When to start potty training

Potty training can begin far earlier than most think—some start at birth. We started our daughter at 6 months. As soon as she could sit unaided, though it is ok to hold them if they can't sit unaided. After just a few tries my daughter started grunting to show she wanted to use the potty. I actually couldn't believe it at first, but quickly picked up on her signals. This guide is based on successfully training a 6-month-old who used noises and gestures to ask for the toilet. It’s about commitment, observation, and teaching through repetition.

Forget readiness myths—babies as young as 6 months, or even newborns, can learn to associate the potty with elimination. You’ll need a small potty, you can use nappies/diapers during the process. We did for about 6 months after, as they are still little and there will be accidents, but we found the nappies were mainly dry.

There is no rush and no stress, just make it a fun time for you and your baby. We always had lots of toys around the potty and even did some reading. If they don't go don't worry they soon will. Just praise them for even trying.

Start by sitting your child gently on the potty after feeds, naps, or when they make noises or gestures like grunting or squirming. Use a consistent cue word like “potty” each time. If they go, praise them with smiles or claps—they’ll pick up on your excitement. No need to constantly be on it, even after every nappy change is fine.

Continue the frequent potty trips but start waiting for their signals before rushing them to the potty. Reinforce their noises or gestures with the cue word and praise.

Once you have gone about a month with mainly dry nappies you will know it is time to ditch them. We did have to have them on a night's until about 18 months, but once they did come off we never had a wet bed.

Don't doubt your child's ability they are brighter and quicker to learn things than you think they are.

I wanted to do this quickly as we lived on the 3rd floor of an apartment building and there was no lift, so carrying baby and nappies up and down the stairs wasn't my ideal option. Where I could she would go nappy less, but if we were going out somewhere then we would wear nappies.