when to start potty training ?

[candyfluff]

i really should know the answer to this one already as he is my 3rd child but ive forgotton how to do it !!!
my ds is 2 yrs and 4 mths and doesnt show any sign of wanting to give up nappies ,he is starting play school in january and i would want him done by then but it seems a goal too far.

No advice for you but I will be watching this thread as apparently according to my MIL, DD should be nearly potty trained by now, despite not being a year old until the 20th of this month

thats way too early

My sister reckons I should be potty training ds2 he is only just 13m old

We started at 14 months, got it sussed by 18 months. :D Start when YOU are ready and be carefree and casual about it, and be practical with regards to expecting accidents in the beginning and planning for them and your child will take to it at their pace without a fuss.

I'm NOT a fan of the "do it all in a week" as some children do not cope well with sudden changes like that. It's a bit like waking up one morning and your mum telling you from now on you'll be flying to work. You've no idea how, no idea why, walking has served you well so far thankyouverymuch and frankly a chocolate button or sticker for managing to flap to the end of the road is not all that much of an incentive.

What is it with our parents generation? My mum thinks I should start now (DS 15 mnths and twins due in Apr!) she says it'll be so much easier for me if he's not still in nappies when the twins come! Ds has had the odd 'wee accident' on the carpet when in the buff before bath time and he just stares at it as if to say - where did that come from!

So really - when is a good time to start, what am I looking for?

things is with ds1 i had him dry by the time he was 15m old but he was talking more, and not so much of a baby if that makes sense.

mum2william if you start now it really is quite conceivable that come April he'll be out of nappies entirely. You can start by drawing his attention to the wee and telling him wee goes in the toilet/potty and getting a potty. You can start just putting him on the potty (if he's willing) at set times of day. As he takes to it and starts to communicate better he'll start asking for it. You can leave him in nappies in between. Early toilet training is actually much less stressful for all concerned and lightens your laundry load/your nappy bill.

depends on you and your child.Ds decided he was ready at 2.3yrs, dd1 was ready at about 19mths but I waited until week after she was 2. Dd2 was ready at 18mths so we went with it, was great until 20mths then got bored. Now she is 22mths and we just started again.

Thanks ches, I'm off to buy a book on how to do it, and of course a potty! You're right i think in taking a chilled out approach, if he's not interested we'll just wait!

Ermm interesting I bought the potty with the whole step thing (we use the step for DD to brush her teeth) but the potty thing when sat on she goes into meltdown I've tried sitting on the loo myself trying to explain....she has about 100 words (17months old) ......not sure what to do...part of me thinks ahhh shucks leave it till after Chrimbo easter bank hol would be a good time ...not at work so constantly at home to get it sorted but watching thread with interest!