Time for Potty Training??? First Time Mom

I lean toward a more long-term plan. I truly believe that potty-training should not begin until the child exhibits self-awareness of the need to go.

This is not the same as being able to pull down clothes....nor is it when the child can remove the diaper.

For M., self-awareness is when the child is able to communicate the need to go BEFORE the diaper is wet. Until you reach that benchmark, it's simply a case of the parent being trained to take the child to the bathroom on regular intervals. Using "timing" does work for many kids, but not all....which is why I believe in waiting for self-awareness.

As for "how" long: if you use pull-ups, you will find (for the most part) it will take longer. If you use thick training undies & plastic pants, the process will be quicker. In today's world, few parents are willing to do the undies/plastic pants....it's messier, creates more laundry, & requires more effort on their part. It is the method which I request for my daycare. Using pullups, I have had children take 6 months before they are trained....& I consider that ridiculous! Good Luck!

An important developmental step for every child is potty training. Most children begin using the toilet as toddlers, usually between 18 months and 3 years old. (Note: It usually takes a little longer to potty train boys than girls. Boys, on average, can be successfully potty trained in 12 weeks. Girls, on average, can be successfully potty trained in 10 weeks.)

Signs that your child may be ready to start potty training include:

Staying dry for at least two hours at a time.
Having regular bowel movements.
Being able to follow instructions.
Being uncomfortable with dirty diapers and asking for them to be changed.
Asking to use the potty or saying that they need to urinate or have a bowel movement.
Showing interest in the toilet and/or wearing “big kid” underpants.
When you begin potty training:

Dress your child appropriately for potty training. Garments with elasticized waists, Velcro, and snaps are usually easy for your child to take off and put on.
Choose a potty seat that your child can easily use on their own.
Your child may want to personalize his/her potty: by letting him/her write his/her name on the little potty, a sense of ownership can develop. Your child may be more likely to use a potty if s/he feels it is uniquely his/hers.
Assure your child that s/he will not fall in the potty (many children have fears of falling in a toilet while sitting on it).
Encourage your child to use the potty at regular intervals - or whenever s/he show signs that s/he needs to go.
Use proper terms (urinating and defecating) as well as the terms your child may be more comfortable with (peeing and pooping). Make sure that you define your terms so that your child becomes adept at using the terms him-/herself.
Start with the basics. Both boys and girls should be shown how to potty from a seated position first. Once boys master urinating from a seated position, they can “graduate” to learning how to urinate while standing. The reason boys should learn to urinate while seated first is that bowel movements and urination often occur in the same bathroom visit . . . additionally, the delay in learning to urinate while standing minimizes the likelihood of your son making messes while enthralled with the spray he can create by urinating.
Teach your child to wipe properly. Show him/her how to remove toilet paper from the roll, wipe, and throw the used toilet paper in the toilet. Instruct girls to wipe from front to back, which helps avoid urinary tract infections. (Note: your child may need help to wipe effectively, especially after a bowel movement, until about age 4 or 5.)
Be supportive and use rewards, such as stickers, when your child is successful on the potty.
Use praise, applause, special songs, reading a special book in the bathroom, or whatever else resonates with your child.
Avoid pressure: your child will likely have accidents during the process. Don’t punish him or her for any setbacks.
Be sure that your babysitter understands your approach to potty training and is consistent with rewards, praise, etc.
Let your child pick out new ‘big kid” underpants with his/her favorite characters (Dora, Thomas the Train, etc.) on them.
Use potty-themed books and videos to reinforce key messages.
Don’t begin toilet training during a stressful time (e.g., moving, new baby, starting a new preschool, etc.)
Recognize that your child has control of his/her bodily functions, and you can’t get him/her to “go” on the potty until s/he is ready. Don’t turn this into a power struggle because it’s one that you won’t win. If your child seems to develop a resistance to potty training, don’t continue the potty training. You can resume potty training when you child again expresses an interest in learning to use the potty.
When your child has completed a visit to the potty, show your child how to flush the potty. Some children experience fear of the flushing mechanism: they fear that they themselves may be flushed away. You may need to flush the potty for your child for a period of time, until your child observes no harm resulting from each flush. At that time, your child should naturally develop a desire to try his/her own hand at flushing the potty. Once the potty is flushed, show your child how to wash his/her hands.
Calmly and patiently teaching your child how to use his/her potty can be a trust-building, bonding experience for both of you. Let the potty begin!

http://tinyurl.com/ybyxqhu

Most nursery schools want 3 year olds to be trained.

Google "potty training readiness" for common signs. It's good that he can pull down his pants--that's a start! But it doesn't necessarily mean he's ready just yet. When he starts showing interest in the toilet and flushing it, etc.....give it a try.....good luck!

