Potty training: when and how?

I don't think there is a right time to start potty training, it depends solely on your own child, when he is ready. At the same as your son now, I bought a little red turtle potty but all he did was play with it and not do anything in it. Then I bought a potty seat cover for the toilet and sometimes he just liked to sit on it because it was comfy LOL. I would let him run around without any nappy on and when he felt the urge to (and if he told me) then I would pick him up and plop him on the toilet seat. Of course there were a few accidents but it was all part of the learning process. I also let him see what I did when I went to use the toilet too (may sound rude/silly) but showing him helped him not feel scared about sitting on a seat that had a big hole in it LOL. His daddy showed him how to pee standing up :) He learnt very quickly! Lots of patience and positive encouragement also helped :)

I think it really depends on your son and if you think he's ready. My daughter is almost 18 months and I'm going to go ahead and introduce her to potty training just to see how she reacts to it. If she doesn't do so well I'll take some time off and try again a little later. The only reason I think I should start trying now is because she hates being in a dirty or wet diaper. She is constantly pulling on it trying to get it off. So I think that is one of the signs they are ready. Good luck and sorry if I'm not any more help. I'm just starting out with this myself.

I don't know if there's really a general best time. It all depends on the child. I just recently (within the past two weeks) got my son potty trained. He will be turning three at the end of the month. I had tried so many different techniques, all with no results. That was until I let him run around the house in nothing but a t-shirt. Luckily for me, he took right to the toilet then and didn't pee or poop anywhere except for on his little potty seat. He's been staying dry through the night since then too. He's only had a very few accidents since that day.

My son just turned three, and he hasn't really shown any interest in using his potty chair whatsoever. But I'm not worried, because I learned with the first child that you just can't push these things - doing so backfired and ended up making the whole thing take longer. At his checkup last week, the doctor asked if he had started potty training yet, and I told her he didn't seem interested yet - she just waved a hand and said "No big deal, boys usually train later than girls anyway.". One thing that worked with my girls, though, was to put them in regular underwear. It doesn't wick the urine away from them and if they go, it feels icky. That, and I made sure it was underwear they really liked, so they didn't -want- to get them all messy or wet. Didn't take long, once they got the general idea. Then they stayed dry all night, too. Good luck - it can be a stressful thing for you both, so take it easy!

If there's one thing I learned with my daughter...there's no perfect time. It has to be up to your child and when they're ready. I started her when she was about 2 and a half. I got her a seat and a little step stool and some pull ups. She wasn't having it. I think I got frustrated by the time she was 3 and just gave up. I even bribed her with a toy everytime she went in the toilet! It only lasted a few days. It seems like she did it on her own once I stopped pushing her. Like Mother Like Daughter I guess :) I'd say just explain the concept and give it a few tries and then let them tell when they're ready. For my little one it was about a month after she turned 3.