How to Potty Train an 18-Month-Old: A Comprehensive Guide

A step-by-step guide: what to expect and tips and tricks from a busy mom to get your baby out of diapers as soon as possible.

So you want to be done with diapers and have decided to potty train your 18-month-old. Good for you! More and more people seem to be interested in bucking the disposable diaper system and seeking more wholesome alternatives. It will be a challenge, but so is potty training at any age. I guarantee you can do it, and your toddler will be better for it.

For some reason, many of the major parenting-advice-sites seem skeptical of potty training young, even while children the world over and throughout history have been routinely potty trained by age 2. I’m here to provide you with some free help and support for making this choice.

Why Potty Train So Young?

There are so many reasons to potty train or toilet train before age 2. One is your own mindset. Perhaps you realized that not a single disposable diaper has ever decomposed…and you shudder to visualize the amount you personally have sent to the landfill. Perhaps you have been washing cloth diapers daily and wiping dirty bums for too long and you are just ready to be done. Maybe your budget is getting thin. Or perhaps you started wondering what the world was like before disposable diapers–a time not really that long ago, and wondered whether a practice done for most of history (and even now throughout most of the world) might have something to it after all.

Another reason to potty train at 18 months is that young children are also very flexible. While a 3-year-old has enough brainpower and willpower to question why she has to do things differently, an 18-month-old goes through a change like “I guess this is the way we do things now.” He has newfound mobility and wants to test his limits, so the potty training challenge is just the thing to feed his hunger for mastery and skill development.

In any case, you are the parent! You don’t have to wait for your child to walk up to you and ask politely to begin potty training! Just as you decided when he was ready to eat solid foods, that he must take a bath when he’s dirty, or that he has to go to church on Sunday, you get to tell him when enough is enough and he can start potty training.

So now you have permission, let’s get into the details.

What to Expect Potty Training at 18 Months

If you are potty training your 18-month-old, especially your first and in typical American culture, you can expect a lot of self-doubt and frustration. But it’s okay! I’m here to help you through the ups and downs.

There’s a lot of talk about a three-day weekend, and perhaps you can potty-train an older child in three days. But for an 18-month-old, the long weekend is just the most intensive part of the process. Don’t be alarmed when it continues past that; it’s perfectly normal, and you are still making progress.

You also need to understand that this is a partnership. You and your child are both learning and adjusting to the change. Every child will approach it a little differently. Don’t worry about stereotypes. Start with this guide and adapt it to your family.

Signs of Readiness

This will be different for different kids. You know your child best! All children are physically capable of starting to potty train at 18 months. Pick a time that your toddler seems agreeable and there’s nothing too chaotic going on in your lives.

At a little after 12 months, my daughter started showing an interest in pottying, but that was so far off my radar I was not ready to respond. By the time she was 18 months old, she was having long periods of dryness, sometimes even at night. She loved the ritual of accompanying me to the bathroom, and seemed interested in what went on in there. Plus, with another baby on the way, I was ready to be done with diapers for at least a little bit.

My boy seemed ready just before 18 months. He was interested in bathroom trips, even saying “potty” when his sister or I went (he is a very good communicator). He had no long dry periods and was not bothered at all by his wet or dirty diapers. But I noticed he had a constant rash on his bum, so I decided it was time to potty train to dry that area out.

Signs you might look for would be an interest in the potty routine, the ability to understand when he has a need and express it (like asking for food when he’s hungry), and the ability to follow directions.

And you, mom or dad, you need to be ready, too. You need materials, confidence, determination, and a bit of free time: that 3-day-weekend.

Getting Ready to Potty Train your 18-Month-Old

The first stages go quickly, so try to prepare things ahead of time. Pick a long weekend, preferably when you will have help at home. This is especially important if there are older siblings to watch. Try to find a time when your toddler is relatively agreeable.

The day you decide to start or a little before, explain to your toddler what’s expected of him. Tell him you won’t be using diapers any more; he’s a big boy, and he’s going to go potty like a big boy. You can even point out other family members going potty for a day or two before hand, but don’t stretch this prep out too long or worry about him “getting used” to having a potty chair around or anything like that.

