Hi

I have a 1yr old and was wondering what age to start potty training him? He still seems to imature to start but people often ask when will I start training him. Any advice would be helpfull.


Me 20
DP 33
DS 11.7.03

I bet the people who have been asking "so... is he toilet-trained yet?" are all your parents age! A stranger in the park (she was there with her granddaughter) asked me the same thing of my 15mo. Before you can toilet train them, toddlers need to become aware that they have actually done something, then they need to gain awareness before they do it (often just a few seconds - not enough time to race to the loo) and then (finally) they need to be able to hold on long enough to get to the potty and take their pants off etc. This sort of physiological awareness is rare before 18 months - they simply don't get he cues from their body to tell them that they need to "go".

Generally, it is recommended that you wait until they are over 2 years old. Preferrably, wait until summer so they can run around pants-free and really get an appreciation of whats going on "down there" Since boys are often late at being ready to toilet train, I'm not going to worry about it until the summer when my son turns 3.

1year old is way too early to be toilet training in a proper sense. The people who have their kids toilet "trained" at 6 months have only really got kids who have regular bowel motions, so they are toilet "timed" not trained. It is perfectly possible to place your baby on a potty and, if you do it at the right time (eg after a meal)you are likely to "catch" something. This doesn't mean, though, that your 1year old can go to the toilet himself - which is the entire purpose of toilet training.

Sorry... this has been a bit of a diatribe but I hope that some it it's been useful. There are lots of great guides to toilet training around and most general toddler guides (eg The Mighty Toddler) cover it in reasonable detail to get you started. I think its best to leave it until your toddler is really, really ready - attempting it too early can cause problems.


Cheers,
Nat - proud wife to Dean and Mummy to Oscar (10-01-03)

Nat's given you a really good response there. I totally agree that 12 months is way too young. Dr Christopher Green (author of Toddler Taming) recommends 18 months at the absolute earliest, but he says more realistic is after the 2nd birthday.

I started with DS1 at 20 months. He wasn't really grasping the concept and the weather was starting to get cooler. I put it off again until he was 26 months and it was early October, warm enough to run around in just undies. It took him less than a fortnight to be fully TT'ed. Proved he definatley was far from ready when I tried 6 months earlier.

DS2 is almost 17 months and is nowhere near ready to even think about TT'ing.

Kayla,
Joshua 05/08/01
Adam 17/02/03

How strange. When Eliza turned 1 my MIL very seriously looked at me and said it's now time to start toilet training her. What the.....!!!! No. 1, she hadn't even started walking at that stage so I think that's just one of the essential skills you should have before being toilet trained! I think it also helps that they can understand some of the things you are saying to them - communication is also a big factor don't you think? I don't think Eliza realises yet what is happening down there yet so how can I expect her to understand the concept of toilet training!

Glad to hear it's just that generation.

Nicola
DD Eliza Jade - 10/5/03

Don't worry too much at that age ~ Worry when like me you have an almost 4 year old who won't go to the toilet!!!!!

What is it with people asking about toilet training, it's like an obsession. I agree that it must have been someone much older that asked, they probably went through a traumatic time training their "baby" to go to the toilet. And they did it without the modern convenience of Pull-Ups and the like, that take all the stress out of the experience. They're probably scarred for life by the experience, Ha Ha.

Definitly wait until your little one is ready themselves they need to get that whole concept that they are a big kid now and to know when and what they are doiing.

Good luck.

Hi

My little girl has just turned 1 and used her potty twice this week for 'wee wee'.

She was walking at 9 months and started running off and doing a wee straight after her bath before I had put her nappy on and so that was the reason I bought a potty. There is no pressure. I just ask her if she would like to go and just plop her on it after her bath and away she goes. Otherwise she just hops off. I leave it around and she tries to get on it herself sometimes.

I don't feel as if I am 'training' her but think for her it's the right time to start being introduced to the concept. I don't believe this is doing her any harm. All kids develop at their own pace don't they?



Desiree 33
Dan 38
Darcy Jade 5/7/03 - 'Mumma's Little Milk Rabbit'
m/c 27 Sep 2002 [mini-me xxoo]
step/d Meagan 16
step/s Brady 18

This message was edited by rubes on Sunday, 25 July 2004 @ 2:02 PM