YES your child can be potty trained before they can talk. It is totally possible to have your child out of diapers before the age of 2!! It may seem out the norm or like you are going against the grain but think again. The U.S. is actually quite behind on potty training when compared to other developed countries, with the average age here being 3 years old. Other countries have potty training down by age 1. I was told I would be rushing things when I brought up potty training before 2. When in fact even infants can start learning to use the toilet. Here is how I toilet trained my daughter at 18 months old. This is not a magic 3 day method but after the 3rd day she was going to the potty on her own!

Elimination Communication

The key to toilet training your child before they can even speak is through elimination communication. Using this technique, parents have been able to train their babies to use the toilet from birth. Yes, from birth. All it takes is a little more awareness on your part as the parent. To start you would allow your child to have time without the diaper and identify their body language or sounds right before they eliminate. For instance, some children are still right before they pee. Toddlers may take a moment to look down right before. Give your child some diaper-free time in the day just to observe them. If your child is already walking, this observation day may be tied into day 1 of training. When they eliminate, make a specific sound so they can associate that sound with pee or poop. For instance pssss for pee or mmmm for poop. It can be whatever sound you want. Alternatively you can use sign language to make the association.

What You Will Need

Potty training is relatively simple in terms of what you will need. You should decide on whether you want a toilet insert, a traditional kid size potty, or to just use the toilet in your home as is. All are perfectly acceptable. You don’t need to go crazy with all the bells and whistles here. Having a potty that sings and dances (well it won’t actually dance) will not make your child more inclined to use it. As a matter of fact the more simple the potty is the better. They understand much quicker that this is for eliminating and not a fancy new toy. I used both and Kira used the simpler baby bjorn potty much more easily than the musical one. Her first poop was in the simpler one and for a while she would only go there. It took us longer to get her using the musical potty without her wanting to play with it first.

Day 1

When you are ready to dive into toilet training this first day is more of a diaper-free, nothing down there observation day. Pick an area of the house where you don’t mind cleaning up messes. If you’re training an infant, just place a waterproof pad under them. In my case, I stayed away from the bedrooms because they are fully carpeted. Put your phone away, don’t plan to cook, or run any errands. Multitasking will have you missing every single cue! I had a 3 month old when I started this so being distracted was inevitable for me. I just did my best lol. Here is where you want to take your expectations and lower them. You may not catch any pees or poops on this day and may just find yourself cleaning up more than anything. That is ok and a completely normal part of process. Don’t be discouraged.

Take the child to the toilet as soon as you see their cues or they start going. Even if you feel they completely went on the floor, leave the mess and still put them on the potty! I’ve caught half pees this way and it is still a win. Have a phrase that you say every time like “pee-pee in the potty” or “poo-poo in the potty”. Then go back to where they had the accident and involve them in the clean up. This is an important step that teaches them that there are consequences to their actions. You can always wash their hands afterwards!

Day 2

On this day the child usually starts to come around to the idea of a potty. Today you will want to put on regular underwear. No pull ups here! For our daughter we got these basic ones made for smaller children as most panties seem to be made for 2/3 year olds (surprise, surprise). There are also these slightly padded ones that are good too. If you need another commando day that is totally ok! But having underwear on helps to make them uncomfortable if they pee or poop in it. They won’t like that wet feeling and hopefully will be more compelled to use the potty. It also teaches them the natural way of things early on in the toilet training process because most adults wear underwear everyday.

We caught more pees on this day and 1 poop which was pretty exciting. We almost missed the poop because it was the end of the day and I was losing patience haha. But I’m glad I gave her the extra time and space to do it since poops don’t come out as easily as pees. So patience is key.

Day 3

By day #3 something incredible happened. My daughter got up and walked into the bathroom. OMG. You can imagine my surprise & excitement seeing her just go right to her potty. I remember calling my husband saying “did I really just potty train our 18 month old?!?!” Even if this does not happen for you by this day- just know that it is coming. They will get it. Consistency is key here. Keep at it and just like everything else they are learning- it will eventually click.

Potty Training Challenges

Dedicating full days to toilet training may not be possible. Be realistic about what you can achieve in the time that you have. Having a positive mindset about it is very important through the process. It can be frustrating in those first few days with all the accidents. This won’t be your life forever- I promise! Weeks into wearing a diaper my daughter still had an accident because she was in the middle of eating and simply didn’t want to get up. It happens and it’s ok. Remember that they don’t learn to do anything overnight. Think about how long it takes them to do things like walk, talk or write. They have to learn it over time with practice. Just like toilet training. So be kind to yourself and your child. You got this!