When to start potty training?

[keels26]

My dd is nearly 14 months and Im wondering if I should introduce the potty yet. I think it seems a very early age, but have heard some people say that they have trained there children from 1. With my ds I started when he was just over 2 and that was fine for him, but my dd is a bit more focused then he was and seems to understand loads more then he did at this age. So to round it up do I start soon with the potty and potentially risk scaring her with it or do I wait until shes older? Any advice/early potty training stories welcome!

every child is different but if you start too soon you run the risk of dragging it out and letting it totally dominate your life. I would wait until your child shows signs of being ready, like telling you they have done a wee or a poo. Potty training can be done in days rather than months, you just need to wait until she is ready.

You won't scare her if you don't force her. Just don't expect her to be trained, but rather to use it intermittently and learn about using the potty in a slow, easy process like weaning was.

tried to train ds at 1.5, then 2...but he would hold it in forever and it got so stressful, i gave up on advice of health visitor....anyhoo, my ds wasnt ready untill about 2.5yrs- but i couldnt face it at the time (it was summer, we had a holiday planned, and i had to go out a lot as we were redecorating etc)..anyway, delayed it further and started him at 2.9 and voila, it only took 10days ! as much as i was stressing abt it, there were in total 4 accidents, and none since.. i regret waiting longer to make it 'easier' for me to fit around daily life, but what the bottom line is, as long as youre BOTH ready, it'll be a dream. just the actual STARTING is the hardest bit!.. like starting an essay for school was so hard but once it got going, bring it on! at 14months it sounds great (if it goes well) as its so much easier not having to go off for a nappy change when ur in the middle of doing sommat. good luck with it

go for it! my dd is very focussed (read stubborn!) and was fiercely independant so loved using the potty. IMHO I think kids are more scared of potties when it is suddenly whipped out aged 3 having never seen it before in their lives. Just start gently and see how it goes. Potty training can be a prcess not an event that has to be done in days. It is not harder work to start earlier if you have realistic expectations. Ds was dry by 22 months when he said no nappies (clean at 18 months) and dd by about 15 months after being clean and dry in nappies for a while before, i just needed the confidence to leave her in pants all day. It does not dominate my life at all, pants are soo much eaier than nappies.

I agree with horseymum. My recommendation is introduce a potty as early as you can to catch wees and poos, even from 2-3 months or sooner. Early morning wees and those poos with the red face are the easiest to 'catch'. That way a baby will know it's an alternative and acceptible place to wee and poo, and not throw a wobbly as a stroppy independent 2 year old suddenly confronted with a potty and told to use it rather than his/her nice snuggly cloth nappy.
Then sooner or later your DD will tell you she'd rather not faff about with nappy changes/use the nappy and you can go for it full time.