How To Teach a 20 month old when she needs to potty.

by Kayla
(Louisiana)

My daughter is 20 months old and I want to start potty training her. For a while now I have brought her with me when I have to go potty just so she knows what the toilet is for and its not a completely new concept to her. After I go she loves to flush the potty and wave bye-bye to the TeeTee or poop. It is pretty obvious to me when she needs to go poop because of her faces and body language but I don't know how to tell when she needs to TeeTee. She is now in normal disposable diapers but she doesn't ever feel uncomfortable being wet. She can go for over 6 hours without having a
diaper change. I have to feel to see if she is wet or not. How do I teach her to know when she needs to TeeTee if I can't tell myself? When are the best times of the day to bring her to the potty and encourage her to go? Thanks for the help.

Dr Maud Answers - modern disposable diapers are very absorbent so toddlers are not really aware of being wet. Try putting your toddler in cotton pants in the day when you are home - when she pees, she and you will know and you can get her associating the wet feeling with TeeTee and take her to the potty at the time. Eventually, she will be able to tell you before she pees.

Other than that, take your toddler to the potty about 20 minutes after eating or drinking.

Good luck.

More on a 27 month old and potty training
I am the mother of a wonderful 27 month old daughter and my husband and I have been attempting to potty train her. My child can be destructive. She tears up anything she can. I have no clue how to stop her from doing this...part of the thing she does is when she poops, she tends to take her pull up off and play in it which means she is wiping it all over the walls and carpet. After that she will tell us "I went yucky" I have never potty trained a 2 year old and I definitely have never seen a child play in poop so much either. What can I do?

Dr Maud Answers

I think you will have to anticipate when your daughter has had a poop or watch (smell) for it and remove her pull-up before she can.

Also give lots of praise if she tells you she wants to go first - she obviously is aware of going, now you have to get her to be able to anticipate the act and let you know.

You could also try putting her on the potty or toilet at about the time she usually passes a poop - usually this will be 15-20 minutes after eating. Even if she doesn't go, give her lots of praise for just sitting there.

She will "get it" eventually