Potty Training a 15 Month Old Toddler
A parent recently contact me about needing advice for training her 15 month old son. She was convinced her son showed all the signs of "readiness." He was removing his diaper, telling his mother when he was wet, etc. Mom just used her intuition to decide that it was time.
After beginning training, she began to run into a couple of problems. Her son would happily sit on the potty. She was taking him to the toilet every 15 minutes - yet, he would fail to pee on the potty and instead go immediately upon leaving the bathroom. Below is my response and advice:
I have a couple of thoughts. First, I agree with you that your primary concern should be to at least get him to urinate in the toilet. Being that he is so young, getting him to actually tell you when he needs to go might take a few months.
I think you are right on track with the "taking him to the toilet every 15 minutes." When you are there, how long are you having him stay on the toilet? You might want to experiment with the timing. (Take him every 30 minutes but have him sit for 10 or 15 at a time, etc.) It sounds like he needs more time to allow his bladder to release, especially if he is going soon after you take him off of the toilet. Once he develops bladder awareness, and you can get him routinely urinating in the toilet, his reliability in telling YOU when he needs to go will follow.
Some parents actually will have their kids sit on the toilet until they do go...even if it is for an hour. Do as much as you feel is reasonable, and don't FORCE him to sit there if he is fighting you. We want to make sure you keep the toilet an enjoyable experience.
Shifting the timing of the toileting trips should increase her chances of actually "catching" her son in the act and having a success. With each success, her child will begin to make the mental/physical connection between the sensation of needing to go, the feeling of letting go, and the physical act of doing so on the potty.
Post by Suzanne Riffel, author of "The Potty Boot Camp: Basic Training for Toddlers" - a new, fast, easy toilet training method that produces remarkable results.
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