Potty Train an 18 MO?!?!

ldscit2 · May 2012

Any tips on how to start training an 18 mo that worked for others that age? He is a boy.

ldscit2 · May 2012

Oh I didn't know that was early for a boy. My counsins boy is one month older and started through day by himself two months ago. When is a good age then? This is my first.

AimeeL85 · May 2012

Look up the sign for potty if you don't know it already, and teach it to your DS. DS tells me this way when he has to go. I think the main thing to do is just starting putting him on it so he gets the idea, and make a big deal out of it every time he goes!

18 months seems early nowadays, but before disposable diapers came out, over 90% of babies were completely potty trained by that age. In a lot of other countries, they're still potty trained by 12 months. They're smarter than we give them credit for!

DeerHunter79 · May 2012

I got my son his own potty at 17 mo )he is now 19 mo) but I dont really seriously try to train. I just sit him on there while I am getting his bath ready and he has gone a few times but I really dont think he understands what he was doing.

bride2be79 · May 2012

It's not too early if he shows signs that he knows when he is going/has gone. FWIW, my DD has been totally daytime trained since about 19 or 20 mos (I honestly don't remember right now exactly when it was). We started by sitting her on the potty (we used a potty seat on the big potty) before bath, after naps if she was dry, first thing in the morning etc. Let him read a book or somethign fun, don't force him to sit on the potty (you don't want it to be a battle) and don't make him/let him sit for more than 5 min at a time. Whenever she went we cheered and acted like she hung the moon. Whenever she went in her diaper we just said "oh, you went tinkle/poopoo in your diaper. That's ok but remember to tell us because tinkle/poopoo goes in the potty." (Yes, you spend several weeks sounding like an idiot).

It took a few months (we started around 15 mos sitting her on the potty) but she eventually started telling us when she had to go. We tried the 3 day potty thing (the Lora Jensen one) right at 18 mos. By day 2 I could tell it wasn't working and she was starting to resist goign to the the potty so we called it off. About a month later, she started asking for her big girl panties. I waited until a Friday and we did it again. The second time I used some of the 3 day method and some of the Baby Whisperer method and just modified it for what I though worked best for DD. Personally, I don't like the 3 day method's suggestion to give them extra liquid, I think that worked against us the first time so we didn't do it the second time. After about 3 days she was dry during the day (and naps) with a rare accident.

It can be done, just be patient and know that it may not work for your child the first time. Also, I personally think pull ups are not helpful and you just need to go straight to cotton underwear (even the training kind because they still feel like underwear). Good luck!

ANJ410 · May 2012

Every single kid is different. Yes, some can be potty trained at 18 months old, most can't. You can give it a shot, but don't be surprised or disappointed if he is not ready. Also, girls generally PT much sooner than boys.

lili1228 · May 2012

DD is potty trained at daycare and she is 16 mos. They get them all potty trained by 2 years old. We haven't worked on night training because we are too lazy. Anyway, they basically have a timer that goes off at 35? mins after they eat/ drink something (they'd say it's potty time). They all line up to go whether or not they have to go, and this is how they teach them the potty. In the beginning, she'd wait for the timer to go off before she uses it but now she just says potty and we rush to get her to the bathroom/ potty.

sucrets4 · May 2012

If you're looking for a quick fix, then I think it's too early. But if you want to introduce him to the potty and encourage using it, it's absolutely not too early.

DD was pooping in the potty at 6m, peeing sometimes by 12m, peeing most of the time by 18m, and now totally daytime trained before she turned 2. I'm not going to lie and say that it took more time and work to constantly deal with it for awhile (we did EC), but the payoff is how easy it was once it clicked for her.

As a society, we tend to ignore it and not teach them anything about it until they're ready, so it's much later. I think there's no reason for that, though. As PP said, kids here used to be trained by 1 and still are in many other countries.

NewFamily09 · May 2012

I've never heard of a boy being potty trained that early. My friend's daughter potty trained at 18 months and my mom claims that I taught myself at 18 months (I'm a little skeptical because she said I also didn't walk until I was 18 months old). My older son just got potty trained a few months ago, about a month before he turned 2 1/2, and that seemed earlier than the other little boys I know. Unless you have reason to believe your son's a super genius, I wouldn't start potty training until at least 2 years old.

j_luvs_r · May 2012

I know a couple of little boys who were trained by 2. Mostly because their moms started introducing the potty to them early on. My nieces were both potty trained by 16 months for the same reason.

My son is 14.5 months and I've started putting him on a potty at wake ups and diaper changes. He has yet to go on it, but at least he will know what it is. I refuse to buy into the idea that you have to wait until a magical age or until they "are ready", but I don't judge those who do.

Like someone said above, many years ago, kids were potty trained much earlier. It's not impossible. It just takes work and patience. Just my opinion.

Want a personalized experience?

Potty Train an 18 MO?!?!

Re: Potty Train an 18 MO?!?!

Choose Another Board

Search Boards