Hello FOlks,

My daughter is 15 months old. I'm terribly late on starting potty traning and am clueless abt how to go abt it.

Some friends told me to get a potty seat and have my daughter sit on it at her regular potty times but the problem is my daughter doesn't have any regular timings.

experienced mothers pls tell me how I start. My daughter is quite active. she was walking at 11 months and is very playful now. she loves to see books and loves all kinds of toys too. she's even good to other kids we play with.

thanks and regards
Hetal replied. at first, your child age is the best desired age for potty/toilet training so its not considered late !
Once your child is ready for toilet training; you can go to the store and purchase training pants and a potty chair. Bring your child with you so that he/she will get excited about the whole process. When buying training pants, if you are choosing cotton, let your child pick out his/her favourite ones (Rugrats, Batman, Barbie etc.). Cotton training pants will let your child feel the wetness and will train faster. The downside is that they are messier! Disposable training pants are easy for cleanup and on the go but it may take longer to train if your child does not feel the discomfort of wetness. If you buy cotton, buy more than one three pack. You will go through these quickly and you want to have plenty in the diaper bag and dresser. When purchasing a potty-chair, make sure you purchase a sturdy one. You want your child to feel secure when he/she tries it. Your child's feet need to be on the floor (This will eliminate his fear of falling in). You may also want to buy an extra one for outside or to keep in the car (it's better to go to your car and use your clean potty than go to a public restroom that hasn't been sanitised!).
Toilet Training should be a fun and exciting experience for both you and your child. Remember, your child should feel in control of the process, not you. Take a slow, casual, matter-of-fact approach, and make it fun! Always encourage and praise your child.

Do not begin training until your child shows signs that he/she is ready. Every child is different and so are his bowels. Most are ready for training between two and two and a half years old (some as young as 5months and some at 18 months or as old as 3 years). Start at a time when you can spend a lot of time together- when your child is eager to please you and there are no major distractions or traumatic events in his/her life (new sibling, divorce, moving, new caretaker, etc.).

Never pressure or punish your child for unsuccessful attempts at using the potty. Most of all, be patient! Your child will learn to use the potty when he or she is ready (and not before!).

Spring and summer is a great time to toilet train! Let your child go
without his/her diaper.
and you will observe your child around about timings,,and you can start putting him to potty seat and play potty videos and read toilet learning books often to encourage regular use of the potty so your child will grasp the concept. or some kind of voice by mouth which helps him to concentrate on it.

15 Signs of toilet training readiness:
Your child is ready to learn potty skills when he or she.
1. Has bowel movements at about the same time every day-if not then, include lots of fluids in his diet,make sure your child eats lots of fruits and vegetables,prunes and apples,all these will prevent your child from passing irregular bowels.
however keep trying because you cant control child metabolism !
2. Can stay dry for a few hours or wakes up dry from sleep - try making him sleep once a while without diaper,,see how much he pees at night ! best time to know around about timings.once a while check it, if possible.
some kids have learned going to pee when they feel the wetness,,so try training pants or cotton pants,and let them feel it first,,nd then train them accordingly.be prepared to clean up mess and carpet !
3. Knows that he/she has to go to the bathroom,,this is possible once she understands that she is feeling wet and its called pee. repeat these words everytime she wets her diaper or her pant,,and she will know,,next time when she pees, put her on potty seat and then say peee...making some kind of special sounds like shss,,or whistling sometimes helps kids to concentrate on their bowels and bladders.

4. Understands the association between dry pants and using the potty,,and thereby continue further.

5. Can pull her pants up and down - this willin later stage when she is able to wear her own clothes aorund 2years of age.

6. Lets you know when he/she has soiled his/her diaper (likes to stay dry),,this depends on how you train your child about cleaniness...
often child as young as 15months to 2year understands these things..

7. Can follow simple directions like, \";lets go to the potty\";,,all this by end of 18months and in some cases before that..

8. Understands potty terms (wet, dry, pee, poop, dirty and potty)
9. Can tell you he/she has to go to the bathroom--in case of child above 15months, its possible..it depends on how good child is at expressing his desires or needs..allow your child to express everything he wants and this will an easier task for you.

10. Imitates other family members,,which is easier to teach words like potty, pee,,or show some sign language,,they learn that easily.

11. Shows interest and asks question while she is watching you doing something,,if so, right time to make him understand what is potty training and how to go about it.

12. Wants to do things \";by myself\";--thats great if you have child who has this specific feature ! you wont have to try hard.

13. Enjoys washing his/her hands (like to be clean),,tell her if she does potty on time on her potty seat she will be washing her hands like you are doing..some kids have shown interest in washing hands, using hand towel to dry it, just like parents do..and they were willing to do everything in order to wash hands in cool water..its fun for them.
14. Gets upset if his/her belongings are not in their proper place,,if she is able to understand this thing,all by your training about habits and keeping surroundings clean, she will be sure enough understand when you potty train him.

15. Wants to please you! you will be very lucky to have such a kid who will listen to you !

Remember, the keys to toilet training are patience, praise, encouragement (and a sticker on his/her chart to build self esteem and make the learning process fun).

no one has ever said potty training is easy, but try to make it fun.
also, you might want to visit this link which will get you some other ideas too.
http(:)//parenting(.)ivillage(.)com/tp/tpdevelopment/0,,pd26,00(.)html

good luck