You may be wondering when your children will be ready to be potty trained. There is no exact time when training should start, as it depends on the mental and physical aspect of your children. They are usually ready to be potty trained at the age of 18 to 30 months or older. They are considered ready for toilet training when they display these behaviors: reduced frequency of urination and defecation, their children’s better response to do some simple tasks, and their aversion to getting dirty.
Don’t force potty training if your children don’t show the expected response or are obviously not interested in potty training. Just cancel your plans for a while until they are ready, usually around 2 weeks later. When the time comes, here are some things to know:
1. Let them watch you or your older sister/brother use the bathroom.
2. Buy them related books or educational CDs on this topic. As an example: a book that tells how Teddy the Bear uses his first potty.
3. Put the potty in the toilet for a month before they are ready for potty training and tell them they will use it one day.
4. Take the potty when traveling with your children. Place some damp tissues in the bottom to soak up the mess.
5. Put some interesting books or toys near the potty to get them used to sitting longer.
6. Make a progress board. Check off the days when you don’t soil your pants and post the chart on your bathroom door or other places like your own bedroom door.
For those who show good results in toilet training, a small reward might motivate them to make further progress. Also a certificate of completion is another motivating tool for them. You can make this type of certificate yourself using a computer, print it on special paper, and give it to them. Tell them that they have passed the training. Potty training is only one part of training children, so if they have completed this step, you should consider potty training for them.
