Before you begin this process, you should ask yourself, ‘Is my toddler potty training ready?’ There are a few signs to look for to see if your toddler is ready. This normally happens around the age of 2 or sometimes even nearer 3 years of age. Your child will tell you by words or by facial expressions that they ‘need to go’. They should be able to stay dry for at least 2 hours and wake up dry from a nap. They should also be able to pull up and down elastic training pants and be aware that wet pants are an embarrassment. Your child might even ask to use the potty or the adult toilet.

Bowel control usually comes before bladder control and it might be a little easier to notice when a bowel movement is imminent. At some stage your child’s bowel movements will occur during the day and not at night time anymore. If your child is regular, it will be an easier process for you. You will know when your child is having a bowel movement. Some children go red in the face or may make a certain sound. Children stop playing when they are having a bowel movement, some even hide in a favourite spot. When you notice your child is going to have a bowel movement, tell them what is happening and let them sit on the potty. Explain that this is what mommy and daddy do and what they must do now because they are becoming a big boy or girl. Your child needs to know what you expect of them. This is all new to them, so tell them in a pleasant tone.

If your child is regular, choose this time to go to the potty. If not, then around 30 minutes after a meal is a good time to try. The colon is often stimulated to empty when the stomach is full. Only let your child sit for as long as is comfortable for them, don’t force them to sit on the potty. Sit with your child if this is what they need, but some children may need to be alone to be able to relax the sphincter muscles in order to have a bowel movement. Give your child praise for their bowel movements and even for just sitting on the potty.

It is probably easier to begin potty training in the summer months when there are less layers of clothing. Accidents do happen and you’ll have less to launder. If at all possible, set 3 days in a row aside for bladder training, where your child will have all you attention. In this time, you should drop anything when your child needs to go. You should explain to your child that they must tell you when they need to go. There are also key times when you should put your child on the potty to get them in to a routine. These times are first thing in the morning and last thing at night, before and after naps, after meals and when a child has been dry for at least 2 hours. To help the child, you might want to turn on the tap and run a little water. Keep the child company and praise all progress. During the training period you can offer more fluids as this will create the need to urinate more.

Night time training will be a little more difficult. These are involuntary muscles and the child is asleep! Night time bladder control could take anything from a few months to several years after day time bladder control. Use night time diapers, but praise a child if they wake up dry. Encourage more drinking during the day and try not to give the child fluid before bed time. Don’t refuse the child if they are thirsty, but try to concentrate the fluid intake for the day time. Make going to the toilet just before bed time a habit. You can even do this twice. Once when you are preparing them for bed and then once again just before you turn the lights out. Keeping a potty near your child’s bed might make things easier. You can also keep the pathway to the bathroom lit or have a sensor light in the bathroom so that when someone enters the bathroom, the light will immediately come on. Try to keep the house relatively warm, your child might not want to get out of bed during the night if it feels too cold. When your child has had dry nights for about a week, change from diapers to training pants or disposable pull-ups.