Is my 18 month old ready to potty train?

[rickandmorts]

Having literally never potty trained a child before, I'm wondering if my DD is ready and how to go about it?

She's 18 months old, will come and tell me if she's done a poo. We do lots of nappy free time and she will stop and say 'wee wee!' and then do a wee on the floor. I've got a few Ikea potty's sitting about so we try encourage her to sit on one and praise her when she does. I always say 'wee wee on the potty' and point to it. Twice she has gone and got her potty and done a wee on it but apart from that she just screams and runs away when I say 'wee wee on the potty'.

Any tips? Does she sound ready? She's started fighting me to put her pull-ups on and will try take them off herself. Just no idea how to make her actually sit on the potty 🥲 do I need to try the 3 day method and leave her bare?

Bump!

Give it a go, but don't push too hard. It sounds like you are doing a nice amount to introduce the potty, maybe put some toys on it and ask her to sit on it while you read a story.

It's a good age to introduce the potty but don't expect to be doing full potty training.

40 years ago the average age for potty training was 18m. It's a great age. She'll be capable of doing it. Nappy free time is a great place to start. So is pants inside disposable nappies so she can feel that she's wet.
Encourage sitting on the potty or the toilet whether she's ready or not to ensure there's no fear of it.

Good luck!

Okay that's great, thank you! Will try reading her a story whilst she's on it.

Pants are a good idea thank you! Will get some tomorrow as I'm in town. It's strange as she will happily sit on it of her own accord but as soon as I suggest it she shouts and runs off. But I don't know if that's just her being a toddler! I'm just struggling to get her to link up needing a wee with sitting on it.

You could try some stories about potty training? My 2 year old loves I Want My Potty by Tony Ross.

I'd go for it. My son was just 2 when he went dry and he did it with barely any encouragement, think we caught him at the perfect time for him.

I'd agree with go gently. It may take time and be quite gradual, or she may end up getting it quite quickly. DD1 declared herself ready at 18 months. It took us a couple weeks to get sorted to properly try (it was lockdown, we had no potty and no tiny pants, and we did have a couple of big deadlines at work looming...), but she was quite reliable within a couple weeks, once the adults had got themselves in order.

I'd also try to introduce a bit of sitting on the potty as part of her routine. Not a lot, you mostly want them to get their own timing, but at times most people will use the toilet – first thing in the morning (easy time to catch a wee!), before going out, before bed. Both of mine have had at least one phase of thinking 'but I don't need a wee right now' and resisting 'tactical wees' (thanks, Bingo), and having them as a routine that everyone does (including Mummy) helps a bit.