How Do I Know If My Child Is Ready To Be Toilet Trained?

This is a common question which we have heard time and time again from parents, as they embark on the "Potty Training Experience" with their little one. Some people have heard all of the horror stories from friends and families about potty training disasters, and others have tried to potty train their child but with no success. 

Some people think that it goes based on when the child turns a certain age, while others think that it is when the the parents are too fed up with paying all that money for diapers, which can be really expensive!

What we have found, and from speaking to Pediatricians, is that it really goes based on the individual child. Some kids are ready to be toilet trained at 1.5 years old! They have the mental capacity and understanding to be able to successfully do so. Some kids are not ready until after they are 3 years old. What it boils down to is for the parents to take a close understanding of where their child is holding in terms of being ready to be toilet trained. Below are some of the more common signs that your little one is ready to be potty trained!

 

1 - Your child has fewer wet diapers and is starting to make more on a predictable schedule. This usually means that your child is starting to be able to control their bladder, even if subconsciously.

2 - Your little one starts to take an interest in the bathroom and the toilet. You can further gauge this by opening up a kid friendly talk about the bathroom and toilet to see if they become more interested.

3 - If you see that your child is able to tell the difference between when they need to pee or poop, that is also a sign that their body is starting to mature enough to be ready. You may also see that they start to hate having a dirty diaper on more and more at this stage.

4 - If you see that your little one is able to safely pull down their clothes and diaper/pullup to be able to use the potty

5 - When you see that your child is able to understand simple instructions and follow through on them. This is a must for toilet training!

6 - Most important of all - if your child shows that they are willing and want to try to sit on the potty that you will be using for the potty training process!

We will go into more detail about rewards for when they "Go Potty" and how to handle any setbacks and accidents.