Seeking Potty Training Tips for a Seventeen Month Old

I think you may be starting too early. My pediatrician told us to start potty training at about age 3 with boys.

not to sound mean but if you started your other child at 17 months no wonder hes not potty trained! thats wayyyyy to early most kids arnt potty trained until they are around 3. back off and wait a while

Don't let anyone tell you that your child can't be potty trained yet. ALL kids were potty trained by age two 60 years ago - it's only been since then that mental health "professionals" decided to keep themselves in business by making such a big deal out of it and telling everyone that it can't be done (hence the four year olds in diapers). The book Toilet Training in Less Than a Day worked like a charm, in a day, for my 27 month old son. I'm sure it would have worked much sooner if I had had the book much sooner - but didn't find it until later. Good luck!

Let him go at his own pace. Boys are historically harder to potty train than girls. If you start trying too early, before he's ready, it could backfire and take you longer to train. He'll let you know when he's interested in talking about it, and again when he's ready to try it. The key is to relax and be okay with whatever he is or is not ready for.

i've heard that second/third/...children get it way faster because they want to be like their older siblings. With my son, I just put the potty out there and showed him what to do and let him decide. we started with just sitting on the potty before bathtime, then before bedtime too, then before naptime, then every morning and just kept adding instances. Then we tried to put him in underwear so that he could see what it felt like to be wet. Diapers are so absorbant that the kids can't feel when they're wet. So we started all this around 18 mos. He'll be 3 in June and is pretty good at it now. It's a slow process but I'm sure that he'll want to do what his big brother is doing and his big brother won't want to be the "baby" if his baby brother is getting it before he is.

Hey F.,

I just potty trained my 3 year old and it went GREAT! I took the full throttle approach - no pull ups, lots of time in the bathroom, tons of praise (and treats). It took 3 or 4 days of major effort but now it is completely behind us. He even stays dry overnight! About a week after he was trained we put him to the ultimate test and flew across the country to spend 10 days with grandparents. He did great - not a single accident! I wrote (probably more than anyone would ever want to read...) about it on my blog here:

http://nomommybrain.blogspot.com/2009/03/underwear-and-ac...

and here:

http://nomommybrain.blogspot.com/2009/03/progress-report....

Good luck!
M.

I have two daughters, 16 & 18 years old and I am also a pediatric nurse. My oldest potty trained in 2 days at about 3 1/2 years of age after many failed attempts at younger ages...the second who is always watching the older ones, potty trained herself at about the same time. I did alot of research on the subject and the adverage age is 27 months for potty training, with a window of opportunity for some at about 18 months?. Most kids trained earlier than 27 months are actually products of well trained moms who run the kids to the bathroom at the right times. Moms can get real competitive and prideful about this.

I want to encourage you and let you know that there are a lot of factors to potting training... Do note the patterns of your child and suggest going to potty at appropriate times, bribe if necessary, praise and praise, and make sure they stay put on the potty long enough to actually do something. ...and never show frustration... boys are harder than girls...picky kids are usually easier....hyperfocus kids "forget"...have fun!

I agree with you...it is a job keeping up with housework and laundry! I have four boys, two are potty trained and about to train the third. I had always dreaded potty training but the older two were so easy. They practically potty trained themselves. I waited until they were old enough to really understand the concept (2 1/2 yrs old). I know some people try to do it early, but I read a book about it and they say with boys if you start too early and they are not ready, they may have difficulty grasping the reasons for it and continue to struggle. When my boys were ready I put a potty out for them and I would gauge whether or not there was interest. When I noticed that they were interested in sitting and could really understand, I put them in pull ups and then I told them that they would get rewarded if they kept it dry. (there were stars printed on the inside of them) Even when they accidentally went in the pull up, I would just say that's okay, but we still have to work toward our prize. One day when they kept it dry all day, we would go pick out something special at the store. It worked!
I have another friend, who has had major potty training trouble with all her kids. I think she had problems with her daughter and then she was so anxious about it, her son had problems too. They were always talking about potty training problems and making it a big deal. I think try to go in to it positively and make sure you both are ready for the task! Who knows, it may just be a breeze!

I have heard that if you start to early it can be harder to train them and take longer. I waited till my daughter was ready to train till she showed ALL the signs and she basically told me when she was ready. I had the potty in the bathroom at 18 months and her big girl panties in her room and she knew where they were and what they where for and we read many books but I didnt push it. One day when she was about 28 months old she said "mommy I want to wear my panties" So I decided to give it a try and she never wore a diaper again not even at night. Dont push it just go with the flow and boys are harder to train then girls fro what I hear. 17 months is early to train they need to be able to really communicatte and talk in order to potty train and unless your son is a super talker I doubt he has that skill yet.

With 3 older kids potty training sounds like it would be easier, but I know there are no 'hard and fast' rules! Maybe the difference in the ease of training your daughters vs. the older son has shaken your confidence a little. You're evidently NOT a 'failure' at potty training if the girls do OK. Only do it when you feel confident in your own ability (but don't wait forever! Ha Ha!) If you're a SAHM, your potential for success is greater. It's simply necessary to 'be there' to potty train. I've loved potty training not only our 4 but our 3 little 'grands', also.

Boys are generally a little more difficult than girls (or at least my 2 had some sleep (wet) accidents after being fully trained and the girls never did (2 of each boys/girls, and all were fully trained by their 2nd birthday. I disagree that 1.5 is 'too young' to start if you have the time, attitude and inclination to do it).

Just have your little one to go to the toilet every time you do or delegate/recruit one (or both) of the girls to take him when she goes (they go). He should have his own potty at this age. (I think the splashing water makes it scary for little ones to do #2 on an adult commode). A separate potty also lets you do the 'example' thing -- 2 can 'go' at once. Take him every hour or so for a few days and praise him highly for any success and pay as little attention as possible to the non-successes.

After a few successes it's easier to accomplish potty training, because they have to learn the 'feel' of what you're shooting for. Once they accomplish it, they want to please you, and they repeat the 'performance'.

Make potty time fun. Look at family photos, teach him to brush/comb his hair & use a mirror, practice naming or identifying body parts, colors, letters, shapes, etc.

Refrain from any negative emotion over the 'failures'. Say matter-of-factly, 'Oops. We had an accident' or something, but don't scold. Hope this helps.

My son is only 16 months old, but I will let you know on what we are going to try here in a few months, I got a book called "potty training in 3 days" or "diaper free toddlers" I cant remember which it was, but those are where I got my idea on what to do about starting potty training.

Basically you stay home on a long weekend- 3 days- and watch the baby for signs of going to the potty, and they are supposed to be basically potty trained by the end of the 3rd day, in the book it says you can start as early as 15 months, but we aren't going to start until summer so its warm.

I haven't tried this out yet, so I dont know if it works yet, but I thought I would give you an idea to start from. Good Luck, let me know if you are successful with anything.