When to start potty training?

My girls are 17 months and I'm not sure if they are ready to potty train, which probably means they aren't. I was just wondering how do I know when they're ready. Phoenix hates getting her bum changed so someone told me to just put her in underwear and she will learn fast that she won't like the wet feeling, but I don't know. My girlfriend's daugther who is only 2 weeks older than my girls has started and is doing great, she can tell them she needs to go and I'm just blown away, I guess, by how different they are. I'm just wondering if it's that they aren't ready or becasue I haven't really pursued the idea of it and shown them what it's about or what it means.

Also, did you get 2 potties, one for each twin or just the one?

Any suggestions would be great.

 

It wouldn't hurt to start getting them use to the potty at that age but that is really early to go full force with potty training. I started with putting my boys on two little potties before bath and read them a story while they were on it.

 

I got two potties for the kids around 18 months. I would leave the potties out and let the kids explore them, explain to them what they are for. Around the time they turned two, we would practice sitting on them and eventually they did start to use them. I think 17 months old is a little early to start training but not too early to buy the potty, have them explore it and maybe read some books about it. All kids show signs of readiness at different ages and you'll know if they start to tell you that they pooed or peed in their diaper, want it changed right away, try to take it off themselves, start to be able to hold their urine & be dry for longer periods of the day. It's a process, that's for sure!

 

I agree with this. I had the potty out in plain site pretty much as soon as they could walk and let them explore it. I can't remember exactly when they started using it .. but they were both trained a few months before their 3rd birthday.

 

I agree with this. Every baby is different. My oldest would have been ready to be potty trained at 18 months, but I was on bedrest with the twins, so he didnt get potty trained until he was 2.5, but he went from wearing a diaper all the time, to fully trained, night and day. Just watch for their signs. They will let you know when they are ready.

 

We have 2 potties, plus a potty seat. The kids are interested in them, but DD has only gone twice and DS hasn't gone at all. They both like to sit on them though. I think we have a long way to go before they are trained. I am not really ready to go full force with training since I have a 2 month old at home. I think it will be easier if we wait until they are really ready.

Just keep looking for signs. It wouldn't hurt to get potties and talk about how big kids go in the potty, etc.

 

Kids are so different that it's hard to say. I would definitely get a potty and let them start exploring. Some kids are ready way before 2, but I have to say my own DS was definitely not ready until 2 years, 3 months. But I think there is danger in waiting too long and missing that window of opportunity too, so if they are interested I would at least try.

 

When the boys were around 13 months or so, we noticed that they always, always pooped in their brandnew diapers about 5 mintues after their morning bottle of milk. So, we bought some little potties and started putting them on there in the morning and they really quickly caught on. We gradually started putting them on their more often (after lunch, before bed, etc.) We'd just sit and read books and if they peed or pooped, great. And if not, no problem. No pressure. While they had no problem with peeing in their diapers all day long, if they needed to pee at all when they were on the potty they'd do it, and increasingly most of their poops were on the potty. A couple of months ago (spurred on by the book Diaper Free Before 3-- which I highly recommend) we started putting them in cotton training pants sometimes when they were home, since one premise of the book is that disposable diapers are a factor in the real delays in potty training that has occured in the last 20 years (since they never really feel wet). We don't do this all of the time, due to being out and about (and I'm not ready to deal with it on the road yet!) But it has spurred the boys to now sometimes tell me "potty" when they want/need to go. They're not near "potty trained" in the sense of being ready for full-time underpants or anything. But I'd say about 95% of the poops are on the potty now, and a good portion (but probably less than 50%) of pees. (they're 20 months old today). There are many different approaches to potty training-- starting early means it definitely will take a lot longer, but hopefully it will be over with sooner too. This way has been pretty low stress so far, so I have fingers crossed that it's going to translate into something long term. We'll see!