Potty Training Tips

Now (summertime) seems like the ideal time to do potty training, if you haven’t already started. Summer is a great time where they can have a lot more nappy free time and if they do have accidents then washing can dry a lot quicker.

It’s always best to wait until they are ready to train. You’ll get so much more frustrated with the process if you try it before they are ready. Every child is different and will be ready different ages. Have older siblings might also speed up the process.

When do I know when my child is ready?

There is no standard age but toddler develop the skills to be ready to potty train between 18 months and 3 years. Although science has shown girls maybe ready to train a couple of months before boys.

Some of the signs that show they might be ready for potty training:

• If using pull up nappies, they can pull them up and down freely.
• Has shown signs of wanting to use a potty or the toilet.
• Has dry spells of an hour or 2 or dry after naps.
• Lets you know if they have wee’d or poo’d in their nappy.
• Has basic communication skills to let you know they want to go to the potty or toilet

Toddlers may not show all of these signs but you know your toddler the best, you’ll pick up on their signals.

Potty Training Books

There are many books for parents and toddlers that you can start with. Especially board books that you can read with your child, that teaches them about the process. I never got to use books with mine, but I know they can be helpful, you can find out a list of the top 10 potty training books to get.

My Tips on Potty Training

From my experience after training 3 kids:

• Give them lots of nappy free time and have a potty near by so they know where to go
• Encourage them to go often as they may not be thinking about it if they are playing
• Don’t punish accidents, they will happen, just re-enforce where they should go to the toilet and carry on.
• Don’t try and tackle dry day and night at the beginning. It may take them longer to become dry at night.
• Try and use a reward chart if that works for your toddler.
• Don’t judge your toddler against anyone else. They will get it in their own time.

Just when you think they have cracked it for a few weeks, you’ll find they go backward for a while. That’s totally normal, just go back to step one and try again. Don’t feel too frustrated by it, they will get back on track again.

We used the period of lockdown 2020 to potty train my 3 year old. She still has some accidents but wants to be just as independent as her sisters.