Potty Training a 18 Month Old?????

He will let you know when he's ready. my oldest was about 2 1/2, my son, #2 was almost 4 and my youngest was early. She wanted changed when she was wet, brought me diapers, and knew when she had to go around 18 months. Good luck! J.

Let him do it in his own time with a little help from you. if you potty train to soon and it is a success chances of regression are high.

introduce him to the potty, let him sit on it, give him stickers when he goes in it... but DON'T STRESS over it!!! don't try to force anything, just give him the option and make it fun. get a potty book and a movie to watch. ask his potty trained friends if he can watch them go potty (if they are ok with that...) etc...

What is normal? My normal and your normal may be worlds apart and I have gotten reamed by two other people on this site for what I consider to be "normal"! That being said I will go on to address your question. Please know I am not judging anyone or stating you are doing anything wrong or incorrectly, okay?
I started both of my children (and the child I am raising now) on the potty seat by nine months old. I could tell by the faces they made etc., when they were having a bowel movement. We sat on the potty for two or three minutes about every hour to hour and a half the rest of the time and always right before they went to bed for the night. My daughter was potty trained at 14 months old (she reverted several times like when I babysat a few days a week for a child 6 months older who wasn't trained at all and when my son was about a month old and we used bribery to break that). My son was fully potty trained by 19 months old, and the 10 year old I am now raising was totally trained at 17 months old.
We would sit on the potty, run a little water if it was potty time, play a game (patty cake, peek-a-boo), or read a small book, look at the pictures, and have great applause, much verbal praise and often a small treat of some sort if they performed on the toilet! Small treats were things like a jello square, a granola bar, a little pudding.
Some people today don't even start training until the child is 3 or more and state the experts "say". I wonder who these experts are. Seems to me people who have raised children as much if not more of an expert as someone who has a degree from a school somewhere who working with theories instead of practice.
Good luck, I will pray you make the right decision for your family.

Depends on if you mean "normal in the US" or "normal globally". Most places start from birth or once a baby can sit. We, here in the US, wait until the child "shows signs of being ready" which is why there are 5 year olds still walking around in pull-ups. Not that I've started my 20-month-old son yet lol...

If you are interested I'd check out books on potty training babies.

I've been told two. That's when I started my eldest daughter and will be starting my 20 month old. Now she didn't get it until almost 3 and 1/2 without mistakes. But we already have the training little potty out and I place my young one on when my eldest potties. I don't expect her to get it but it's just an introduction.

My neice was completely potty trained by age 2 and 1/2. She too start right around two. I've had girlfirends tell me some of their kids weren't completely potty trained until 4. It's just know your kid and giveing him room to learn and grow.

maybe buy a training potty now and just let him play with it. Then around two when dad goes potty have him take the little potty in with him and they go together. I've heard boys have bad aim at first and to help the mothers have thrown in cheerios for target practice.

I too had all the pressure from family but I had a friend say not to worry about it until they are 3! So I told myself I will not worry about it until then if they seemed interested sooner I would be willing but if not then at 3 I will really get started and you know what at 3 my son kicked in and really wanted to start using the potty! So no worries! Best of luck!

I did not actively potty train either of my boys until they were 3 years old. However, I did introduce the potty seat much earlier than that so they could "practice" and become familiar with the concept, etc. I wouldn't push it this early ESPECIALLY for a boy. Also, start reading kids books about the potty, etc. There are some cute ones out there.

I'm going through potty training now and my son is 26 months. I'm not pushing him into it. We got him a cute toliet and sit him on it while he watches Elmos Potty time. He figured out how to flush it and now does it with the regular toilet. Today was the first day he took his own diaper off, so I guess thats a step in the right direction. I think everything in its own time. Don't worry, it will happen.

Is he trying himself to potty train? The best advice I ever received was from my family dr. My MIL was extrememly persistant in trying to get me to potty train my son the day he turned 18mp. It was not working well. My Dr. said do not push! Let him do it on his own time. That is what I did with all 3 of mine, and we have never had a hard time. The oldest was barely over 2 when he fully trained and never had a single accident. The other 2 were close to 3 or just over, but still never an accident! It truly does work. My sister's and I have 15 between us, and have all tried it.

Hi! At 18 mo. our little boy was not ready. We bought a potty at that time- let him pick it out and all. For a while he used it every night before bed but that was the only time he was interested. Then he even quit that after a month or so. But now, a year later he decided he was ready one day and has been wearing "big boy" undies ever since (about 3-4 weeks so far). So I actually think having him try with no pressure at all last year and just asking every so often since then helped get him ready. You always hear boys take a lot longer to potty train though. Good luck with it!!
J.

