At what age did your toddler...

[stohelit]

At what age did they start telling you when they needed to poo? It doesn't matter if it's a second before it happened (no time for potty), as long as s/he consistently said it before the fact. Actually, it would also be interesting to know when they started saying it at all, so add that in the comments if you want. For the non-verbal kid, any obvious cues like taking you to the potty also count, of course, but I'm not referring to the "I know that face" scenario, I want to know when THEY were aware of it and communicating it. I guess the answers will be different for people who did EC so be sure to mention that.

Thank you very much! I don't know what I would do without you guys, it's not like I can poll people about this on the street, but I'm really interested in the answers.

[cloudbutterfly]

I taught him the sign for potty around 12 months, and signed it every time I could tell he was pooping.  Much to my surprise, he started signing it at the right time within a week or two.

ETA:  He's extremely consistent with pooping on the potty now, and has been for months.  Other than one accident under unusual circumstances, I can't remember the last time he pooped anywhere but in a potty.  As for pee, we're 99.9999% consistent at home during the day, but we're still in diapers/pull-ups overnight and out on the town.  We backed off of all undies all the time when he started to show signs of being stressed out by it when he wasn't in control of going when he wanted to.

Edited by cloudbutterfly - 11/29/11 at 1:25am

[tropicana]

around 12-15 months. and at 15 months, i decided to try to catch the poop so started putting him on the potty. he has been pooping on the potty almost exclusively ever since. he's 2 now. although still using pull ups overnights and sometimes in the car seat (since they are so hard to clean). but learning to better control himself all the time. 

[belltree]

I think around 12months he could tell me when he was pooping/peeing or afterwards that he was pooping/peeing. Telling it ahead of time is now happening ,more. He is about 25 months old.

[pranava]

I can't vote in the poll, well, because it's complicated (sigh!)   We started EC at 12 months and he started telling me occasionally at 13 months.  By 15 month we rarely missed a poo - like once a month.  He only told me half the time though.  the other half he just held it till I put him on the potty.  We took trips to the potty every 2 hours.  Around 25 months he started telling me pretty consistenlty.  That lasted until around 30 months and now at 32 months he poops in his pants about 50 to 75% of the time and HATES going potty!!!!  2.5 is a really resistant age

[nstewart]

I voted 12-15 months, but we did EC from 2.5 mos on.  Also, he would sometimes tell me (sign potty) from around 9 months on and would consistently communicate in other ways as well (like get super fussy, etc.).  So that sort of falls into the "make the face" category except that he would actually hold it until I figured out what he was getting at and took him.  So, sort of from 9 months or so (consistently) but actually figured out to say "poo poo" around 13 mos.

[hildare]

around 16 months late-ish.  now at 2 she will have some pee accidents but she hasn't pooped in her pants in (knock on wood) a few months now.  no more poopy diapers to wash. 

[aphel]

Just as a funny aside here -

I just noticed S was waiting until after we took her dipe off to pee/poo, so we started experiencing with a potty and with communicating needs. So every time she pooped, I would point to her diaper and say "Poo!". Unfortunately, she misunderstood, and is now referring to her vulva as her poo. She has also pointed between both DH's and my legs and excitedly exclaimed "Poo!".

[SunRise]

My daughter is 21 months and she tells me "after" she has gone, both pee and poo. She has been notifying me for a couple of months. Hasnt made the transition to "before" it happens.

[JudiAU]

21m, fully potty trained day and night at 23m

Note that her signaling was a learned behavior from potty learning. She didn't signal before we potty trained and I don't believe that is relevant to potty learning at all.

I am a total convert to traditional potty training. Big fan of Diaper Free Before Age 3.

[nature nurture]

poop was an easier lesson than pee in our house, stronger sensation to go i guess. both my girls were fully potty trained at two. i think having the portable potty available and accessible was key. i also think being open to sharing the bathroom with them when i used the potty was a great and quiet lesson. 

[MadiMamacita]

from 6mos to 18 months he almost never pooped in a diaper. he made the poop face and we'd rush him to a potty. he didn't seem to like to poop in his diaper. Then at 18 months he started refusing the potty. Then at 2y 4 months-ish he started going again, but so infrequently that I couldn't take away diapers yet. Then it was summer and I let him run around with no pants most days, because he could feel when he had to go better when he was naked. then the last week of August he was all done with diapers during the day. it took about 3 days to get him from in diapers full time to in underwear full time, and he has rarely had any accidents since then. He is in diapers overnight, but the last two mornings he has been dry when he wakes up.

[Baby_Cakes]

We started the 3 day potty training method at 20 months and though there were still moments when we were too late, there was almost always a, "poopies!" declaration right before the event!

[november]

Within the past month or two, so basically right at 2 years old.

[hakeber]

Verbally since she was about 14 months, non-verbally since she was about a week old.  We do a combination of EC and cloth diapers...it works if you have the time.