When you decide it’s time to begin potty-training, start by maintaining a positive attitude. This ideal should also be followed by major influences in your child’s daily life. Potty-training is a big milestone for kids and parents alike. The key steps when potty-training your child consist of timing and patience.

When is it Time?

To achieve potty-training success, parents and guardians must keep in mind that potty-training does not hinge on a specific age, but instead on physical and emotional readiness. For example, most children will show interest in potty-training by the age of 2, but other children might not reach this stage until they are about 2 ½ or older. Situations like these are perfectly okay as there should not be any rush in properly potty-training your child.

Is Your Child Ready?

Ask yourself these questions:

Does your child seem interested in the potty chair or toilet, or in wearing underwear?
Can your child understand and follow basic directions?
Does your child tell you through words, facial expressions or posture when he or she needs to go?
Does your child stay dry for periods of two hours or longer during the day?
Does your child complain about wet or dirty diapers?
Can your child pull down his or her pants and pull them up again?
Can your child sit on and rise from a potty chair?

If you answered yes to the majority of the questions, your child may be ready to start potty-training. If you answered mostly no, you might want to wait. Potty-training your child too early, may be difficult if they are not ready.

Helpful Tips

In order to effectively potty-train your child, keep these tips in mind:

Place a potty chair in the bathroom or where your child spends most of their time. Encourage them to sit on the chair – with or without a diaper.
Help your child understand how to talk about the bathroom using simple, correct terms.
Schedule potty breaks. Stay with your child when they are in the restroom.
When you notice signs that your child might need to use the toilet, respond quickly. Help your child recognize the signals of needing to go to the restroom.
Practice proper wiping and disposal of bathroom tissue and emphasize hand washing after using the restroom.
Consider incentives. Reinforce your child’s effort with verbal praise.

Ditch the Diaper

After several weeks your child may be ready to trade their diapers for training pants or underwear. Celebrate this transition. Once your child is at this stage, offer to let them pick out their undergarments.
Avoid clothing (overalls, leotards, belts, etc.) that might make it difficult for your child to undress.

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