9 Signs Of Potty Training Readiness

Are you wondering when you should start potty training your toddler? How do you know if your child is ready to potty train? In this post, I am sharing 9 signs of potty training readiness that indicate your child may be ready to ditch those nappies.

Ability To Follow Simple Instructions

As a large part of potty training is explaining to your child what is expected of them and teaching them new skills, being able to understand and follow basic instructions is essential. Can your child follow one or two-step instructions? If they can, keep reading.

Showing Interest In Others Using The Toilet

When you go to the loo, is your child interested? Do they want to copy or mimic behaviour? A good tip for encouraging this is to narrate your toilet trips to really begin to engage your toddler in what is going on. Talk about pulling down your pants, sitting down, doing a wee, using toilet paper, pulling pants back up, flushing, washing and drying hands, all of it. The more you talk about it, the more interested and prepared they will be.

Communicating That They Are Wet Or Have Done A Poo

When your child’s nappy is wet or dirty, do they tell you? Either with a gesture to communicate with you or by directly telling you with words? Maybe they ask to be changed because they don’t like the sensation of a dirty nappy? These are brilliant signs of readiness for potty training.

Pulling At A Wet Or Dirty Nappy

Maybe your child doesn’t directly tell you when they need changing, but are they aware of it? Maybe they pull at their nappy when it’s wet? This can still be a sign of readiness as it shows that they are aware of the sensation even if they are not telling you.

Doing Their Business In A Certain Spot

Often children who are ready for potty training go to a certain place when it’s time to wee or poo. They may hide in a somewhere or get into a certain position. This shows that they are aware of what their body is doing and may be ready to go on the potty or toilet.

Dry Nappy For Longer Than Expected

If you check your child’s nappy and it is far dryer than expected on a number of occasions, this is a good sign that they are gaining bladder control and holding their wee rather than letting it leak out throughout the day.

Waking Dry After A Nap

Waking up from a nap with a dry nappy can be a good sign of readiness. I fell it’s important to mention, however, that most children who are dry through the day after potty training take months or even more than a year to master being dry while sleeping. So while this is a good sign of readiness, the absence of this sign does not mean that they are not ready either.

Doing A Huge Wee That Causes The Nappy To Leak Unexpectedly

What you may find as your child gains bladder control, is that they are dry for long periods, as previously discussed. They then do a huge wee that their nappy cannot cope with due to the volume and velocity. The fact that you are suddenly experiencing leaks with your child’s nappies could be explained by this and in itself may be a sign of readiness.

Understand The Concept Of Rewards

While not everyone chooses to potty train using rewards, in my personal experience, it is the easiest way. Check out my video below of the first 3 days of potty training Zara, my youngest. In the video, I share all of my best tips for potty training success.

Remember

Starting potty training is not a binding commitment. If you start then find your child is not ready after all, it is perfectly ok to stop and go back to it at a later date. In my experience, by the end of the third day, you will know if you are making progress and should stick with it, or pause and come back to it.

Is Your Child Showing Any Of These Signs?

Join the conversation! Click on the Instagram grid photo below and let me know if your child is showing readiness for potty training.

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Have you finished potty training your children? How did it go? Or is that joy still to come in your future?⠀ ⠀ I must admit, it’s not my favourite part of parenting. With some of my previous children I can now see that I was peer pressured I to starting potty training before they were ready. ⠀ ⠀ My latest video (link in bio) is all about potty training Zara, my youngest in 3 days. The video is crammed full of tips to help you potty train your little one, go and check it out.⠀ ⠀ I’d like to add potty training truths;⠀ ⠀ ? You know your child, don’t get pressured into starting before they are ready.⠀ ⠀ ? Even if you think they are ready, if you start and it goes horribly, it’s perfectly ok to stop. ⠀ ⠀ ? Even after your child is potty trained, they will occasionally have accidents. Fact. It’s ok. It’s “normal”. Don’t sweat it.⠀ ⠀ ? They will probably need nappies at bed time for a LONG time after they are dry in the day. This is ok.⠀ ⠀ Which potty training truths do you wish everyone knew?⠀ .⠀ .⠀ .⠀ .⠀ .⠀ #pottytraining #pottytrainingtips #pottytrainingboys #pottytraininggirls

A post shared by Rhi – Mummy Of Four (@mummyoffouruk) on Aug 6, 2019 at 11:41pm PDT

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