Perfect Age to Start Potty Training

babies this age can have "potty fear" where they feel like they might get flushed down the toilet. 15 months is a little early to start. She is expressing interest in the first stages now. She will, if she hasn't already, start following you into the bathroom to "see what goes on" while you're there. People usually advise not starting until closer to 20 months.

Dear S.

It is not too early to start potty training - I started Jade when she was 7 mnths just to get her comfortable sitting on the potty, and also when I knew she needed to go. She started with pee pee" and now at ten months will go "ka ka" if I catch her at the right time. I bought a wonderful book - I think its called Diaper Free the gentle way - I got it from Amazon. The main thing is to have toys around and not make a big deal about it - if you know from her face that she is going, or about to, that's ag reat time to start - then give her so much praise when she does, she will be really pleased with herself. Godd luck!

Hi S.! I don't think you're potty training your daughter too early. Potty training is a process so the sooner she gets herself assocoated with using the better for you,her and your pockets. Her being afraid she is going to fall in the potty is perfectly normal. My daughter is six and I remember her being afraid as well but soon she'll overcome that fear. We used a lot of different methods like the little toilet seat cover that is placed on top of the your toilet and a singing potty she could use on her own. But there is absolutely nothing to worry about. Good Luck!

I would say that's she's not ready yet. My son showed an interest at 18 mos and we bought him one, but nothing came of it. Their interested because they see us use the potty, but nothing more then that. I would give her more time.

Probably too early......I have a 26 mth old and she still is not "getting it" and she talked about the potty and said all of the words related to a potty at 15 mths as well - even sat on it then but still doesn't totally get it - it seems to take a REALLY long time - this potty training thing......I'm counting on her not quite doing it properly til like 3 yrs old....

Just to give u some perpective.....

Cheers,
D.

My daughter was the same way. I tried to push her to potty train and it made her not want to more. I would show her once in while but she didnt want to. I stopped pushing her to do it and then two months later she started dooing it herself. I ws so excited. She will do it when she is ready.

I think you are a little early but if she's identifying poop, you may want to just get one of those little freestanding potty chairs and put it in the family room or your kitchen and let her sit on it with diapers on so the fear factor goes away. You could also give her a little treat when she sits on it. I would be totally casual about this, however. I am the mom of three teenaged boys who each trained at about 2.5. I found the freestanding potty chair to be a great feature and eliminated the hurried trips to the bathroom to "catch" the moment.
hope this helps
L.

I found that it's normal for a child to be a bit afraid to be up there- it's high (sometimes cold, LOL) and has a big hole in it. Kids are afraid they will fall in. She sounds ready though so just let her lean on you, be patient and don't push her faster than she is willing to go. Make going "on the Potty" a wonderful thing and she'll quickly get the hang of it!

H.
http://www.athome.com/hollypia

This is very normal. Leave the pottyseat out (I put mine in the livingroom) and let her use it as a chair to sit on, then little by little move it closer to the bathroom. Then casually ask her if she wants to go pee pee on it just like Mommy. I did it this way, my daughter was trained by the time she was 2 and completely when my son was born 6 months later. Keep in mind every child is different, my 3rd child told us he would start using the potty when he was 3 and on the morning of his 3rd birthday he took his diaper off and never used it again. Now that one was a shocker and at 19 years old he still shocks us. LOL

Hugs,
T.

I'm not sure which "potty" your talking about...if it's the "potty" that WE use...then the 1st person is right, many children tend to be afraid of it....if it's her own little personal potty...then the 2nd person is ALSO right! either way, just have her use her own potty! i tried to start my daughter in potty training around 7 months, and it was going GREAT! she was using it every day, i'd take her diaper off about 20 min. after she'd drink a bottle and after a couple min. on there, she'd go. the only problem we had was poopie, we just couldn't seem to "catch" when she was going, THEN when she started going EARLY in the morning in her sleep, we decided to just hold off on continuing the training until she was once again "doing it" during the day (plus we have plenty of time being that she had just turned 1 a couple of weeks ago). But just to let u know how we got her to go without her being afraid, we just left her potty in the living room so she would WANT to use it, and that seemed to work (like the previous woman said) ALSO...she always seemed to want something with her when she was on it, whether a toy, or a book (she prefered a book....which we thought was cute, just like alot of men lol). plus sometimes she'd be in the bathroom with me when i had to go, and i'd tell her, one day she'd be on the potty like a big girl, just like mommy...i think this also helped with her wanting to use her own potty. also, i've learned through other friends, WHEN she does use her own potty, and you have to bring it to the bathroom to flush it, take her with you, and let HER flush her wastes away! alot of kids get a kick out of this, just remember, that when you do this, you tell her that this is where big girls and boys go potty, and that it's not a toy (you don't want her to start flushing other things down there...like my brother did when he was little lol). hopefully you'll get some advice that will work for you, GOOD LUCK!

If she can identify what she is doing then it's not to early. Maybe you should just get her use to the potty first without expecting her to go in it. My daughter got an Elmo chair for christmas and was terrified of it. I left it out in the living room for her to look at and get use to it and she just finally started to sit on it.

No it's not too early,the sooner the better. My first daughter was about 10 or 11 months when i started and it turned out great.by 18mons.she was in pullups and in panties at two.keep up what your doing.

Hi S., I just got my 2 and a half year old daughter potty trained about a month and a half ago but we started working on it as soon as she showed any kind of interest and awareness. We got her a small potty that sits on the ground. Even though she now does go on the big potty at times she still prefers the little one. I think they feel more comfortable on it because they aren't afraid of falling off or falling in. I think it's great that you are introducing her at 15 months. It may take a while for her to be completely trained but the more she goes on it for you now the easier it will be when she's ready. Be prepared for her to lose interest and regain it a couple times - that's totally normal. Good luck to you! Jen L.