HELP!!!!! Potty Training 18 Month Old and Getting Him to Sleep All Night.

So my son isnt potty trained yet. He has no desire to want to use the potty. By that i mean he will sit on it and pee when he gets up. He wont pee in the potty. still working on it. but some advice from my family (huge family) is to try to sit them on the potty first thing in the morning and after every meal. But keep working with it. It will come to both of us. Hopefully soon. Plus his doctor said boys are harder to train. And that there is nothing wrong with waiting or trying. He said some dont go until 3. good luck to you.

LOL i'm sorry but my boys did the same thing and looking back you really will laugh over it. boys are so much harder to train than girls. but on the up side it's very normal and he is very young, most boys don't potty train till after age 2, so if he is doing it at all you are doing a great job, don't stress over accidents, as for the every room is a potty, if you can stand it get a potty chair for each of the rooms he spends time in, it's save your carpet, seems like right now while he knows the feeling of having to go he doens't have the bladder control to make it all the way to the bathroom all the time. as for the sleeping, again i could jsut laugh, my boys still don't sleep through the night, they are 8 and 6, but most of us don't really sleep all night. it's just a matter of them being able to roll over and go back to sleep after waking without us getting up with them. i used to put small toys in their cribs with them so they could entertain themsleves if they woke up and it got to the point where i stopped having to get up, even though they did. good luck.

I am not so sure about potty training, as my son is only 9 months, although I do know boys are harder than girls and starting too early can really backfire.

My suggestions on sleep: Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. According to this book, sleep begets more sleep, putting him to sleep too late is not going to get him to sleep better, put him to sleep earlier. If you don't believe me, read hte book and ask others. Everyone I know who has a baby puts them down from 6:30-8:00 and they sleep through the night, breastbed and bottle fed, since 3 or 4 months.

Hey J.,
my son is 3 and we finally had him potty trained at 2 1/2. We started about 18 months, but it was too confusing. My husband at the time was in Mexico and I would have to put a pull-up on him, also we had my daughter after he just turned 2 so i gave it until i went back to work to train him. It just clicked. we had special "potty" books and school had a special "potty" book that was kept there from home to read. Just hang in there... it's nuts. As far as sleeping I never really had an issue w/ my son. I noticed though if he isn't tired it's a battle. So I make sure we don't have alot of sugar or snacks b4 bed. and i make sure we wrestler of play or go outside and run.. something.. anything to wear off his energy. I swear boys are full of testostrone.. enough to make u crazy. Maybe he's not worn out enought to be tired to go to bed. I also put toys in my sons' crib so he could play when he go up in the morning y i was taking a shower. I hope all works out for you..
M.

Hi J.!

I am using a potty training check list to help me figure out when the right time to start potty training my son. It has helped me a TON. I had no idea SO MUCH more goes into potty training. I found the check list here ( as well as several good articles, tips, and do's and don'ts):
http://www.babycenter.com/0_toilet-training-readiness-che...

My son pretty much as every readiness sign, except being able to hold his urine and have a dry diaper for 3-4 hrs. He's like a little pee machine! I sometimes have to change his diaper every 1.5-2 hrs before it explodes all over him!So I'm holding off until his bladder muscles are stronger.

As for sleeping through the night, my son didn't until well after his first birthday. I didn't think I would ever sleep again. I always make sure my son plays hard 2-3 times a day. When it's nice, even when it's cold, I take him outside for a walk or even to the playground. When it's not nice, I play running games, like hide-and-seek, or build "mountains" to climb on with couch pillows. I also don't put him to bed until 9. I also put my son in a twin bed at 15 months; with a rail of course. He throws himself around a lot at night, and in his crib, he was always hitting his head on rails or getting a foot caught. Once I put him in the twin bed, he stopped waking up.

Good luck! I hope you find something that works for you!

Hi Janeen:
I was going to get our 17mo. old a potty for christmas (among other things, of course!) but decided to wait when I found out that the average age for potty training is 30 months for girls and 35 months for boys. The study showed that even when parents started their children at a younger age, like 18 mo., they simply took longer to train and the toddlers weren't completely trained until 30-35 months anyway.
That being said, we're probably introduce the potty in the next few months, but won't really start training until next year around this time. Why invest all that time and hassle? Especially because there are so many other more productive, age-appropriate things to learn and do at this young age. Check out the book Pocket Parent for more information on this study and their recommendations for potty training. It made a ton of sense.

I disagree that 18 months is too early!! I'm working with my son and he is almost 16 months. I have read several books on the topic and one point I thought was interesting...if the child ISN'T potty trained before they are 3 it's generally because the parents don't want to deal with it, not that the child can't do it!
One idea is to put your son in a thinner diaper or training pant so he can feel when it is wet. I've also read that at this age (for bladder size) they will usually go immediately when they wake up and then approx 30-40 minutes after drinking.
You might just set him on the potty every 2 hours and see how it goes. They say this is a great age to work on it because your child is at that eager to please stage. If you make a huge deal out of him going in the potty he will be excited to do it again for you!
Email me if you want the name of some books. Good Luck!

I know all children are different, but I think 18 months is a little young for real potty training. My older daughter started telling me and actually using the potty occasionally around that age, but she wasn't fully trained until a few months before her third birthday. We definitely encouraged sitting on the potty and practicing every day, but we didn't push it, and we let her set her own pace. I think when they are closer to three, they have the understanding, muscle control, and sense of pride to really make it work. If he's ready, that's great! However, I wouldn't push it just yet. Good luck!

