16 Month Old and Potty Training

Don't use "Pull Ups" Use big boy underwear and let him pick them out!
Both my children were trained before 2, with very few accidents.

I just read a book called Early Start Potty Training. It had a lot of tips on how to get your child potty trained by age 2. It sounds like your son might be one of the kids who can do that.

Absolutely! Both my boys were out of diapers by 2, my youngest at 15mos! We used elimination communication.
He's at a perfect age to go for it, he can still control his bladder and he is a copycat, and willing to please. Go for it, and remember that if you train at 1 or 4, there will be accidents and setbacks, jsut keep at it. hte USA is the ONLY country that allows children to sit in diapers until 3/4yrs old and think its ok! If he's cognitively on track and there are no medical issues, he can be trained right now!

I would get a potty and leave it where he can explore it , leave him with no diaper and every 30 mins sit him on the potty and see if he produces anything. The problem that you may have is the speech , he may not be capable of telling you yet when he needs to go. Quite often kids will show an interest for a little while and then it wears off because they were never actually ready for potty training , so you may find this with your son. But if not then great , there are the odd few kids that potty train when very young , but on average they are around 2 1/2 - 3yrs old.

Let him go naked or with just a shirt and no diaper. Let him sit on the potty if he chooses. Let him lead the learning process.

I start my daycare kids that early and the way I do it is I sit them on the potty each time I change their diaper. I praise them for sitting on the potty. You may need to start with them sitting with clothes on, but if you can do naked butt do that. I usually say, "I have to go get you a new diaper, sit there I'll be right back" in order to give them time to sit.
Over time they start being dry when you check their diaper. Then you praise them for that. I have found that with this method they are ready for underwear in about 10 mos. And it takes really no extra time at all.

Show him videos about using the potty (available at public library), read him books, pretend his toys are using the potty. Naked days will help him recognize what happens if he tries to ignore those urges (you will have to clean up accidents until he gets it).

And be aware that even if he succeeds for awhile, he's awfully young, and he may not be able yet to make the long-term commitment to completely or irrevocably be trained for the rest of his toddlerhood. He may not even be physically able to recognize and respond to the sensations in time. Pee and poop are often two separate steps in training, because of bodily control issues.

Many children who train early later regress, and unfortunately they may not get much understanding from their parents. I hope you'll be prepared to put him back in diapers for awhile if that happens, and wait until he's again willing and able to try.

Good luck.

Get him a kids potty. We did this with my daughter at a very young age and she was trained thru the night by 14 months. She would sit on the potty and look at a book. When she did go, we praised her a lot so she knew what she was doing was a good thing. We let her pick out her own underwear and NEVER used pull ups. My sister waited with all of her kids until they were older and used pull ups and it took forever. Her kids always felt like they had an option of where to go to the bathroom. If they get the idea in their head that the potty is where you go and they don't have any other place to do it, they put it together quite quickly.
Good Luck!!

I'm at the same stage with my 17-month-old girl. After showing interest in everything that "happens" in the bathroom, we bought a potty for her a few weeks ago and the first night she pooped in it! I don't know about the whole "regression" thing that somebody else mentioned, because, right now, it is still new and interesting to my girl. That said, she has "only" pooped in it 3 times and peed in it 6 or 7 times (over 3 weeks).

I work full-time and she is in daycare from 8-5 Mon-Fri (they don't potty train until 2 1/2), so I know it will be very slow going for us. What I do is take her in the bathroom with me every.single time I go. That means she pretty much runs around the house in just a diaper. I also take her in there at key times of the day (when she usually potties anyways): first thing after waking up, right after we get home, after dinner, and just before bed.

Also, if I see her messing with her diaper, or doing the "poop squat/squint," I'll ask if she needs to potty and take her in there. Be ready for messes! We also have a basket of toys in the bathroom, so sometimes my girl would rather play with the toys than sit on the potty. Then, I just see pee start trickling down her leg! I say, "uh, oh, you're going potty on the floor. Come sit on the potty." And, she'll stop peeing, sit on the potty, and finish peeing in it.

I think at this age, they can't quite tell when they need to potty until it is happening (or has already happened). I think they are just starting to develop the ability to stop it, too, so I just assume that now it's mostly hit-or-miss and as her body develops, she will start to get the hang of it.

Hope it helps! Good luck!

Go for it! One suggestion once you start don't look back. I found that confused my first child. We were going stong and she was getting bored so I did not push it and it was harder after! My son just turned two and I am thinking about it but he doesn't hold it but he is asking becasue of his older sister!

