Potty training is probably one of the most daunting tasks that we have to do as parents (or as grandparents, babysitters, childminders and anyone else who have to look after children.) Â It doesn't help that there are so many conflicting advice thrown at us, we don't know which one to believe.
Apparently, boys stay in nappies longer than girls, so when most of the boys in my daughter's toddler group were potty trained at 2years and my daughter refused to even looked at a potty, I nearly gone potty myself. But my babysitter at that time was quite thankful. She didn't have to worry about it during days when she had to look after my daughter.
I was also told that the second child learns faster than the first. Since my daughter was dry a few weeks after her third birthday, I expected my son to be potty trained by his third birthday. I even made sure that my babysitterwas prepared to share the experience of potty training with me. Lo and behold, his third birthday came and went but he wasn't a tiny bit interested in going to the loo.
Luckily, by this time I realised that amongst all the advice I was given, only one thing holds: every child develops at different speed. When it comes to potty training, we need to get our cues from our children. There's no point doing it before they're ready as it will just make it a stressful experience for them, for us and the other people looking after them, like their babysittersor childminders.
So, when is your child ready to be potty trained? Your child may be ready for potty training as early as 18 months but it can be as late as 3 ½ years old. Be assured that your children will be dry, at least during the day, by the time they go to school.
How will you know if your children are ready for potty training? Children are ready for potty training if they:
Once your children are showing these signs, they are already able to control their bladder. At this stage potty training is faster and more successful. Introducing potty training before this stage will make the process longer.
Apparently, boys stay in nappies longer than girls, so when most of the boys in my daughter's toddler group were potty trained at 2years and my daughter refused to even looked at a potty, I nearly gone potty myself. But my babysitter at that time was quite thankful. She didn't have to worry about it during days when she had to look after my daughter.
I was also told that the second child learns faster than the first. Since my daughter was dry a few weeks after her third birthday, I expected my son to be potty trained by his third birthday. I even made sure that my babysitterwas prepared to share the experience of potty training with me. Lo and behold, his third birthday came and went but he wasn't a tiny bit interested in going to the loo.
Luckily, by this time I realised that amongst all the advice I was given, only one thing holds: every child develops at different speed. When it comes to potty training, we need to get our cues from our children. There's no point doing it before they're ready as it will just make it a stressful experience for them, for us and the other people looking after them, like their babysittersor childminders.
So, when is your child ready to be potty trained? Your child may be ready for potty training as early as 18 months but it can be as late as 3 ½ years old. Be assured that your children will be dry, at least during the day, by the time they go to school.
How will you know if your children are ready for potty training? Children are ready for potty training if they:
- Know their nappies are wet or dirty
- Know when they need to wee or poo
- Don't like being wet or dirty
- Have longer dry periods, over 3 hours during the day
- Imitate your toilet habits
Once your children are showing these signs, they are already able to control their bladder. At this stage potty training is faster and more successful. Introducing potty training before this stage will make the process longer.
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