Where do i start?

[charleyturtle]

My partner and I want to start potty training our 1 year old DD. I'm not sure how to, or where to start. All the potty training advice I've read seems to be for older children (or maybe she is just not as able as she should be), for example they talk about the children being able to put on items of clothing by themselves, which DD can't do. However I think she might be ready as she goes of to the corner to do a poo and then comes to find you and says "poo" so she must know when she needs to go. She seems to stay dry for quite a long time as often I will check her nappy after a nap and she will be totally dry.

I have encouraged her to sit on the potty but she doesn't like sitting still for very long so just gets up and walks off, if you keep putting her back on there she starts crying. I have tried giving her praise for sitting on the potty, but she still wont stay there for long.

Am I going about this all wrong? I really need some help. My DP and I never have a day off together, but we have booked some holiday for next week so really wanted to get started then so that we can both be completely on the same page with what we are doing.

Thanks. x

Hi Charley. Firstly, I do think that one is very young to start potty training. Amongst our friends most people have done it around the 2 1/2 point, certainly between 2 and 3 seems to be usual (with lots of people doing it over the summer after their child turned 2 to facilitate running round in the garden with a bare bum, and easy drying of wet clothes). However, this is quite a generational thing, and certainly my mum (and friends' mothers) seem to think this is quite late. All toddlers are different, and you may be the very lucky parents of a 1 year old who is ready to use the potty.
People seem to go about potty training in different ways, some waiting til they are sure their child is 'ready' ie has words for wee and poo, seems interested in the toilet, and can do clothes themselves etc, whilst others go for more of a teaching approach. Certainly the mantra seems to be that the longer you leave it to potty train, the quicker your child will master it (though I'm sure there is a 'cut off' to this theory, and cost of nappies/social expectation seems to mean that the majority of kids are trained by the time they're three).
Perhaps for the moment you could try just sitting her on the potty at regular intervals (perhaps every half hour to hour when you're home) and making a huge fuss when she does something in the potty. Most people training older kids are of the opinion that they learn much faster if you go immediately without nappies and learn the feeling of having an accident etc. However, as your DD is so little you might not be in such a rush, and might not mind a less messy but longer approach. You might also find you get to the stage where she does seem to be doing all her wees and poos on the potty and then you can naturally ditch the nappy.

Good luck!