush.
• She takes her nappy off the second she has a chance to. Doesn't seem to like wearing it.

But on the other hand...

• She's only 17 months.
• I don't think she's quite coordinated enough to pull her trousers and pants down and sit on the potty. Though I suppose she can take them off completely.
• Whenever she has asked to sit on the potty or loo (mini loo seat), she obviously has no idea what she's doing there and although we always oblige and sit her on it she has never once done anything either on the loo or in the potty.

What do you think? 17 months seems young to me, but as she's my only experience of children perhaps I'm wrong and it isn't.

What would you do?

So it follows that Caddy has very sound sleeping babies too.

Once DD1 was potty training I never put a nappy on for her nap because of this theory and she usually managed to wake up and get to the potty in time. At nursery though I used to send a nappy and it was always wet - that feel of a nappy is a real trigger to wee.

Right. I shall keep doing what I'm doing, more or less. I'm encouraged by your stories of some of your children being dry in the daytime by a similar age - reassures me that I'm not barking in thinking she's moving towards being ready to give it a go.

I shall step up my reactions a bit when she tells me she wants a wee. Sometimes I think she's telling me that she's done a wee, when actually she is probably telling me she's about to do one.

My instinct is saying that she's very interested but not quite ready, so no big plans to be "dry by Christmas" or anything silly like that. We'll see how it goes.

Very helpful stuff. Thank you again.

And Laundrylover... you LIKE washing nappies??

Oh I love washing my nappies too! Not the pooey ones mind, but to smell them all clean and fresh, and see them all hanging on the line in the sunshine...aahhhh! Although now they hang on the radiators I don't love it quite so much. (LL, the swaddlebees we got from Flame are like pull ups, so great to potty training, if you need an excuse