Potty training a young 1 yr old?

[Janeway]

The baby keeps pulling his boy part out of the top of his diaper when he has to potty and letting it go, the carpet, books, etc. Yesterday, he ripped his diaper off while in my closet and then ran out and pooped on the floor when I turned away.

 

He is only just one years old. Has anyone attempted to potty train a child this young? I am more of a relaxed "they will do it when ready" kind of potty trainer. Not so much potty training, but rather a natural approach. BUT, I am tired of this pottying everywhere. Oh, and do not even bother suggesting putting on 1 piece outfits that snap on the bottom. Before all this started, he was actually reaching up the leg of his outfits and pulling the diaper out. Not kidding. Sneaky little one.

[Okra]

I don't know.  I guess you could try it, but with a young one year old I'm not certain you should expect success.

 

But, I don't see too much harm in trying.

 

 

[barnwife]

Yes, I think it can be done. Easy or desirable for many/most people in the US? Probably not.

Get lots of potty chairs. My favorite for little ones is Baby Bjorn brand. He should be able to sit himself on it without needing to scoot back or anything.

Put at least one in every room where he spends a lot of time. (For super young kids, we have 2 in our giant living room.)

Give diaper free time. Every time there is an accident say something like "Poop/potty go in the toilet." Remind him where that is. Clean up together. He can at least carry a rag to clean up. This isn't punishment. It's "if you make a mess (of any kind, toys, food, potty, whatever), you clean it up."

Pay attention to when he potties. One of my predictably had to go between 15 and 20 minutes after eating. So if he doesn't get there at a predictable time, you can announce, "potty break time" and take one with him.

Have an open door bathroom policy so he see you/your husband and knows what the bathroom is for.

Every time you use the bathroom/have him try, use the sign for toilet. That way he can let you know even if he isn't verbally there yet. 

That's the short version of our very part-time EC efforts when ours are young.

[Amy in NH]

The youngest I've potty trained an average kid (wasn't showing exceptional signs of readiness like yours) was 18 months.  I don't see why you couldn't start now since he obviously doesn't like diapers.  I second the Baby Bjorn potty recommendation - perfect size for a tiny hiney.

[Rachel]

I have one friend whose oldest self potty trained around a year. Two others around 15 months. I potty trained one around 18 months. I think it is possible but definitely depends on the child. It sounds like your son recognizes when he needs to go potty, he could be really easy to train.

[SKL]

Yes, I would give it a try.  Sounds like he knows when he needs to go and doesn't want to do it in his pants.

 

I would start outdoors and I agree with the idea of many small potties in easily accessible places.  I used these:  https://www.amazon.com/BABYBJORN-Little-Potty-Discontinued-Manufacturer/dp/B0009OLSYO which were just the right size for my early starters.  For traveling I kept these in the diaper bag:  https://www.amazon.com/Sesame-Street-Framed-Friends-Folding/dp/B00076SL0I/ref=sr_1_4_s_it?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1472324993&sr=1-4&keywords=fold+up+potty+seat

 

I started my kids on the potties when they were about 10mos and 13mos.  They liked sitting on them and did go in them if I timed it right.  Pretty soon they were getting most pees and poos in the potty.  I kept them in pull-ups until they had a full dry day (it was fall / winter so naked outside wasn't an option).  Elder was diaper-free 24/7 at 19mos.  When the weather got warm, I did the 3-day potty boot camp for the then 17mo and she was then diaper free 24/7.  At that point they would ask to go to the potty vs. just waiting for me to take them.  (Though I did take them at regular intervals, for my own comfort.)

[mamakelly]

My dd potty trained at 15 months. She would scream when we tried to put her diaper. She was fully trained at home, and often I had her wear pull-ups when we were out, jic. I kept a baby bjorn potty in my car for emergencies.

[Laurie4b]

Looking at my old baby book, that is the age when potty training started back in the day, so it can be done. 

[Guest]

Good luck with that!

 

Some kids are ready and will work with mama to get it done young, but it requires a lot of vigilance and watching their signals (elimination communication). Some kids just aren't ready until much, much older.

[three4me]

My DS did that around that age. I kept onesies on him at all times. Wasn't ready to deal with potty training!

[OneStepAtATime]

I agree with others, give it a try.  There are actually some cultures that start at this age.  I also agree, maybe get two or three little kid potties to keep in key locations.  He may have sensory issues and just hate the feel of the diaper or maybe he hates the feel of a dirty diaper so going in a potty could be motivating for him.  Try to be consistent and intentional if you can. 

