Potty training tips vary, but the timeframe most often offered by potty training advice wielding experts is between one and a half and three years, though age isn’t near as relevant as readiness.

When your child can tell you they have a dirty diaper, they’re probably ready. If  they can properly articulate a need to be clean, they’ve likely been ready for a while.

Toilet training is difficult, toddler toilet training especially, yet it is one of the first major  chasms we must cross as mom and dad. Toilet training our toddlers involves us every bit as much as them, and must be carried out by careful thought. The potty training process isn’t just about ditching the diaper, it’s about gaining the personal responsibility that comes along with it. Starting with the proper  potty training techniques is the best way to experience early success.

Allowing your child to stay swaddled in their diaper after they’ve shown they’re capable of doing otherwise (simply because they are hedging on their next step or stagnation makes it simpler for your schedule), then you are also allowing our child to draft the household decisions, and thus plotting out a poor precedent at an early age.

Even worse, you are teaching your child that you are comfortable cleaning up after them until they decide different.

You’re probably thinking,  “But my daughter’s only two!”

Sure, but she’ll soon be five, then ten… then fifteen. She’s learning who she is right now and the first years couldn’t be more important.

For some toddlers, toilet training hits a home run without a lot of effort, easy as slipping wheat germ in the cake batter.  Other children find it a trying time when they feel they must assert their will. Though the process can be difficult, you can not be detoured.

Remember, it’s called toilet training for a reason. You may have a few extra loads laundry, but the battle is brief. When it’s over, your child will be stronger and so will you.

Written down in black and white this all sounds perfectly pragmatic, but many a practical parent appears to lose all perspective when the subject falls to toilet training your toddler.

When to start potty training is a delicate subject – either you hedge because of the anticipated struggle, or you are afraid of possible damage to their psyche if we push our toddlers too hard.

As far as warping your little one’s childhood, no one is suggesting you wrap your child in chains until they can properly use the potty. Simply take the time to observe your child, for it is you  who know them  best. Be realistic. Few children glide through potty training.

Day by day is the best design.

Of all the toilet training tips, here’s the one that takes the prize: Once confident your child understands what is happening and what they are required to do, you have no excuse to straddle the road any longer. Toddler toilet training doesn’t start the second we come home from the store with a few dozen pairs of underwear. Toilet training is an awareness that you can build from the changing table forward.

Toilet training toddlers starts with us, but it finishes with them.

Potty Training Power…AWAY!!!

Despite everyone from your grandma to the next door neighbors wanting to hand out regular potty training advice, effective toilet training is different for every family.

The best advice is to sift through the various potty training techniques until you find those that are the right fit for your family. An good place to start is with the three stages outlined in the 3 day potty training method.

Though we disagree with the claim that 3 day potty training works for everyone, we do use the 3 days to draw parallels between the various stages of toilet training.

We’ve previously covered potty training day one, and the  potty training techniques of day two. Today is the third day (or stage) of toilet training: doing, the stage that finally answers the question of when to actually start potty training.

By using the three stages, it is easier to discern when to to start potty training. If you’ve successfully finished both the first and second stages, then green lights all the way.

In the first stage, it is your job to articulate to your child both the underlying reasons for potty training, as well as your expectations. The second stage is showing, where you model your best behavior. Take your child with you when you need to go (same sex parent is always best), or demonstrate on a dolly.

Anything that helps your child understand the how will hep accelerate the when.

So you’re almost there. The potty is now a permanent fixture of the bathroom. Your little guy understands the basics, at least in theory.

What now?

How do you help your little one take that final step?

Simple – help your child by encouraging them to try.

This last step is, of course, the most difficult. You and your child must slowly work together over the coming days. This is not a step that can be rushed, nor is there any reason to. You’re smack in the middle of the good old days. Someday soon, all the hardship will drift into memory. Don’t be surprised if your child regresses and wants to go back to diapers, but don’t allow it to happen.

This is NOT a sign of failure.

Follow these 3 rules. Once you know when to start potty training, go forward at full throttle, and don’t look back!

• Have your child go to the potty at least once a day. Some parents try first thing in the morning, while others find after lunch or just before bath to be a better time. No matter when you decide is the right time, make sure you make it a consistent part of your routine.
• Establish a fixed time. Go potty at the same block of time each day and your child will begin to recognize the routine. Children love ritual. The predictability of potty time should make them excited rather than anxious.
• Slowly increase restroom  visits.  Once your child is feeling success at least once per day, you can begin increasing trips. Try to schedule times when you are close to home. Consistency builds success.

Either way, keep in mind that accidents happen. Your child will constantly look to you for direction. If you remain positive, so will your child.

We hope you learned a bit from these potty training tips. It isn’t always easy, but knowing when to start potty training will certainly help to make it easier. Understand the basics and make potty training a time when you and your child can grow together.

Potty Training Power…AWAY!!!