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Parenting

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Original poster

can you potty train a 12 month old?

44 replies

dontbitemytoes · 26/08/2008 21:25

hello all, my dd is just 12 months and is walking, and seems very switched on (but then she's a PFB so might just be normal )

when she has nappy free time she often crouches down to have a wee and will then stand up and run off.

my grandma is staying with me at the moment (she is 91) and says that this is a clear indication that dd is ready for potty training, and that in her day children were routinely potty trained at 12 months if they could walk.

i am quite prepared to give it a go (not that i have the first clue of how to go about it , but is squatting to wee really the first signs to be looking for? and has anyone really successfully managed to potty train a 12month old?

thanks.

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BabiesEverywhere · 27/08/2008 16:20

The poo miss was July 07, it was so unusual I actually blogged it !!!

ajm200 · 27/08/2008 16:22

He doesn't have them every day.

ajm200 · 27/08/2008 16:24

He realises the second the wee starts to leak, stops and runs to the potty. So an accident is a spot on about the size of a 10p

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BabiesEverywhere · 27/08/2008 16:33

ajm, I often dress DD in trainer pants if I know she is going to be busy and likely to leave it on the late side. The Bright Bots Trainer Pants are fab IMO and hold a tiny pre wee. The rest of the time she is in real pants but I suspect we'll keep on part time using Bright Bots as well, they look and feel like knickers.

gladders · 27/08/2008 16:50

non-EC'd baby will definately have 5/6 accidents a day

pardon?

a baby in nappies will use the nappies as intended. those are not accidents

any kind of ongoing accident issue (size of a 10p/daily/weekly/whatever) means the child is not fully ready to be potty trained IMO. Both mine were 100% in a week.

ajm200 · 27/08/2008 17:17

Gladders It is great that your children where 100% in a week. You are one of the lucky ones. I guess they were older and not distressed at having wet/dirty nappies before you took the opportunity to potty train them.

I don't think there is any right or wrong in this. Children develop at different rates and learn in different ways. One child will be ready at 18 months, another at 3.5. One might have accidents, others won't. They are all individuals.

My child has chosen to use the potty and is 99.9% successful and distressed if he ends up left in a nappy or is wet/dirty. It may be inconvenient for me that he is not 100% dry but he is much happier as he is and it is not about me. It is about him. I'd rather clean up the odd spot of wee than change 20 nappies a day on a miserable, screaming child who would rather use the potty.

I know mums whose children aged between 2 and 5 have been 100% trained only to go backwards weeks or months later after a change of circumstance such as a new sibling, moving house or starting nursery. The world would be a very boring place if everyone did everything perfectly all the time.

joliejolie · 27/08/2008 19:08

I think all children work on their own timescale and they get there in the end. Obviously there aren't many 30 year-old men who aren't potty trained, right?

The word I used was SMUG and it is true as far as my experiences go. Many parents whose children develop early in certain areas love to brag and make others feel small. Obviously not all, but many. There is no right or wrong way to raise our children (well, aside from the obvious wrongs that don't need mentioning here) and I still will never fathom why so many people love to compare children in all aspects of development!

BabiesEverywhere · 27/08/2008 21:19

gladders,

"a baby in nappies will use the nappies as intended. those are not accidents"

The unEC'd baby has no control over their bladder and hence wee's or poo's outside a potty/toilet...that IS an accident. Just because the accident is not visible due to the nappy, doesn't stop it being an accident.

Think of older people in homes/hospital, they have no control over their functions and have accidents, hence they wear nappies.

ches · 28/08/2008 03:32

I find it ironic that the only people who get upset at "early" potty training are those who didn't do it. Nobody has said "I started potty training early and it was horrid and I stopped." The reality is that early potty training is equal to or less than the workload of nappies. If you have realistic expectations, like, "my child won't get this instantly" and keep them in nappies/pull-ups until they start to crack it, it's a very harmonious process. You didn't expect them to eat steak and a baked potato the day you started weaning so why should they lean to use the toilet instantly?

gladders · 28/08/2008 10:08

babies everywhere - you are on a different planet. babies do not have bladder or bowel control - they are babies. to say that using a nappy is the same as a baby who is "potty trained" weeing/pooing on the floor is ridiculous.

I am not upset at early potty training - my daughter was only 20 months - I am all for it.

BUT I do not accept that you have to go through the rigmarole of several missing the toilet accidents a day for several weeks as part of the process. that is impractical and (surely?) upsetting for the child.

yes I am lucky that mine got it quickly, but then I was looking out for the signs. they led the process and understood quickly. i would not have carried on if they hadn't grasped it so quickly, as I would have taken it as a sign they weren't ready.

BabiesEverywhere · 28/08/2008 11:57

gladders, Babies do have bladder control from a young age. I have seen it in my DD and no we don't have wee/poo on the floor.

And no I am not 'on another planet' and calling me names does not change the facts.

gladders · 28/08/2008 12:11

ok. another planet was strong, but you are operating under a different assumption from 99.9% of UK parents.

BabiesEverywhere · 28/08/2008 12:21

Yep and different does not mean wrong or bad

gladders · 28/08/2008 12:23

ah but that works both ways - perhaps we choudl both be more tolerant of other views?

BabiesEverywhere · 28/08/2008 12:25

wasabipeanut · 28/08/2008 12:25

My 1 year old ds is in nappies and still pees on the floor between changes. He stands there and grins while he does it.

Seeing as I have to clear this up anyway I figure we may as well give a potty a go!

ajm200 · 28/08/2008 12:27

OK... timeout ladies... why not just agree to differ.

ches · 28/08/2008 15:12

Babies develop a degree of bladder control from around 9 months. This is not that they're conscious of making a wee, but that they no longer wee as soon as there is urine in their bladder. This is when they start staying dry for longer periods, most commonly noticed as waking up from a nap dry (i.e. no longer weeing in their sleep).

Original poster

dontbitemytoes · 28/08/2008 19:51

did my grandma start this?!

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