 

And hugs.  

[JFSinIL]

Diaper him.  Then clothe him in a sleeper with the feet cut off.  Why are the feet cut off? Because you are putting him in it with the zipper in the back where he can't reach it.  If he still manages to manipulate his boy bit out of the diaper through the sleeper, next diaper had a "belt" of duct tape. 

 

I doubt he can be potty trained this young.

 

I used the backwards sleep trick with the knees sewn together at naptime to stop Mr. Adventure from being able to lift his leg enough to haul himself up and out of his crib.  I suppose it could help keep a little dude from going commando, too.

Edited August 27, 2016 by JFSinIL

[heartlikealion]

Well my 1 yr old has been ripping her diaper off for months. The ped. said she wouldn't rush/worry about potty training but working on it in a "light and fun" way is okay (she's now almost 2 though). Just said she's still on the young side. Ours has gone in the kiddie potty a handful of times, but mostly just rips diaper off. Driving.me.nuts. It's too hot to keep her in clothing that she can't get out of. I have put her in the backwards sleeper at night out of desperation before (when it wasn't too hot). I have cleaned poop off the floor (thankfully wooden floor) a few times in the past week or so. She cosleeps usually and I woke up one morning to a urine soaked bed. I think she may have tried to tell me, but I was so groggy I didn't react in time. That article I read in another thread scared me about how early potty trainers tend to be the ones with issues later (I guess like UTIs or something from holding too long? I don't remember).

 

I guess my ques. is how many months old? Just turned one? Closer to two? That may make a difference.

[SKL]

IMO it can't hurt to try, as long as you are chill about it.  1yo is the norm for potty training in many places around the world.  The US norms are actually extreme by international / historical standards.

Edited August 27, 2016 by SKL

[redsquirrel]

gosh, mine were both young and super easy to potty train, but even 1 seems young to me.  Mine potty trained before 2 but they were so ready.  And  they both started waking up dry from naps. I would plop them on a potty and they pee'd. Once they did that they just got it and we were set.

 

We also used the bjorn potty and we had a couple. I would literally pick it up and put it next to them when they played. I never wanted them to be more than a step or two from a potty. Even with a kid who wants to use the potty, at that young age they don't have much notice.  And they were naked almost all the time for a year, lol. And if you went in the potty you got one mini marshmallow, lol. My kids would do ANYTHING for a single mini marshmallow, especially the colored ones, lol.

 

One good thing, neither of them gave me any hassle about diapers when we went out. They knew that home was naked and use a potty and going out was clothes and a cloth diaper.

 

Maybe read the book "how to potty train in a day" NOT because you can do it, lol. But, Ive been told it does have lots of good ideas. So, see if the library has it and glean what might work for you and forget the rest.

 

good luck. Like I said, mine were super easy to train. I think my older one might have trained right after age one if I had been better able to understand what he was trying to tell me. He was about 18 months when he started waking up dry and pulling off his diaper.

[toawh]

My dad said I was completely potty trained night and day at nine months. I was walking at that age. None of my brothers or sisters were though. Every kid is different!

All of mine have been potty trained completely (meaning no diapers in the night, in the car, at daycare) by eighteen months. I'd say take his diaper off and have a potty handy for him to go to.

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

Another vote for give it a try.  I'm guessing communication will be the key element vs physical readiness, as it sounds like he knows what he's doing!  As PP mentioned, work on the hand sign for potty, and read up on Elimination Communication so that you can read his body language.  

 

I'm guessing it will be more like you getting him to the potty at predictable intervals and him eliminating, which is a bit different from him initiating, but, IMO, not a bad place to be.  

 

I started PT with my youngest the week of his second birthday because he was SUCH A PILL about diaper changes.  We are now (1 month later) mostly accident free and he is mostly initiating potty trips on his own, but I am still keeping an eye on how much he drinks and on the clock and taking him if it's been a while.  For me, keeping an eye on the clock and taking him from time to time is still WAY more pleasant than dealing with a screaming, thrashing toddler and a stinky diaper!  

 

My two girls both self initiated PT at 20 months and were essentially accident free within a few days.  

[kiwik]

Since he is making a mess anyway you might as well try.