Hi A....just want to share with you the advice I got from my pediatrian when it was time to potty train my kids. I allowed them to do it all themselves at their own pace by giving them a choice each day of undies or a diaper. Also, I sat the boys on the "big" toilet backwards (they loved it!). The advice from the Dr. was to not push them into it...let them feel it out for themselves and boys are ordinarily "late bloomers" compared to girls in potty training. Most of the moms I know waited until 2 1/2ish to start. I wouldn't worry about trying to potty train your son just yet...seems a bit young still to me. Good luck!

Hi A.:
I was going to buy a potty for my 23 mo. old until I found out that the average age for girls is 30 months and for boys it's 34-36 months. That's when most experts recommend making a serious effort to potty train. Of couse, it can't hurt to try sooner! My daughter has shown interest in the potty and now has all the "signs" so we put her on the potty when she wants to go, which is about 1-2 times a week. Still, I don't have high hopes to stop buying diapers in the next few months. But who knows, your son may be a potty prodigy!

I am in the same boat!! My son is 18m too and he follows me in, and always wants to flush. He will sit on his little potty and swing his legs but thats about it. I am going to watch this post because I am clueless also! lol

I know that the new trend is to go diaperless starting at birth. I was not a fan of that option. Most info has indicated that most children are not capable of learning potty training until the age of 2-1/2 to approx. 3yrs. This was my experience with my 2 children. I tried to start my son potty training just before his second b-day. I gave up after about 4-6 weeks. I then read that most children are not ready until 2-1/2 to 3 years. I restarted his training at approx 30 months. It worked like a charm. He was trained (for the most part) within 3-4 weeks. He was completely accident free before he turned 3yrs. I had a similar experience with my second child, a girl. She progressed a little slower than my son. She became accident free shortly after turning 3.

There is a link from here, mamasource.com. The link is how to potty train in 1-3 days it has all kinds of info. Look for it on this web site.

My youngest was the only one I didn't feel "pressure" to have trained at a certain age because by then (he's the 4th)I was a SAHM! About a month after his 3rd birthday, he was ready and it took no 'training' on my part. We did have a potty seat in the bathroom for him probably starting at about 2, or when it 'seemed' he was interested. My other's (also boys) were all in day care, so there was pressure there because they had to be potty-trained to move up, classwise, and no center wants a 3 year old in the toddler class.
I've heard that potty training is really 'training' the adults to waste their time taking kids to the potty when they aren't really ready, aren't interested, or just don 't want to. (which leads to lots of frustration on the part of the grown-up, but not the kid!) So when they're ready they'll just go on the potty, no 'training' involved.
relax, enjoy the now!

Hello A.,
I had a lot of trouble training our son and it does take a lot of patients. I finally gave in and let him decide when he wanted to be trained. This may not sit well with other mothers but it simply wore me out and so when I finally let him decide it wasn't so bad. I took him to his potty when I went and so did his daddy it didn't take long after that. Good luck

You don't need to start but it doesn't hurt to have a little potty in the bathroom so he can get used to it, talk about it. If he shows interest, see if he will use it. If not, just let it sit. Some kids may just surprise you and potty train themselves.

I don't think you will have much luck at 18 months old. Usually 24 - 36 months is a good time. When a toddler tells you that they are wet or go and get a diaper for you to change them that is a good time. Usually you don't have to wait that long. However 18 months you will only get frustrated. They are to young to control their bladder spasms to know they have to go potty. Since you have a son, he so go potty with daddy to encourage him when he is old enough. It makes them feel like a big boy...

Around 3 was the magic number for both of our girls. I have heard that boys are different, though. But from what I hear from other mamas, it seems that 2 1/2 - 3 seems to be the time. They really do it when *they* are ready.

hey A.

you have to look for the signs can he sya yes/no or nood his hed to it do want to take cloths of or play with his papmer etc when i start potty train this lil girl she was 18 month or less she keep holding her self so i asked her one day and she said yea i put her on the toilet and she went, her family was telling me how she was taking off her papamer in churh qand what not if u still not sure get a potty and see if it dont seem like it time what awhile u get the buy the potty out of the way lolgood luck and dont for get evey child is diff buy the way my lil one does thing by 18 month i think she will be ready to potty train.

I noticed you're also having trouble with discipline, too. He's definitely not ready for potty training. As a matter of fact, don't even really give it an honest try until he's almost three. They have to be mentally and physically ready to handle it. A one year old is DEFINITELY not ready. He needs to be able to communicate his urges to go, and to be ready to handle what he needs to do. Sounds like your hands are full enough now just getting him to understand nice behaviors like not hitting. You'd overload him. I know someone who forced it at two, because they were sick of spending money on diapers (uh, hello kids = diapers), and it was a complete failure. The child peed all over the house, all over their clothing, all over the furniture, and refused to go potty. A year later this child was still having accidents.

