18mo ready to start potty training?

[Liverpoolgirl50]

Very confused about this all - really didn't think we'd have to think about it for a while yet but we have a fairly switched on 18mo old who says 'dirty' and points to her nappy when she's gone to the toilet, be it a wee or a poo. She will also pick up her nappies/wipes and bring them to us expecting to be changed. Her cousin is 3yo and potty training and when she's at my MIL's house, she will sit on his potty and pretend to go to the toilet.

Is she ready to start - or should I just start doing some nappy free time with her and a potty and see where it takes us?

I found the signs of readiness part of Sarah Ockwell Smith’s book really helpful with our little girl. Highly recommend a read

Can she physically undress to use the potty? Obviously she needs a vest without poppas!

My DM started with me at 18 months apparently. Mainly because she had reusable nappies to deal with and a newborn!

I have a little one and since about 18 months we have just been letting her go to the potty when she wants and we talk alot about week's and poo's ( too much for my liking!) . You can try potty training and I know loads of people who have successfully trained a kid under 2 but you have to be mentally prepared to go for it. I'm not there yet so we are just making it fun, I will probably tackle the potty in summer when there are less layers and it's easier to dry washing!

My second was advanced and went dry even overnight from about this age! We’d put a nappy on her and I’d go and check her and it would be on the floor next to her cot as she’d pulled it off!!

I really didn’t want to potty train her that young as it’s a pain having to be near a loo all the time, you can relax a bit more if they have a nappy on! But DD2 was ready and stubborn. She spoke very clearly from a young age though and always told me when she needed to go.

She never had to be bribed or had any accidents she just did it herself basically, totally different to her older sister who we spent months bribing with toys every time she pooped in the right place 🤣

If you can put her off for a bit I would try just to make your life easier 😂

Apparently ‘most’ children at 18 months can tell if they have an urge to go, so I don’t see why not.

I’m doing ‘potty learning’ with DS 16 months just to get ahead as he shows lots of the readiness signs. So we just have nappy-free time every evening and talk about the potty/wee’s/poo’s/body parts and have a couple of kids books. When I go to the loo he helps throw (clean!) loo roll down the toilet and press the flush.

yesterday he went and sat on the potty himself (fully clothed with nappy on!) and did a poo so some sort of connection seems to be forming.

we do have hard floors though so the clean-up doesn’t bother me!! I might think differently if I had cream carpets 😂