I bought a potty for my boy. Hes 14 months and after christmas id like to get him use to it, sitting on it etc but is it too early? Im not planning on pushing him to use it as hes still so young but i did read somewhere that you should start potty training around 15 months?! I really thought it wasnt until they were about two but I spoke to my mum and even she said I was having dry nights and days by the time i was 2!! When is the right time to start?

Personally I think its best to wait until lo shows interest. My mum always told me and my sis that she just left us and one day we decided we wanted to use the toilet. Neither of us had a potty. We were both about 2, although I was a bit earlier as I was "shown" by my older sis.

I did the same with SBJr, just let him get on with it. He was fully trained by 2, never used a potty and didn't have any problems at night (well until he was about 4 and had a few nightmares but that was different!)

Personally, I believe if you push them before they are ready then you can end up having longer problems eg bit hit and miss at night / using potty during day etc. This is only going on my experience with friends babies and SBJr.

I'll be doing the same with TJ when the time comes. I'd rather have an extra few months of nappies and then an easy move to the toilet when TJ is ready and understands than months of potential accidents and stress, for both me and TJ. I won't have a potty either cos I personally don't like them - thought of having to clean one out makes me cringe.

Obviously every child is different and I'm sure a lot of mums on here have done it earlier with a potty and not had any problems - this is just my experiences.

Its entirely up to you when you feel your lo is ready and how the best way to go about it is. You know him best Ignore the books etc and go with your mothers instinct

Good luck x

My dd is 2 i will not be potty training her yet as i feel shes just not ready..the average age for pt is around 18mnths to start..only you will know if your sons ready or not..but remember the later you leave it the easier it is!..good luck.x

we have to have Sonny toilet trained by september when he starts nursery 5 mornings a week. He will be 2 years 5 months by then but I already bought one of the travel potties which has disposable bags, I wont get a plastic potty, as I don't want to clean it. lol But I plan on buying a toilet seat attachement & will just try to get him used to the loo rather than the potty.

IMO 14 months is too young but it depends on the child. ?For example does Jayden verbalise his needs enough to you to know when he needs to go?

My daughter is 15 months and is no way that Kara is ready to be potty trained. It would be a nightmare. I think I will wait until she is about 2 and try and start then or if she shows signs earlier I will try then.

my daughter is 21 months soon and will sit on potty and occ the special loo seat but we leave them around so she can show us when she is ready. However she is not consistent enough to try properly just yet and with new baby due any day i think probably when routine settles down she will be approaching 2 years and probably about right to try properly. I happen to use reusables alot anyway so not such a waste of nappies but wont do it until she is ready even if that is 2 children in nappies for a while. Every child is different and i do know some that train after 12mths but they often have more interesting things to do like playing! Hannah

There's a handy quiz/checklist in the Dec Prima Baby mag on potty training - when are they ready.

cole is just 1 and i bought a potty for him when he was 8 months old with the intention of getting him to sit on it after meals and before bath and during each nappy change to get him used to it.

My friends mum has potty trained 4 kids and umpteen grandkids by doing this from when they could sit up and they've all been dry by the time they were 18 months - 2 years old.

Potty is still in the box though because what with keeping a food diary and coles reflux it was just one too many things to deal with, and at the moment nappy changes are a fight so I don't think that one will work. I do want to get the potty out soon though to start getting him used to it as he does know when he's wet (always got grumpy with a wet nappy! fussy boy!) - and I don't think it can possibly do him any harm getting him used to sitting on it.

A friend waited till her kids showed interest and they were both about 3 1/2 when she finally got them out of nappies.. I have no intention to be changing nappies for that long!!

As for cleaning out potties - the one I got is a seat thing with a lid and the middle just lifts out so can be tipped down the loo easily and I don't think it looks too difficult to clean out - I'll probably get some disinfectant spray or something. Oh and some rubber gloves..lol.

Tbh I think it depends on the child and their level of understanding as to when you start - Cole understands very well being praised and he's likely to just sit on the potty if I tell him clever boy and make a fuss and clap him which is all I'd expect at the moment. I don't see the harm in trying - if its too much for the lo then you can always put it away for a bit.

My friend had been talking to her mum about it and she was saying that back 50 odd years ago (when her eldest was born), most kids were out of nappies by 2 cause they trained them early so that there would be less work to do - I think with disposables being so easy that people have started to leave it later and later as its easier.

Might just have to have a nosy in the prima baby mag though to see what it says

Best thing for cleaning potty after use - those toilet wipes!!!! Empty potty in toilet, grab a wipe & clean then flush wipe away with everything else!!!

Doh. never thought of that! Thanks