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Ten Signs Your Toddler is Ready for Potty Training

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10 Signs Your Toddler is Ready for Potty Training

One of the many great milestones toddlers are expected to master, between the age of 18 months to 4 years old, is potty training. To date, we have successfully shown all four boys how to use the toilet with raging success. Ignoring the times they miss the bowl or forget to wipe off the toilet seat. I DO remind them, since this slip-up affects me directly, in so many ways.

We recently finished potty training our youngest son. We “delayed” his potty training career until he showed clear signs of readiness. We knew our sweet toddler was ready for potty training when he exhibited these 10 signs.

Get ALL your potty training questions answered in one place!

Is your toddler ready for potty training? Is your child’s bedwetting normal?

Our Potty Training 101 Resource Page has ALL the potty training answers AND encouragement you need!

(Post originally written in 2014, updated in 2017)
Potty training readiness guide from a mother of four. When is your toddler ready for potty training? When he shows these 10 sure signs - THEN you can start and your potty training success will be easier! #PottyTraining #PottyTrainingReadiness #Toddler #Parenting #MamaintheNow

 

Personally, I am never in a rush to potty train the boys, I wait until they are old enough to write me a 30-page dissertation on all the reasons why “Now is the Time to Potty Train”. Jonah finally finished his paper last summer, and after close review I had to agree, he was ready to step into the big leagues: Our toddler was (finally) ready for potty training!

Once your toddler is ready for potty training, don’t miss these 10 things you want to load up on before you start! 

Learn the 10 signs of #pottytraining readiness. Know when your #toddler is ready for potty training! Click To Tweet

10 Signs Your Toddler Is Ready for Potty Training:

  1. Able to pull pants up and down.
    1. This is only applicable if your toddler ever wears pants! Our boys always prefer the ever so toddler-chic “diaper only” look.
  2. Your life is settled into a groove with no major changes on the horizon.
    1. Things like moving, a new sibling, sickness – even as simple as the common cold can all cause toddlers to regress. Starting potty training during a major life change could backfire.
    2. We moved and added another sibling to the mix in 2014, we therefore waited for things to calm down before we even considered potty training Jansen.
  3. Show interest in the toilet and the things that other family members do on it.
    1. Having three older brothers provides a great deal of inspiration and leaves little to the imagination of what a toilet is used for. It’s fair to say that Jonah is well educated in this area – and intrigued.
  4. Notice and dislike wet and dirty diapers.
    1. Jonah aced this point. He used to take diapers off and bring them to us… yeah – he was ready.
  5. Stay dry for longer periods of time and their bowel movements are predictable.
    1. We all know the signs of a pooping baby/ toddler. Their facial expressions alone give it away, but also their body language of hiding and retreating back into a corner are dead giveaways.
    2. Jonah was a little more stealth than that – but he was still very predictable.

10 things to load up on before potty training! Having these 10 things on hand will make your toddler's potty training journey much easier - for all parties!

Get ALL your potty training questions answered in one place!

Is your toddler ready for potty training? Is your child’s bedwetting normal?

Our Potty Training 101 Resource Page has ALL the potty training answers AND encouragement you need!

  1. Follow simple instructions & eager to learn.
    1. Toddlers are inherently eager to learn how to navigate the world around them. As soon as they are capable they will gladly follow easy instructions all in the name of learning a new task.
    2. Of course, this all has to be done on THEIR time – when they are well-rested and not hungry… but we all know this about toddlers.
  2. Express a desire to be a big kid.
    1. This is one reason why potty training a toddler who just became a big brother/ sister may just be an effort in futility. With a little baby in the house, many toddlers regress as they see the baby gets attention for doing “baby things”.
    2. Once the new family dynamics have been established, it is again “safe” for the toddler to show an interest in becoming a big kid.
  3. Communicate wants and needs.
    1. Being verbal is not necessarily as sign of potty training readiness, since we know toddlers have their own very convincing ways of getting their point across.
    2. Many of these methods of communication have little to nothing to do with speech – so just being able to point, sign, signal, or do the potty dance are all perfect ways of communicating the need for a potty break.
  4. Have patience to sit still for a few minutes.
    1. Oh, and what toddler doesn’t just love to sit still for extended periods of time?! This is where you will have to read potty books, sing and even do puppet shows in the bathroom to entertain your training toddler long enough for them to have a “productive” bathroom visit.
  5. Resist diapers and ask for underwear.
    1. I know, I know – this one is rather obvious – but I had to add it since it was one of Jonah’s CLEAR signs…
    2. and that’s when I knew it was time for me to get off the pot and get the kid potty trained!

Before you start your potty training journey, here are some things parents wish they knew about potty training ahead of time!

Now that your toddler is ready for potty training, let’s get stocked up on the 10 things you will need for potty training success! 

Recognize the 10 signs of potty training readiness. Know when your toddler is ready for potty training. The 10 signs to start potty training. #PottyTraining #PottyTrainingReady #PottyTrainingReadiness #Toddler #Parenting #mamainthenow

Comments

  27. Jennifer P. says

    I would choose the Peace (blue) in large. Medium might work too, but my daughter is very big for her age so I was thinking going up a size might be better.

  46. Alyssa Laughlin says

    We would I believe according to the sizing chart go with a size small in green! 🙂 My son is about 25lbs, so I think if we won the medium would be too big.

  49. Lorna P says

    Size Small for our little princess…. and pink, of course! She’s going to love her new golden potty!

  55. Cindy McElwee says

    Soft Bums ~ medium ~ great design, love the Love Blossom Echo Diaper ♥ Perfect

  66. Kaitlin L. says

    I would choose love in a size medium I think. My LO is 6mo right now and is already 20lbs…who knows how much she will weigh once she starts potty training.

  73. G says

    I think I love just about all these colors, love the muted tones…. My favorite is bamboo and I would choose size medium. Thanks for the great review and Chance to win. I’d love to try these out. Thanks

  77. Eden says

    I used rewards for all three of my kids, usually jelly beans, 1 jelly bean for #1 and 2 for #2, all my kids were really easy to train this way, my oldest son was trained at 25 months, my daughter was 21 months and my youngest son was 23 months, just gotta make sure you introduce it early enough before they become defyant, and make it as fun as possible, do the happy dance, make up a potty song, works like a charm!!

    • Mama in the Now says

      Oh yeah – the potty songs… I am great at making those up on the fly!

  80. Sariah Meagle says

    Recently, I noticed that my son is now able to pull his pants up and down without my help. I would say that he’s now ready for potty training since he now notices and dislikes having wet and dirty diapers. Since he’s capable to follow simple instructions and eager to learn now, I might give him a potty training book for children so that he can learn how to do it by example.

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