I started my daughter when she was nearly three, four months before her third birthday, and it took four days for her to catch on, and one month before she was sleeping through the night without a Pull-Up. It was all positive and happy, and when she'd go I'd reward her with a coin. She saved her coins in a piggy bank, and when it was full I'd take her to the bank to cash it in to spend on anything she chose. It was a wild success. I attribute that to not forcing her, making it all positive and fun, and waiting until she was old enough.

As for the pressure, whoever it's from, ignore them. YOU are his mom and YOU know what you and he are ready for. Kindly tell the people pressuring you that you and he will work on it when HE is ready. Pressuring him too early will only result in frustration for you, alot of messes, and his possibly acting out against it.

Best of luck!

I don't think there is any set age for "normal" when it comes to potty training. Of course, if they are in third grade and wearing a diaper, then we have a problem! HA! I say that because my daughter told me early on that she would quit wearing diapers when she is 8.
Anyway, I think you have to go with when THE CHILD is ready...keep it positive...NO negatives at all. Look for the physical signs that they are ready...sleeping through the night and keeping a dry diaper, telling you when they are going to go to the bathroom or when they just did-they want that diaper off as soon as they go, etc. My son was not quite 3 when he switched over to the potty and it went very smoothly...he was ready, no arguments, etc. Once he was good at peeing in the potty, I offered him his first trip to Chuck E Cheese's in exchange for 5 poopies in the potty. His next 5 bowel movements were in the potty and we never looked back-no accidents, nothing. My daughter, on the other hand, is quite the opposite. She is 4 yrs 5 months. A few weeks ago, out of nowhere, we were finally successful at using the potty. She peed on it for the first time, the 2nd trip that day brought "both results, and she used the potty the whole day. The next day, she also did well. Then, she was finished with that idea. She goes back and forth. Again, the key is to keep it positive...she got so worked up about pooping on the potty this past week that she ended up not going in the potty or her pull up for several days. Each kid is different and you have to do what works for them.

I have raised 6 kids & babysit a lot. When my children were little there was a lot of pressure to potty-train your child at 2. Now everyone is more relaxed & wait longer. I personally wait until they're at least 2 1/2 & if they're not trained in 2 weeks I put them back in diapers for 2-3 months. I've had all the kids trained by 3 & if you wait until they're ready as I do, it only takes days. I'm not into fighting about something I have no control over.

A.,

The right time to potty train your son is when HE is ready. Don't let anyone else pressure you into potty training him until he is ready, he will let you know when he is ready. It's not good to push it too early................

Wait six more months to save your sanity!

I am currently in the beginning stages of potty training my 18 month old. I actually got him to pee on the potty this morning. He woke up w/his diaper bone dry so I said want to potty and we walked to potty he sat down and went. I'm not pressuring him to much. Just after I know he's had alot to drink or right when he's woken up & before bed. I just sit with him until he's ready to get off. I did this with my oldest and he was completely trained by his 2nd birthday. Every child is different so just try and see what happens.

My son is almost 22 mos (in a week) and well anyways around 18 mos he started showing much interest in the potty. Following me in when I went, trying ot take off his pants just me etc. So i went to target and bought a little potty and although we are not formally training him we always let me him try to on potty whenever he wants (he has yet to actually pee in the potty haha) and he always trys before the bath. Ultimatley he is warming up to the idea and we will just go with flow for now. There is no certain age for anything so dont feel pressured just followed your child's lead. Good luck

It is very possible to potty train an 18 mos old. They are very cooperative and able at this age, don't let anyone scare you out of it. I come from a family of 8 kids and most of us were potty trained at that age. I was one of the slow ones, but we were definitely potty trained by age 2. You have a "window of opportunity" at this time. In a few months, he won't be as interested and it will be harder to get him to do it. Just sit him on the potty every AM, especially if his diaper is dry. Sit in the bathroom with him. When he goes, praise him. Put underwear on him. He will catch on in no time.

There is no "normal" age. It is all based on the individual child. My son was 3 1/2 when he did it and it was pretty easy for us. My daughter is 18 months and follows me to the bathroom all the time. She is my "I can do it all" child. She really thinks that she can do anything anyone else can do. So, if she asks to go pee pee, I sit her on the potty. She loves to swing her legs. That's about all she does. If by some chance, she does pee, we throw a party. I don't think that at this age, they have a real grasp as to the idea, but it never hurts to start exposing them. My son would get excited when he learned that he could start and stop the stream, but he had no idea as to know when he had to pee. If your son is expressing an interest, take him, but don't push it. It will happen. May not be when others think he should, but let him be the judge as to that.