[Loesje22000]

If you would be Flemish, the first birthday would be start of the potty training season, as kindergarten start at 2.5 yo and only pottytrained children are accepted.

So most children are potty trained here, before 2yo. (It is definetly a race here)

 

As Dutch I was a slacker starting at age 2 ;)

 

So I tend to think it is cultural what is a 'good' age to start :)

 

[Melissa in Australia]

Most children here are trained before or around 2 .

 

All my bio children were toilet trained at or before 18 months. The twins came to us still in nappies at 3 1/2 . It was viewed as neglect that they hadn't been trained before then.

Edited August 28, 2016 by Melissa in Australia

[Xahm]

Just a bit over one was when my son decided he hated poop in his diaper. It took us a bit to figure it out and the poor boy got constipated as a result, but once we put him on the potty, things resolved. I don't remember the exact timeline, but by his 18 month checkup we hadn't dealt with a poopy diaper in months. He fully day trained a bit after 2 and as of 2.75 just has occasional night accidents.

All that to say, go for it! Don't be upset if it doesn't work, but if it does, awesome!

[jeremmy]

I potty trained an 18mo because she was ready. Took her 2 weeks to master it. I tried to potty train my littlest a month ago (20m) and she was not ready, so we stopped after a week. My sil starts potty training at 4-6mo. So it IS possible. Just be aware of he truly isn't ready and know that you need to keep up on it much more than an older potty trainer. She basically stalked her kids for 2 years and kept their pants off and carried a potty with her everywhere in every room so that there wouldn't be messes. Not worth it for me lol

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[slackermom]

A friend gave us a couple of her old potties when she was decluttering, and dd had just turned 1. When dd saw them, she was very excited. She had seen me use the toilet, so she had the idea, and was eager to use her own.  She started walking at 9 moths, so by 1 she was quite capable of getting herself to the potty on her own. 

 

Another thing that helped was getting underwear for her. She did not like the feel of diapers or pull ups, so the was happy to have underwear instead. Her bottom was too tiny to hold up 2T, but she wore little leggings that held them in place, and they were easy for her to get on and off.

[momto10blessings]

Oh no! Well, if you're not ready for potty training, I'd always have him in a onesies that snaps on the bottom! The hard part for potty training at that age would be going out in public since he'd need a lot of help. It would be terribly difficult since I have a lot of little ones.

[shawthorne44]

DD trained younger than that.  She was born early July and I remember that Thanksgiving weekend she only barely wet one diaper.  It had been her idea, and in hindsight she probably could have been potty-trained before we left the hospital.  She wasn't mobile, obviously, but we taught her a signal which was the raspberry noise.  DH said she made a different noise for poops.   

 

So, if he want to, I think he could easily potty-train.  Get some small potties and put them around.   

 

[Plink]

My DD trained at that age.  We didn't use tiny potties, I just took her to the bathroom anytime she tugged at her diaper.  She hated being wet, so going in the potty was easy for her.  Eventually I just set my cell phone with a reminder every couple of hours hours so that I wouldn't forget to ask her whether she needed to go when friends were visiting or I was busy with a project (obviously not at night). 

 

The hardest part of training early was finding tiny underpants - size 2 was enormous on DD and I had to alter them to fit. LOL

[redsquirrel]

My DD trained at that age.  We didn't use tiny potties, I just took her to the bathroom anytime she tugged at her diaper.  She hated being wet, so going in the potty was easy for her.  Eventually I just set my cell phone with a reminder every couple of hours hours so that I wouldn't forget to ask her whether she needed to go when friends were visiting or I was busy with a project (obviously not at night). 

 

The hardest part of training early was finding tiny underpants - size 2 was enormous on DD and I had to alter them to fit. LOL

 

That was a nice side effect of early potty training, lol. My kids are petite to begin with and not having their pants bulked up with diapers meant they could wear their toddler clothes for a lot longer than I expected. 

[SKL]

The hardest part of training early was finding tiny underpants - size 2 was enormous on DD and I had to alter them to fit. LOL

 

We too had to alter the undies.  I did find some training pants and cloth "swim diaper" undies online that were little, but eventually we wanted the feel of just a thin layer.  Well, thank goodness for needle and thread.  :)

[shawthorne44]

You might try a cloth diaper store.  The one near me had cloth training pants that were super tiny.  Also, this wouldn't work for boys, but girl's dresses often come with the matching diaper cover.  We used those as panties from the dresses she just grew out of .