M.

http://www.WorkingGreenMoms.com

Sit him on the toilet!

I wrote this for a friend in my playgroup for her daughter:

Spend 10-15 minutes every morning "playing" in the bathroom. After the session, you (the adult) goes to the bathroom. Try to time it for when you think she needs to go. Maeve would sit contently on the potty while we read books. It is very common for them to go immediately after they get off the potty. Performance anxiety of some sort. It will pass.
2. Fush her poop down the toilet everyday, saying "pee and poop go in the potty." Let her flush it.
3. It takes 12-15 hits for them to understand "control." So, in the beginning, your job is just to get "hits." Then, once you've gotten about 12, she should understand how to use the muscle and go on "command."
4. Once control is down, you have to work on timing. With little ones, a tight schedule is best. I think of it as teaching "potty etiquette": you go first thing in the morning, after a meal, before leaving the house, etc.
5. Once you are at a 90% success rate, put cloth trainers on her (gerber makes some great ones you can get at Target, get a few packs!).
6. Asking to go is something that takes them time to learn, especially when they are really young. You can't expect them to not get distracted, etc. So, in the beginning, it's YOUR job to make sure they don't have accidents. Success breeds success and confidence, and your job is to be their cheerleader here. Whatever you do, don't ask if they need to go. NO is the favorite word of Toddlers, and at 16 months they especially love it. So, instead, you give them control but ask leading questions, "do you want to go on mommy's potty or on yours? do you want to go before snack or after snack?" etc. When Maeve was really resistant before nap or bedtime but I knew she had to go, I would ask her "do you want mommy to carry you or are you walking?" I'd then distract, distract, distract!!!!!!!! Seriously make going to the bathroom a set of rules, thereby creating the habit system that will help her to master control. And don't be surprised if she sees how long she can hold it after she has control! Maeve spend a few weeks playing the game of "how big of a pee can I possibly hold!"
7. Get her her own potty. I got a three in one, so the top pops off and fits on a regular toilet and it closes up to be used as a step stool. I think it really helps when they are young so they can take themselves without your help. And don't be surprised if after a while you find pee in the potty (I was letting Maeve empty her potty but then stopped when I realized she would go to the bathroom without me and I would find pee all over the place!)
8. I read that it takes 8 months after they've "got it" to be accident free, with some kids taking up to 2 years.
9. I also read that night training follows day training by about 5 months. I found this to be the case with Maeve. She would be dry most nights, but 5 months after I put her in trainers, she stopped having night time accidents completely. I told Maeve she had to be dry 5 nights in a row before she could wear undies to bed. She wore undies for a good month, had a two week regression, and has been dry now for 2 months. So expect regressions with night training.
10. The best reward is praise. Create a "happy dance" for successes. Then get on the phone and call everyone and tell them she went. Let her hear them praise her too. Save rewards for when you absolutely have to use them. I used stickers to get Maeve to go when she refused when we were out in the world and she was in trainers. I then used gummy fruits and real underwear for poop training.
11. Poop training: if you can, work this first. If you do, the rest should be much easier. She is young enough that if you time it right, you might have some real success. A few suggestions I read: when you think she is going to go, watch like a hawk, and talk to her about what is going on. Mention the gas, pressure, etc. I did this for a week, then, I physically took her to the potty when I saw the face and tried to "catch it." After two catches, she noticed the signs and would tell me.
12. Tell her a million times a day, "pee and poop go in the potty."
13. Tell her a million times a day,"if you feel pressure, say 'mommy potty.'"

The most important thing: never show negative emotion, no matter how frustrating the process might be. When she has accidents, just say "pee goes in the potty," and take her to the potty and put her on it, reinforcing where it is suppose to go.

Sorry for the long ramble!!!!! One more thing: studies have found that children motivation is directly correlated with the motivation of the parents. If you have decided she is big enough to be out of diapers, then either she is or she isn't. The less confusion you show, the more confident she can be. Potty training is a hard process. There are tons of concepts for her to master, etc. So, the best thing is to be patient and supportive. I really think a "no going back" approach is the way to go. Believe she can do it, and she will do. It may take a few months, but she will get there.

I bought my son a potty about a month ago ( he's 18-months). He loves to play with it, putting balls, cars etc into it....lol. He goes before bath time and usually one time before he goes to sleep, along with first thing in the morning. I work, so we are taking it slow. I knew he was ready when he started tapping on the front of his diaper after he pooped, so I figured why not get him a potty and see what happens. Once, as he was running around the house naked, he went to the our toilet and I sat him up there and he went! Just have fun with it!