Before I begin, let me just confess that I do not have a Ph.D. in Potty Training. I haven’t read all the literature on potty training nor have I conducted studies with hundreds of little potty training participants. I have, however, potty trained two of my own children and helped potty train several of my younger siblings.
I’ve talked with enough parents to know that potty training can be a stressful time in a parents’ life, but that with a little guidance and a few tips the job will result in many fewer gray hairs than it may have otherwise done.
Children begin the potty training process anywhere from 12 months of age to 3 and a half years. In order for your child to be successful at potty training they must recognize the cues their bodies give them. You, as a parent, also need to be ready to potty train. I often hear many parents comment that they simply weren’t/aren’t ready to embark on the process. These things are all okay. What age your child potty trains (within reason :)) has no bearing on whether you’re a good parent or not.
Here are some of the signs of “potty readiness”:
- Wants to always watch you, your spouse, or their siblings go to the bathroom.
- Tells, or indicates, to you when they are wet or poopy and need to be changed.
- Goes into a different room for a little privacy before they do #1 or #2 in their diaper
- Wants to be changed immediately when wet or messy
*I have often heard that you should wait to potty train your child until they are old enough to pull their pants up and down. Unless, you are simply too busy to take your child to the bathroom, your child’s ability to get their pants up and down on their own shouldn’t be seen as a necessary skill for potty readiness.
If your child is showing any combination of these signs the next step I suggest is that you get a potty chair (not just a potty seat) and place it in the bathroom next to the toilet. Your child’s reaction to the potty chair is often the strongest indicator of whether they are ready to potty train.
Other potty readiness indicators:
- Wants to sit on the potty chair anytime you or another family member goes to the bathroom.
- Seems content to sit on the chair for a minute or two (i.e. doesn’t just lift the lid, sit down, get up for the novelty of it).
- Actually goes #1 or #2 in the potty
My boys are pretty much polar opposites when it comes to personality. My oldest is very compliant and it is very easy to get him to do what we ask him to do. My youngest is very stubborn and takes a lot of creative parenting. They both, however, showed very similar signs for potty readiness. At about 20 months of age, my oldest began to show signs of potty readiness. I potty trained him at 26 months (as soon as I was over my morning sickness). My younger son showed signs of potty readiness at 18 months. He pretty much potty trained himself. At 23 months he, with the exception of occasional accidents, is daytime potty trained.
What signs of potty readiness have your children shown?
Stay tuned on Wednesday for tips for low stress, successful potty training.
About Amy @ Oh So Savvy Mom
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