When to start potty training?

[girlmom19]

Hey, first time mum, have a 14 month old girl, looking for advice on potty training, when to start..etc

My friend has a newborn and already talking about starting 😳 that was the last thing on my mind at that age but everyone's methods are different I suppose

Any advice welcome

My 14 month was able to potty train (understood instructions and could control when she went to the toilet - as she always pooed when I left the room). I thought it was ridiculously early so I waited until she had just turned 16 months which still felt very early. She cracked it in a day and was out of nappies at night two days later after not wanting to wear a nappy for bed. My other child potty trained at 20 months and I had thought that was young at the time! My view is that it's not so much when they are ready, it's when they are capable of it. I did the Oh Crap method with both and had very few accidents after the first couple of days (less for my 16 month old).

Thanks for your message, thats brilliant i hope my little one will be the same! I will look onto the oh crap method

You could definitely get a potty now and start encouraging her to sit on it at nappy changing times, before her bath.

Thank you I have bought one already so will start introducing her to it and get her comfortable sitting on it...etc

I found it great - but you really have to commit to it for the first couple of days. It's tiring for you but should feel like the best time ever for your child as your attention is 100% on them at all times (as otherwise you'll inevitably miss the start of a wee and not have time to pick them up and put them on the potty before they finish). With that in mind make sure you can always reach your toddler and the potty at the same time! So whatever activity they and you are doing, move the potty around the room with you. Good luck! It's worth investing the effort and giving it a really good go - it's a totally new skill and it winds me up when parents half heartedly potty train and then wonder why their (now confused) child hasn't cracked it.

I will definitely look into this! Im lucky enough to be a SAHM so will have all the time to get her potty trained 💕

I don't think it's ever too early. I started both mine at 6 months. I didn't think of it as training, just meeting them where they were at each developmental stage and building up to independence.

At 14 months mine could recognise the feeling of needing to go and make it to the potty, but you'll probably have more accidents than if you start later. For me a few wees on the floor were not a big deal (I don't have carpet though!) and worth it to skip an extra year and a half of poopy nappies.

Another vote for the oh crap method !

We did it at 25 months. Worked amazingly and thank goodness, as ds got older more & more additional & complex needs have emerged and he can be quite challenging (can also be quite delightful!!)

honestly I’m not sure we’d have managed it if we’d waited until later!!! Go for it once you’ve read the book!!

Did both my boys at 2 nearly 3. They both took to it quickly and were accident free in a week. I feel like you can start it early but you end up spending years of accidents. But all kids are different!

Is she ready or do you want to say you've done it? If she's really ready you won't have many accidents, but if you're willing to ignore the accidents and declare her 'trained' then you can do it from any age.

There will always be a rush of posters telling you they've done it at x age, some are genuine, most are flexing, but if you want to do it at 14 months then do it at 14 months.

It can be done from birth but most people aren't willing to put the effort in as there's so much work to be done in newborns in general.

Tbh I was looking for advice, im not sure if she is ready yet hence the asking for advice post!

No I dont want to just say ive done it I want to be ready to start training when she is ready.

Yeah I see plenty of posts of people saying they have potty trained at x age and agree most are probably ignoring the accidents to just boast, im not one of them people

Definitely get a potty, put your child on it occasionally (bath time is good) but don't expect it to be used yet. I wouldn't push anything at 14 months but getting your child used to the basic idea isn't going to do any harm.

Thanks

If she seems to know if she's wet or that she's actually weeing then she might be ready. You could just take the plunge and see how she does - I think if she's really ready you'll see her get the hang of it pretty quickly, as in a day or two.

If not, then I wouldn't plug on with multiple accidents, just keep working on raising her awareness of what's going on with her body and try again in a few months.

She has started patting her nappy after doing a pee lately and I have noticed she poos near enough 10 minutes after eating so I could maybe try her out and see how it goes and if not wait abit and try again?

Yeah, if you think she's able to know the cues then there's no harm in trying, especially if you're home at the minute and have the time. See how she goes, the best case scenario is you're done, worst case you're no worse off than you are and it just takes more time.

I'd set two days aside to fully commit to it and give it a really good go. If after that she's not getting it (and if she's able to I'd expect her to be showing she needs the potty or taking herself to it assuming it's in sight and close) then I'd leave it. But from what you've said it sounds like she'll be making good progress and you can carry on. Starting early doesn't mean more accidents, for me if that's happening you've just got an untrained child who happens to not be wearing a nappy 😂

You might find this useful https://eric.org.uk/potty-training/

I was in no rush to do it. Both of mine were over 3. I did try earlier than that but there was lots of resistance, tears and accidents so I left it. When we tried again they both grasped it within a couple of days with no accidents or stress. People seem to be desperate to potty train as early as possible and while there are some benefits, imo it can result in a much longer process if they aren’t ready or fully understanding. Fear, accidents, stress. I definitely preferred waiting and then getting it over and done with very quickly.

You don't have to take nappies away to start her learning about the potty. Lots of people go for this blitzkrieg approach where you suddenly switch from nappies to toilet over a weekend but it's not the only method. If she doesn't "get it" without nappies you can put them back on but still pop her on the potty at key times every day and give praise if she uses it.

I've been doing lazy potty training since 12 months. It took a little while (a few weeks!) to work out when my LO normally did a wee, but once we worked that out, we started to get one or two potty wees a day, and for the just few weeks LO is weeing at nursery on the potty some if the time and pooing on the potty at home. I don't know when we can ditch nappies, but we change fewer nappies and my LO likes the independence.