When did you start potty training?

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DD8 was potty trained in 2 weeks at about 2 1/2. My mom and I bribed her with m&m's though I'm not really sure how that method worked as she really doesn't like candy at all. After the third day she stopped taking them saying she didn't like them. I guess she was just ready.

DSD4 was another kettle of fish altogether. I wasn't around until she was about 3 years and 4 months and she was not potty trained at all. I mean at all. We started working on it when she was 3 1/2 and 6 months later I think she finally has it down. It took 4 solid months of work, trying every method in the book, until she was consistently going on the potty. Even today we still have to remind her to go sometimes. We tried everything. We tried bribing, taking the pull ups away so she could feel when she was wet though that backfired as she didn't care if she was wet or dirty she would just keep doing whatever it was she was doing. We tried reminding her every hour. We tried getting her special Dora panties. The only thing that worked was completely getting rid of the pull ups and making her clean up her own messes.

Some people like pull ups but I don't. I think they make it a lot harder to potty train kids so I would think about it before you try those. However, to answer your original question, it sounds like your child is showing interest in it and if that is the case take it and run with it. There is no such thing as too early if they are interested.

 

[Disneychick75]

We never did any formal training. Our sons would go into the bathroom with my husband to bathe. They'd see him using the bathroom. It dawned on them I guess that they had the same equipment and they could go to the bathroom like daddy did. Once they showed interest, we would put the little target things in the toilet and they had a blast.
Our daughter pretty much just upped and said she needed to go to the potty.
They were all about 2-2 1/2.
My mom had a potty chair for us that she put in front of the tv. Can you tell we were children of the late 60's? Captain Kangaroo trained us.

 

[Patience]

Two and a half for both of my children.

 

[dyna]

The pull ups are great for going out an at night other than that cloth training pants

Funny how when we had to use cloth diapers an cloth training pants we could not wait for our little ones to get potty trained an if a mom had not at least started trying to potty train by 18 months she was the worst mom of the year.

With summer coming I'd let the littles run around with no pants or panties on see how that works......OH an I'm another firm believer of potty in front of the tv. I even had potty chair for my littles outside in the summer.

Oh an I always bought the latest character panties for a bribe too but you have accident in your pretty new panties no more wearing them for a couple of days.

 

[justhat]

Mine were 25 months, 20 months, and 26 months, respective to birth order. The first one, her preschool started the training by having hear wear underwear everyday after Christmas break (she was 22 months). Tons of accidents the first week or 2, then she was dry at school. At home we didn't push it so if we were home she was naked, we went out and at night she got a diaper. We would ask if she wanted to use the potty and she usually said no, but then one day said yes and that was that. Just trained from then on, no accidents. So I can't say I did much.

2nd kid was on a Disney cruise at 20 months and very unhappy that he couldn't go in the Mickey pool with his sister, so we said "you have to use the potty to go in that pool". We got back to the room and he went to the toilet and peed once. But then that was it for the toilet! When we went home the next week he would just take off his diaper constantly. We put it on backwards and half considered taping it on him but then I said "you can take off the diaper but then you have to use the potty every time." And he did, but it was a lot of me just taking him every couple of hours to be safe. Many accidents between then and his 2nd birthday, but for the most part he was good. The accidents were only if we were at the play ground or somewhere he really didn't want to leave to use the toilet. Night training him did not happen at the same time. Oh and no naked with him, he would spray the house in pee and not even notice.

3rd hated the toilet and sheer idea of us sticking her on there but we had a Disney cruise planned for when she would be 26 months. We warned her repeatedly that she could go in the pool without using the toilet and she didn't care (she could swim well by then so we knew it would be a huge issue). Acted like the toilet was on fire anytime we went near it. Then we got on the ship, ate lunch, walked to the stateroom and she literally took off her diaper as soon as we got in the room and said "I pee potty Mickey boat!" And she was trained. Refused, vehemently refused, a diaper after that moment. We didn't even pack underwear so we had to go to the ship store and buy a pack, but she was good, not one accident day or night at all, on the ship, excursions, the 2 days we spent in wdw post-cruise, nor the 4+ hour flight home.

So my son was more of a process, the girls just decided to do it on their own. I wasn't particularly rushed or against it, just kinda rolled with it with each kid.

 

[Aliceacc]

With my girls, I waited until spring/early summer... so they were about 15/ 16 months. I put them into a sundress, and nothing else, and we played in the yard. I asked them every 10 or 15 minutes whether they wanted to use the potty. After one or two accidents, it was really pretty painless.

My son was a different matter. He was closer to 3.Maybe because he's a boy, or maybe he was a more stubborn kid. But it took him quite a bit longer than his sisters.

 

[kmb584]

DD was trained by 23 months but we started when she began showing interest at 20 months.

 

[MIGrandma]

My son and daughter were both 2 years old when I started their potty training. DS took 5 months before I could safely say he was trained. DD took 2 weeks. She had "shown signs" of being ready before DS though, but my Mom kept prodding me that DS should be trained so I started him before he showed any signs of being ready.

 

[paintnolish]

My older two were both around 2 1/2 or so, but ds continued to have accidents for longer. Dd was like flipping a switch: when she started going in the potty, she quit wearing a diaper. My littlest is 26 months and working on it. He will sometimes go on the potty. I will try to get him fully trained this summer when I am home.