Potty Training.. - Mesa,AZ

Remember she will train when SHE is ready. Don't push, encourage, and call it off if it's not working. Be patient.. it can be fun! My daughter was trained at 22 mos - son at 36... they are all different.

19 months? Why are you starting now? She MIGHT be ready to start in 6 months, until then, relax and enjoy your baby. She won't be a baby for long!

If your a stay at home mom, I would let her be without a diaper for the day, and occasionally sit her on her potty and ask her if she needs to go potty. Constantly ask her through out the day. I did this with my daughter and it worked. I also would let her see that I went to the potty on the big potty and let her try that that out too. The first time my daughter used the potty was on the big potty and I gave her my cell phone or a toy while she sat on it. Well mins later, she used the bathroom. I did a potty dance, and was super excited to show her she did well. She was so happy! After that she didnt want to use her small potty, but the big potty. :) I would praise her everytime for awhile so she knows that shes doing a good thing, untill it just becomes natural for her. My daughter was 16 months.

Here's a helpful, informative website you might find helpful. 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

Good luck. If you start when your daughter shows clear signs of readiness, and have done some positive "pretraining," such as demonstrating, letting her try sitting on the potty with no demands, have potty parties with her dolls and stuffed animals so she's looking forward to it, you may have no problems at all. I know quite a few kids who trained eagerly and successfully in a matter of days when they were ready, somewhere between 2.5 and 3 years.

I suggest Lora Jensen's ebook at www.3daypottytraining.com. 22 months is the age she suggests and explains everything in the book. I would get it now, read it and psyche yourself up about it! No matter when you start or what method you use, the biggest thing is that BOTH you and your daughter buy into doing it. I did this method at 25 months with my daughter because I felt it was right for her (and Mom & Dad too), and I was right. However, my son is 26 months and he has strong opinions against underwear/potty training. So, I am not forcing it.

I would just put her in big girl underwear (the small kind) and take her to the bathroom often. Let her come in with you so she understands what it's for. Early is a great time to train since she is still at a stage where she wants to please you, not yet at the 'I will do everything but what mommy wants' stage.

The average age that American children were trained prior to the advent of disposable diapers in the 1950s was 18 months (that is trained, not just started on a process). Their physiology hasn't changed since then. The average age children in the rest of the world are trained by is 12 months (see the NY Times archive). 'Potty readiness' is an invention of the diaper companies. Three and four year old kids in diapers is a completely American phenomenon.

Best of luck.

For me, other then getting my children to sleep normally, potty training was the next hardest job I ever had as a parent! One thing that really helped was the Once Upon A Potty items. With my youngest son I finally got it right, and just before he turned two we bought the DVD and the doll from the Once Upon A Potty line. We let him just sit on his little potty and watch the movie and hold the doll, and it really made the whole thing more fun and relaxed!
I bought mine through One Step Ahead online, and it looks like they still have it ( http://www.onestepahead.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId...)
Best of luck, and try not to put too much pressure on yourself! It will happen!!

My 1st suggestion is - Be excited about it. She'll see your excitement and be excited too. 2nd, what works for one will not work for another. My oldest was very easy to potty train. I got her a potty and just let her get used to it on her own. But I also started a bit earlier with this step. She was 12mos. Around 17mos I'd put her on the potty bare bottom before her bath and also let her do it at any other time she was interested. For whatever reason it all just clicked for her and she was fully potty trained by the time she was 2! I did all the same things with my second but she just didn't get it. We started doing bare bottom time at around 28mos. all evening so when she had to go she was forced use the potty since nothing was there to catch the pee. Sure she peed on the floor occasionally but this trick seemed to work. We had several potties, one in each bathroom and one in the main hallway between the kitchen and family room. Once she started to get the hang of it we'd keep her pull up on but would set the timmer for every 45mins to try to use the potty. Her daycare provider did the same thing. She was fully potty trained by 3.

Wait until around 2 1/2 years old or so. It will save you a lot of work and frustration.