From my experience I would not start yet with your son. It's more than saying 'poop poop' to be ready. First off with a boy I'd wait until he's around 2 1/2 or so and it should go much easier. Then keep an eye on when he wakes up dry from nap or from night. That's a sign. If you start by setting aside a day or week to just potty training it shouldn't take long at all but most of the work is on your end. I set a timer for 15 minutes and every 15 minutes took the child to sit on the potty. Don't ask if they want to go or are ready to go but just take them. Have them sit there for a short time, reset the timer and go again in that 15 min. time. If they do start to go then you can set the timer for 30 min. If accidents occur just say it's okay and we'll try again. Change the underwear and start over. Do NOT use pull ups or diapers during this process. It should only take a day or so if the child knows you mean business and don't go back to diapers or quit once you start. He should be able to go all night if he's ready to be potty trained but some kids it takes a bit longer. I wouldn't plan on that though. If it happens just work on the night time the same way by rewards when he's dry and so on. YOu can give rewards when you start the potty training too or use charts, stickers, small treat like marshmallow, M&M or whatever but not much. For now my advice is wait until he's older, between 2 1/2 and 3 even.

You'll find just about anything you could possibly need to know on this wonderful, informative website. It gives a few variations on"readiness" checklists, plus tips on various training strategies, the best ages to start them, and the advantages and disadvantages of each approach: http://www.parentingscience.com/potty-training-tips.html

My ideas on potty training are a little different than the average mom these days, but I think my results speak for themselves - my kids were potty trained by 2 years old.

When is the kid ready? When you say they are. Let's face it, potty training is like teaching any other skill - eating with a spoon, putting shoes on, learning to swim. You, the parent, have to be committed to teaching this skill 100%. You need to give your child clear, consistent, cheerful direction over and over and over and over until they have mastered the skill. That is all there is to it. Yes, you can wait until they're 4 and they magically figure it out on their own, but I personally think it's mean to make a child poop on themselves until they figure it out on their own - especially when I have the knowledge to teach them properly.

Now, as for the logistics of potty training. Begin on a day when you don't have anything outside your home that you need to do. (You will need about 3 days at home, ideally.) If possible, have your child naked from the waist down all day (no underwear, no diapers). Have your child sit on the potty (or potty chair, whichever he prefers) every 20 minutes. (Set a timer - this will seem like an insane frequency to be doing this, but stick with it.) Sometimes he will go, sometimes he won't. If he does, celebrate like crazy! If he pees when he's not on the potty, clean it up calmly and tell him, "You will make it to the potty next time." And then make sure he does.

Now, during the first day, he will have more mistakes than times he gets it right. You will think to yourself, "WHY am I doing this? He will never get it! He's not ready!" But don't think that. He is learning a new skill, and Rome wasn't built in a day! Stick with it and keep encouraging him. When he begins to understand what you expect him to do, and he has some successes, things will start to get easier. By the end of day 2, you will be doing a lot more celebrating successful pee and poop in the potty. By the end of day 3, you should be able to move to him wearing underwear. Yes, he will still have some accidents - keep reinforcing, reminding, encouraging and teaching him.

As a side note, he may or may not be able to handle wearing underwear at night. Night time potty training is completely different from daytime training. If he wets the bed at night, just put diapers on him until he's able to stay dry. One of my girls was daytime and night time potty trained at the same time. The other one had trouble with night time dryness until she was 5. So, that will either come or it won't, not much you can do about that.

Anyhow, I hope this helps. It worked for M. twice, and it is the method my grandmother used for all 7 of her children, and what my mom used for M., so this method has a good track record! ;)

Not sure how helpful my answer will be but, my opinion is......

"It depends"

IMO potty training is like hiking up a mountain - there are a variety of different approaches, each with their own risks and benefits, and no one specific one is inherently "best" for everyone. Some fearless types will gear up and take the fastest, most direct route straight up the mountain (i.e. the "cold turkey, we're not buying any more diapers and let's get this done with no matter how many accidents we have to clean up" method), others who find that route a bit too intimidating might opt for the trail that gradually winds up and along the back of the mountain, still others will find a route somewhere in between the first two. Everyone gets there eventually, some faster than others, and everyone chooses their route based on their own priorities (shorter time with greater risks vs. longer time with reduced risks).

My advice? Remember that you know your child better than any self-proclaimed "experts" and if some "method" you try doesn't seem to suit you or your child, feel free to drop it and try something different, and even (gasp!) drop the potty training for a while if it ever becomes too stressful for you and your child - as my DDs' preschool teacher often reassured M., they do "get it" eventually when they're ready. Maintaining a sense of humor is another good thing - potty accidents happen, but they're a bit easier to cope with when you can find the humor in the situation (translation: 15 years from now, today's potty accident might be a useful anecdote to share with a know-it-all teenager who needs to be reminded that he's not superhuman ;-))
And try not to worry if you hear other parents bragging about how their child was potty trained and playing Mozart sonatas by age 2 - when your child is potty training it seems like that's what all the parents are talking about, but by kindergarten no one is bragging about when their child was potty trained, and it's definitely not going to be asked on any college entrance applications ;-).

My son is 20 months old also and I've been putting him on the potty chair every day since he started walking. I just do it once or twice a day and when I give him a bath. But he knows what it is and has actually gone on the potty a couple of times. When he does, I give him a penny. I tried to full on potty train him a couple months ago but he wasn't ready. But I plan on eliminating the diaper once he turns two. My boys were completely potty trained right after they turned 2 and my girls were 3 and almost 4. I'm hoping he's just like my boys in this area...LOL It's never too early to start putting him on the potty every now and then. Then you can know more about how ready he is.