I had the potty chair in the bathroom and let my daughter sit on it with her clothes at first. I wanted her to get use to it and feel comfortable. I would try to tell her what it is for. I then proceeded to ask her if she wanted to try and when she said yes, we did. She is now 2 and going on her 5th day in big girl undies. We also gave her a reward after she went on the potty. She loves money. So we would let her put a penny in a jar each time she went. She thought it was really cool. When it was full we went to the store and bought a toy with her own money. It will be a long road. Good luck!!! 

I have a daughter who is 18 months also. I have decided to start potty training too. Think about this, I have a mother-in-law who has 9 brothers and sisters. Her mother tells me she had everyone of them potty trained before 18 months. It seems that if you talk to people who raised children back then, kids were trained much sooner than now. I have the ability to be home most of the time with my daughter, so we are giving it a try. If they could do it this soon back then, why can't we now? And honestly, it's been only a few weeks trying,but shes excited about it and is enjoying potty time. My step-son was 3 before he was potty trained. I won't let that happen again! He was old enough to rebel against it and it was a struggle. There's bound to be accidents but think about how many less diapers you'll change!

When my son started telling me that he was "wet" I thought it was the right time to start. He had just turned two. He's not completely trained yet but were still working on it and he's two and a half now. My doctor told me that we would know when he's ready and not to push him. I've also heard that boys are harder to train than girls. He is in daycare and they have "potty breaks" every so many hours and when he sees the rest of the older 2's go then he has to go. Hope this helps.

There is an increasing number of moms out there introducing the idea of pottying somewhere other than in your pants as early as 2-weeks.  This is a no pressure method.  You can find out a lot of information by searching the internet for "Elimination Communication".  In most of the rest of the world moms do not have access to diapers, so their kids learn much earlier to find the proper place to "go".  I think if you look into this method you will also find support for what you are doing now with your child.  It is never too early and never too late, if you ask me....

My son is 18 months, and he has started showing signs of being ready (pulling at his diaper, not wanting a diaper on, etc.) so we went and got him a potty. I'm home for the summer (I'm a teacher) so I thought this would be a good time to introduce it. He has used the potty a total of 6 times this week (I'm pretty sure that's just due to good timing on my part) - but at least it's getting the concept that you go to the potty when you need to pee or poo. I have the attitude that "he is young, it may not work, but let's try anyway". I'm not pushing, and if we go to the bathroom and he doesn't want to sit down, I'm not forcing - but I do have to say that most of the time he is willing to go and sit on the potty (we are teaching him to sit for now, later he'll learn to stand up to pee). I know it's a long road ahead though - my niece is almost 4 and if she had her way she would wear pull-ups everyday! I have also talked to people who had their kids trained at 18 months, and others who it took until they were 4 - I think in the end it all depends on how you approach it and the child's idea of it. Good luck!