Potty training an 18 month old boy doesn't make sence. I would stop, get a large case of diapers, and go back to it in about a year.

Why is he waking up at night? Is he scared, is he hungry? My older boy woke up a lot around that age maybe, and he was having nightmares. I realized we never spent any awake time playing in his room, so his room was just a scary night time place. A few days of playing in his room and he was just fine.

Hi J.,

"They" say that 18 months is the earliest to start potty training a child but to tell you the truth, we have been working with our son since he was about 4 months old (when he could push enough with his feet to stand with us holding him.)

At that time, you know how they always pee when you open their diaper? Well at first I would just wait to catch it with a washcloth before putting on a new diaper. But then when he could stand, it was just an easy transition to stand him and let him pee in the sink (our changing table was in our 2nd bathroom) and then my husband had the idea around 4 or 5 months to hold him over the toilet to just give him the opportunity to poo also. We would only do this in the morning...

Now, my son is 16 months old and we have been practicing sitting on the potty together every morning since he was about 11 months old. We just give him an opportunity to use it when he wakes up in the morning and Voila! most of the time he takes us up on it to make his poo there. We only rarely (knock on wood!) have to deal with poopy diapers any more. It is soooooo nice. But again, we are not trying to force the issue, or mandate it, just encourage it. He seems to understand the concept and only in the last week has he started to use the sign for poopy and pee pee (we use the sign "dirty" for a poopy and "toilet" for a pee pee). He also has just started to try to say the words. It is interesting to watch because it shows that he knows what they mean... but he still hasnt' gotten to the point exactly where he knows WHEN they are coming and can tell me that yet.

With regards to peeing on the floor, ah the joys of boys! I was always jealous of boys abilities to do that as a kid :) but seriously. Maybe I am wierd but since I don't want to have to clean it up, I try to only give him "naked boy time" for a few minutes after I KNOW that he has made a pee pee. But even then we have had our accidents. You have to just laugh. My son always looks a little surprised and curious when it comes out. Just last night he peed in the hallway near our upstairs. I didn't say anything about it but just asked him if he was making a pee pee and then we told him that usually we do that in the toilet (and pointed) and then I handed him a towel and he tried to mop it up himself (I helped!) Things will click in as they do. I would just consider what structures you have in place to ENCOURAGE HIM and then adapt and be patient. Trust that he will learn in time and try to set a good example. Don't get all bent out of shape//stressed out about it when you approach it with him since kids pick up on those things and that's how "complexes" are born and stick with us later in life. Cheers!

PS regarding sleeping through the night - are you still nursing him? My boy didn't sleep entirely through the night until I stopped nursing him at night. Which literally took me getting up and supplementing boob with either water or serious food if he was really hungry at 4am for a couple weeks. And then all of the sudden boom! He was sleeping through the night. Now, he seems to stir and wake and cry only if he was worried about something before he went to sleep (maybe it comes back as a nightmare to wake him up?) But if the going to sleep process was generally gentle and enjoyable and he is very tired, he will usually go to bed and not wake up for a at least 8-10 hours... I also think that every child is different and some have different tolerances for noise. We weren't very "super quiet" when he was a baby and sleeping so now, if he is tired, he can fall asleep with noise around him. Others have created these ultra-quiet dead zones but then I notice their children wake up when they hear a pin drop. Just some thoughts! That is a tough one. I like other mothers suggestions of toys that he can entertain himself and making sure he is comfortable in the room. Our son when he wakes up pads around the room and plays with toys and looks out the window and only bugs us if he is disturbed or wanting something.

18 months is very early for potty training a boy. If he is working on it now, I would take what I get as a blessing. I would with hold working on it with him until he is closer to three.

As for sleeping through the night, any idea why he isn't? What do you consider through the night? Does he eat when he wakes up? If so I would say more protein closer to bedtime. How many hours are you expecting? My 19 month old sleeps through the night, but that is only 7 hours. I might take a nap away to get more sleeping hours back in the night time.

Sorry, 18 month old boys are too young to learn to be potty trained. Usually two or two and a half is better--girls are usually easier. My boys were over three, but the girls were trained (trained themselves) at two. Keep a diaper on him; it will simplify your life. To train him for number one, throw a handful of cherrios in the toilet and tell him to sink them, for number two, when he is over two, have a friend tell him he needs to go poo poo potty for Mom. Boys are very different than girls. Sometimes, when a child is trained very early, is the child trained, or is the parent trained? The other thing to remember when they are trained, is that when you are out and about, then you need to find a bathroom FAST, and let me tell you, there are some filthy bathrooms out there for the public--a diaper would be a step up. Nothing worse than an accident when you are running errands.

18 months old are you kidding? I am with the other ladies, you need to slow down at his age, you might scare him into regressing when he is older. Boys are way different than potty training girls. 2.5-3 is a good age to introduce it.

My oldest son was three when he was potty trained. My mother in law came over and just put him in underwear, and if he had an accident, Well it was messy but he didnt like to get himself wet so he started to go to the bathroom. I Have also heard that you can use cheerios. Put them in the toilet and tell him to try and hit them. I'm sorry i cant give you advice about the sleeping, I have two boys 4 & 2, I also have a 9 month old girl. And none of them sleep through the night.... STILL :(