You might want to write down your own “whys” to encourage you in the weeks ahead, especially if you anticipate some pushback from your support network. Your parents likely potty trained you and your siblings in a very different way, according to the advice of the time.

Gather up the materials you will need. And be ready to do some laundry.

Materials

You will need some kind of potty chair arrangement, preferably an actual potty chair. You can also use a toilet seat reducer. My first little girl was very small and we relied heavily on tinyundies.com for all our equipment (use coupon code MAMAOP for $5 off). Their mini potty is nice for this first stage because it’s all one piece, so easy to tote and store.

Target carries Baby Bjorn, which is a popular one. My son was bigger, so he fit on this better at 18 months.

You will need a way to deal with messes. We used our prefold cloth diapers to wipe up spills on the hard floor, and covered as much carpet and couch as we could with blankets. You can also get an enzyme spray designed for cleaning up pet messes. We picked this up at the grocery store.

I also recommend a portable potty seat like this one. It fits nicely in the diaper bag and can be used as a seat reducer. You can also set it up over an old plastic container or bag (or the grass) as a travel potty.

I built our stepstools because my daughter was so small, and I didn’t like her having to climb and reach so much. A bigger child might be more comfortable on a 2-step plastic one, or a cheap folding one from Target or a hardware store.

I also recommend piddle pads for car seats and high chairs. You can make your own by cutting a slot for the buckle in an incontinence pad or large diaper. In a pinch you can lay out a reusable diaper or rags over a plastic bag to try to keep things clean, too.

Finally, you will need undies. You can easily find 2T and up at the store, and you might even want to start with a bigger size so it feels less like a snug diaper on your toddler. If you have a smaller toddler, tinyundies has the little sizes.

Repack Your Diaper Bag

The diaper bag is now the potty bag. Take out the diapers and changing mat. Keep the wipes. Add a change of clothes (or two or three) and a seat reducer, as well as some rags or disposable diapers for shielding and cleanup. You will also want plenty of plastic baggies or wet bags.

Other nice things to have might be a book for him to read, stick-anywhere sticky notes (see below), and hand sanitizer.

Stage 1: Building Awareness

In this stage, the focus is on getting your toddler to understand when she is going and not going, and that she can control it.

What to do:

Keep your toddler bare-bottomed these days. Watch her like a hawk and when she goes potty, say “potty goes in the potty chair” and try to catch it in the potty chair (by moving her to the seat, or more likely, it to her). You will want to have the potty chair nearby all day.

Give her opportunities to sit on the potty at key transition times: after waking and before sleeping, before getting in and out of the high chair, or when you have to go yourself. But don’t make her sit there longer than a few minutes. Ideally, do this in the bathroom.

If any potty gets in the chair, point it out and celebrate! We made up a little 4-line song to sing, and our little boy loved high-fives. Don’t go crazy or it will be overwhelming.

For a miss, well, just clean it up. Don’t get angry, and certainly don’t punish an accident, but don’t worry about having no reaction or a neutral reaction, either. If you cry “ope!” in surprise and your toddler jumps, you are really just drawing her attention to what’s going on.

By the way, for boys at this stage, just have him potty sitting down. It’s simpler. He can learn standing later.

How long?

This phase should last one or two days. Watch to see if your child has a reaction to having accidents.

Troubleshooting:

You might be worried about cleaning up poop, and let me reassure you: it’s way less gross when it hasn’t been squooshed up in a diaper. You can probably just pick it up with some tissue if you don’t notice it in time to catch it in the chair. In addition, in the early stages of training kids often won’t poo, or won’t poo as often, for a couple days.

Most parents can also easily tell when their child is pooping. Keep an eye out for the “poo grimace” or other tell-tale signs like grunts or standing a certain way, and get that potty chair in there.

You can still use diapers when she’s sleeping; night training is a different ballgame. Tell him, “You can wear a diaper when you are sleeping because you are still learning.”

