Potty Training a 19 Month Old Boy Without Daddy Around

Updated on November 03, 2009
S.D. asks from Lake Dallas, TX
6 answers

Hello, my son is 19 months old. I am not sure when to start potty training. I have thought about trying to start, but I don't know how or if it is too early. Do I have him sit or stand up at the potty? My husband has been deployed and will not be around to help out or show him what to do. Any ideas or suggestions?
Someone mentioned to have him run around naked and have a potty chair close and when he starts to pee or poop, run him to the chair and praise him for going to the potty. I do not want to have to clean up pee from him as we are running to the potty..... I have no idea where to start and when!

Thanks!
S.

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So What Happened?

Sounds good. That is what I was thinking, but my husband (who is just now leaving to go overseas) said it is time and we should start. I wanted to make sure I wasn't holding him back or keeping him from learning, so I thought I would ask. Thanks for the input!

More Answers

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S.L.

answers from Dallas on

Way too young! No I don't believe in miracle children who train at 15 months. Those children just trained the parents. LOL When he starts realizing that's he's pottying, then put him on a chair a few times a day. If he's ready, he'll catch on at own rate not yours.

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C.M.

answers from Dallas on

I agree with the other posts about 19 mo. being too early. My 4 yr old son was potty-trained at 2 1/2 yrs. and I don't think he would have gotten the concept any sooner. We did it cold turkey and he was pretty dependable after 4 days. My husband is always around, but I was the one doing the majority of the potty-training. I taught him to go potty sitting down. It was much less messy! When he was started his 3 yr old preschool, they had a urinal so he just started standing like the other boys without any problems.

G.W.

answers from Dallas on

S.,

I have two boys that just turned four in June so we aren't that far passed the potty training days....that being said, I agree that 19 months is too early for that kind of stress for you and him. I think you need to be prepared for somewhere between 2 1/2 - 3 years of age. Plus, your little boy is about to undergo a huge change with daddy leaving so trying to potty train with that kind of emotional change going on would be difficult at best....Take my advice, don't be in a big hurry to get out of any stage of your little man, enjoy each of them, even diapers :-) It all goes by so fast. Best wishes to you and your son as you get ready to say goodbye to your husband for awhile. May the Lord protect and guide him each day he is away from you.

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R.G.

answers from San Antonio on

Well My son just turned 19 months and for about 2 months now i would give him a sippy cup of milk or juice, and right when he was done with the sippy cup i would tell him that the potty wants his pee. And i would have him Stand right infront of the Potty (the small portable ones) and he would pee.. Of course i screamed for joy and jumped up and down and had a party :) Every time he goes pee he expects it :)Now that he is 19 months he is no longer in diapers he likes to pee in the potty.. I Do not think Any Baby is too Young to Learn Anything, He knows his ABC's he knows how to read, you have to allow them to Want to learn new things Not Pressure them to learn new things.

B.B.

answers from Dallas on

19 months is still very young, especially for a boy. My son started showing interest at 18 months, but at 27 months he's still in diapers. IF he's showing all the signs that he's ready (staying dry for long periods of time, telling you he needs to go, is able to sit on potty for a couple of minutes, had regular "predictable" bm's, shows interest in your bathroom habits) then you can probably start now. Until he's going on a regular basis on the toilet, he needs to start sitting down. Otherwise there's control issues and you'll just have a mess to clean up!

Don't rush him, though, just b/c you're tired of diaper duty, otherwise it will just make him have setbacks. Follow his cues and don't push him. If you start, and he's just not interested, then wait a month or 2 and try again. I know some moms swear by the "potty train your child in 3 days" method, but I think that only works when the child is truly ready. Hopefully you're one of the lucky ones whose kid is ready early! I'm not trying to be all negative about this, but I got excited when my son showed interest at 18 mo., then a little disappointed when it didn't work out so well.

I went to www.babycenter.com and looked under the toddler section and looked up potty training readiness check list to get just a few of the signs. It's a great resource (for lots of other things, too!).

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M.S.

answers from Dallas on

I agree that, for a boy, 19 months is really early to start.

But with my son, I let him try going whenever he showed interest and encouraged him to try. He definitely saw others using the toilet, but I never tried to force train him to use the toilet. He was in diapers and then pull-ups until around 2 and 1/2, though sporadically using the toilet for a good 6-9 months. At 2 and 1/2 years, I really started reinforcing that as a big boy using the toilet he'd get to wear big boy underwear, which I let him pick out (Disney Cars). That was huge for him!

Anyway, being more relaxed worked really well for us. I was never frustrated trying to get him to use the toilet and this method let him control the pace. He has had very few accidents and I really think this gave his body time to understand how to identify when to go and when to hold it, etc.

Good luck!

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