Let's talk potty training - when to start?

[wellyes]

DD is 17 months old. She hates getting her diaper changed, she is dry for pretty long stretches of time, she knows when she is peeing and pooping (or at least *I* can tell based on her posture/behavior). So part of me things she's ready to start PT.

But everything I've read seems to indicate that you either start by 6 months (too late!) or you start when they're talking, around 2-2.5.

I want to get her one of those IKEA $4 potties and see what happens if I let her sit on it a couple of times a day. But I don't know anyone else IRL who starting "in the middle" (not baby, not verbal toddler) like I'm considering. Anyone BTDT?

[newg]

I'm curious to see what you find out!!! DD is 18 months and I've heard now is a good time to start getting her curious about the potty......someone told me to let her watch me go to the potty and talk to her about it....and get her a potty to expolore and get comfortable with....
Hope you get some feedback!

[jent]

Well, I have a partial answer for you. When DD was around that age, she was much the same. Also, she liked to follow me into the bathroom and seemed curious about the potty, so I decided to get her one of her own. When she saw it she loved it immediately-- she seemed very excited to have something of her own to sit on in the bathroom and sat on it all the time. I have to say though, that I have taken a pretty laid-back approach to PT-ing (other than buying a potty at an early age) so I didn't really push her to do anything more. I did begin talking to her about poop and pee and how someday she would go in the potty, that's what it's for, etc. We did try sitting on it diaperless a few times-- and once she peed-- but after that she resisted sitting diaperless so I backed off.

For a while she was very interested (mainly in sitting on it clothed), then at some point not so much. Then just about 2 months ago she wanted to use the potty again & this time the "real" way, so we have been working on real potty training. It's still a work in progress, and we're kind of stuck lately (need to start my own thread on our issues...).

So here's my partial answer: go for it, and see how she responds, but don't expect too much. I think getting a potty at the 18 mo stage helped start the potty learning process.

But my caveat is also that DD isn't trained yet, so I'm not sure I know what I'm doing. :wink2:

[Octobermommy]

I say go for it. We tried pt at 18 months but she didn't seem to get it and tried again at 20 months and she was trained in 3 days. I cleaned up a lot of pee that first and second day but then a light bulb went off and she got it. I wouldn't want to miss her window.