Stage 2: Learning Control

In this stage, your toddler will start consolidating pees and holding it for longer. He will learn how to start controlling his bladder. You, the parent, will in turn start to notice the patterns that emerge and act on them.

What to do:

Dress your toddler in loose pants. This is where we learn to wear clothes! I prefer long jogger-type sweat pants with tighter ankles versus, say, gym shorts. The sweat pants soak up more of the mess, potentially saving the floors. They feel wetter, helping your toddler realize when he’s had an accident. And you will be able to tell visually when they are wet.

I recommend taking your toddler to the potty every 2 hours at this point, as well as at transition times, but start cutting back. Don’t take him every 30 minutes; little kids can’t force potty out unless their bladders are pretty full; they don’t have that level of muscle development there yet.

Keep track of patterns; does he always go in his high chair? Does he have an accident at 10 every morning? Remember, you have to learn his patterns, too, to guide him. Share your findings with the rest of the family so everyone’s on the same page, but keep in mind that they will continue to develop.

At this point, try an outing. Be aware that if he’s just playing in the yard, he’ll probably just go potty when he needs to—it’s instinct. But if you make a quick, 15-minute run to the store, he most likely will make it without an accident in the unfamiliar environment! I will not vouch for time in the car seat, though.

How long?

This stage will also last a few days. Gradually increase the length and number of outings. Try using a public restroom. Church restrooms are ideal, since they are usually more homey and comfortable than a busy superstore restroom with loud toilets and echoey tile walls—too many distractions there. (Side note, keep post-its in your potty bag to cover automatic toilet sensors so they don’t go off while he’s on the toilet.)

After a few days of pants-only, add the undies. Continue to increase the outings and test the waters of new situations over the next week. There will still be lots of accidents. You may be tired and frustrated. Don’t get discouraged! It’s worth it.

Troubleshooting:

In this stage, keep in mind that both you and your child are learning, and every child is different. My daughter loved company in the bathroom and would go whenever I went. My son prefers a bit of privacy, otherwise he can’t focus on going potty. Some kids might prefer to use the big toilet they see you using; other’s might be afraid of it.

On that note, if you are worried about your toddler falling off the big toilet, put some towels around on the ground for cushioning and stay out of arm’s reach. Most kids won’t dive off if they know you are too far away to catch them.

You can go ahead and ask, “Do you have to go potty?” but only if you are okay with “no” as an answer—and it will most likely be no. I think it’s good to prompt kids to think about their own bodies and to trust their decisions, even if they turn out incorrect. If it’s a designated “potty time,” though, don’t ask, just say “It’s time to go potty!” and take him. If he’s dancing or fussing, you can point out that that’s his body telling him to go potty.

Stage 3: Building Mastery

This is…the rest of your toddler’s childhood. You will settle into routines to live your life without diapers. You will know when to ask your toddler to go, and she will gradually figure out how to take herself.

What to do:

In this stage, just live your life! Your toddler will be fully clothed. You will have to remind her when to go potty (let’s face it, you will still have to remind her when she’s in grade school), but she will gradually learn more and more how to take care of herself.

Now that we’ve mastered awareness of potty and dabbled in control of potty, we can move on to more particular skills. Focus on teaching your child to wash her hands, flush the toilet correctly, and push her pants up and down. She can also help clean up her own messes, to an extent, like wiping up drips from the sink or fetching rags.

The End Goal

Of course, the ultimate goal is to have your child realize she has to go, and then take herself to the bathroom, complete all steps by herself, and come back out to play. My three-year-old is more or less at that stage.

When you potty train an 18-month-old, total independence is typically a good way off. Here’s the goal for about a month or several weeks after dropping the diapers according to this guide:

Your child will be able to stay dry for a couple hours at a time. You will take him to go potty when he needs, and help him with the steps involved.

As you can see, this depends on both of you. For our son, I know to take him to potty when he wakes up, at 9:30 in the morning, before we put him in his carseat or high chair, and any time in between those transitions when he hasn’t gone “for a while” (for us, about 1 1/2 hours).

