How do you know when to start

[Ladyleigha]

My son is 18 months old and he is beginning to get curious about the potty. I've been trying to get him to at least tell me when he has a poopy or a pee pee, but we're not even there yet. I don't want to push the potty on him but I am curious, how do you know when is the right time to start? How did you introduce the potty?

[Zack_Jenn]

Go by his cues. If he is excited and wants to try let him, but don't push it. If you make it a carefree, exciting thing he will pick up on it much faster.

The biggest signs they tell you to watch for are:
-can they tell you they have to go
-can they dress themselves (it's much easier if they can pull their own pants up & down)
-do they stay dry through naps or for extended periods of time (like 2 hours+)
-do they show interest

With our first we put the little potty in the bathroom at about this age. She didn't have to use it, but she knew it was there. She got comfortable with it and began using it on and off. However she did much better when we got the potty seat that goes directly on the toilet. We had potty only books/toys, reward charts, and toys when she'd go so many times in a row. She used the potty on and off for almost a year before she finally really picked up on it and was day trained. (almost 3 years old)

Our second was a year and a half about the time that our first got really using the potty and I think that helped him along. I wasn't going to potty train him til our third came along, but a month before the baby came he refused to wear a diaper and has been using the potty ever since. (almost 2 years old) We never used charts or rewards with him, he did it completely on his own and did much better. In fact he is dry at night and she still isn't.

Good luck with potty training! If either of you get frustrated put it off a little longer.

[Ladyleigha]

Great advice thanks! And congrats on getting your second trained so quickly, I hope I have that kind of luck :-)

[CTCSG]

In reference to potty training, here’s a segment from the recent pre-released Freakonomics movie covering the surprising link between potty training and economics and how parents, like economists, use incentives to reach ideal outcomes. In this clip, acclaimed economist Steven Levitt explains how his young daughter outsmarted his potty-training scheme (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1gm2NuxQjg).

Crystal (Freakonomics)