That is success! We have attained our goal of no diapers, but also living a normal, non-potty-centric life. Independence will develop gradually after that.

Setbacks and regressions potty training an 18-month-old

Remember you are both still learning! If you see an increase in accidents, there are several likely reasons.

1. Your toddler might be working to master “holding it.” That might mean she has an accident five minutes after you give her the chance to go in the potty chair—she needs to see how long she can go, and to see how it feels when she can’t hold it any more. It’s a learning process. This feels like a setback, but it’s actually progress!
2. Your toddler might be going through a struggle. Teething, sickness, or other stress can take her focus off of pottying and lead to accidents. Hopefully this clears up within a few days.
3. Are you busy? I sometimes find that if I try to fit my toddler’s pottying into my schedule, she has more accidents. Of course, she doesn’t know that we have something scheduled for 10, so I was going to potty her 20 minutes later than usual. Or perhaps I’m so focused on getting my sourdough into the oven that I didn’t notice the time passing or her fussiness—and sometimes I just don’t want to take her right now because I want to get this one thing done. Thus, accidents.

If your toddler goes for several days with lots of accidents, take her back a stage. You can always go back to no-undies or bare-bottomed time to help her reset. Don’t go back to diapers; then all your hard work will be for naught.

Potty on the road

At this point I recommend again having a fold-up seat or a small potty in the car to potty on the road. We’ve done potties in the trunk over an old plastic container (with our folding potty seat), and these tend to be more successful for us than outdoor potties—too many things to look at out there. Of course, your child will gradually get used to public restrooms, too. Keep your potty bag stocked.

Nighttime potty training

You can choose to potty train an 18-month-old at night if you want to. Dress your child in those joggers or footies so he feels wet and gross, so he’s motivated to hold it, and be sure to protect the mattress.

That’s more than I want to commit to, and I really value my sleep, so I opted to just wait until naptime/nighttime diapers start turning up dry.

It’s normal for kids to keep wetting at night until they are 4 or so—especially heavy sleepers. My daughter stayed dry at night soon after mastering daytime potty training, so before age 2. But I’m less optimistic about my son. Play it by ear, and have a heart.

Words of Encouragement when Potty Training Your 18-Month-Old

You will reach a point where you wonder if this was a mistake. Your little one keeps having accidents. He won’t go when you take him. You can’t figure out his schedule. It’s okay. It’s part of the process.

Every accident is a learning experience: for you, yes, but definitely for your child who is learning how to notice his own body’s sensations and manipulate muscles he hasn’t focused on before. Be patient with yourself and with him. Accidents are progress. Dry periods are progress. Every child gets there eventually.

We just potty trained my son. We started just before he was 18 months. After 3-4 weeks, I was alternating between feeling proud that he had mastered holding it and feeling utter failure as he wet six pairs of pants in a single day. In the last week of the month, we made incredible progress. I finally internalized his body clock well enough that I took him to go a reasonable number of times, and he went each time.

Then, about halfway through the next month, so a month and a half from starting, and he started pointing from his high chair if he had to go and yelling, “Potty chair!” Now that’s a step toward potty independence.

I don’t remember how long it took to potty train my daughter. It seemed like forever at the time. But we were first-timers, and we had no idea what to expect. I know it was at least several weeks. Every child will be different depending on a huge mix of factors.

But I tell you, the same parents who asked, “but is he ready?” and doubted your decision will brag that their grandbaby was potty trained before she was out of size 3 diapers. Even if it takes a month or two.

Conclusion

So there you have it! Leave further questions and suggestions about how to potty train an 18-month-old in the comments below.

Potty training can be stressful. Check out my love languages posts for ideas on how to show your little one love, and how to best encourage her when she has a successful potty day!

Also, if anyone has advice on elimination communication, I’m looking for tips on how to keep that up when you have a baby and other littles running around.

(Note that some of these are affiliate links, but not to worry! I only recommended products that I already bought and use myself, and I only looked into whether any of them were affiliate-able after writing).