When to start potty training?

Potty Training - Introduction

Being able to use the toilet on his or her own is one of the most important skills that your child will need to pick up before turning 4 years old.

In the past, many children were out of diaper by 18 months. However, according to reports, many children today are not properly toilet-trained until they are almost 3 years old.

When can you start Potty Training? - General Age Guideline

As a general guideline, you may start potty training after your child turns 2 years old. The America Academy of Pediatrics recommend parents to look for their child's signs of readiness, interest and response to their suggestion to use the potty or toilet before deciding the timing of potty training.

Advantages of Early Training

Potty-trained children can avoid diaper rashes and diaper-related infections such as yeast and rotavirus. Training them to use the toilet themselves also cultivates independence in them and helps the parents to save time and money. Parents may also have more flexibility when looking for a preschool to send their child to.

Young children who were trained in using the toilet are also less likely to suffer from recurrent urinary tract infection. When your child is able to empty his or her bladder completely, it helps to eliminate residual urine that may harbour bacteria.

It was also reported that early trainees are at a lower risk for developing problems with incontinence later in life.

Furthermore, the smell of their child's urine and faeces will be more unpleasant at a later training age. If they are potty trained, parents do not need to change their diapers and endure the smell.

Lastly, wearing diapers may cause older children to ignore their body signals to pass urine or stool as they are too accustomed to the diaper. (Boucke, 2003) This may make it harder to potty train them and could prolong the duration of toilet training. Hence, it is recommended to toilet train your child early.

Disadvantages of earlier training

If you wish to potty train your child early, you should take note that potty training is impossible before your child turns 12 months old. This is because he or she is not able to control the bladder and bowel movement.

Furthermore, many children are not able to walk before they turn 12 months old. They also may not be able to pull down their pants by themselves.

Training between 12 months to 18 months is also difficult as children at this age will be more resistant to sit on a potty chair since they had just learnt to walk.

When can you start Potty Training? - Emotional readiness and cognitive skills

Your child must show emotional readiness for potty training before you start to train him or her.

he or she must be able to follow simple instructions given by you.
he or she likes to be neat and dry and makes 'complaint' when the diaper is wet or unclean.
he or she is eager to be independent. He or she may want to do things on his or her own.
he or she acts interested when other family members use the toilet.
he or she is able to utter words that indicate toilet, urine and stool.

When can you start Potty Training? - Physical skill and behavioural readiness

Your child needs to have the following physical skills before embarking on potty training.

Able to walk and run steadily
Able to pull his or her pants up and down
Able to keep the diaper dry for at least 2 hours
Able to sit down quietly in one position for a few minutes
Able to signal you verbally or physically that he or she is having a bowel movement or passing urine.
Has a relatively fixed timing for passing stool in a day.

When can you Start Potty Training? - How long will it take?

On the average, most girls are said to be toilet trained at the age of 29 months and 31 months for the boys. Most children should be ready by 36 months of age.

When can you Start Potty Training? - What if my child resists?

When your child demonstrates resistance to potty training, it is recommended that you stop as he or she is not ready yet. You should wait for some time before resuming potty training. Do not make toilet training a stressful thing or a battle for your child.

When can you Start Potty Training? - FAQ

1. Is it true that boys are usually toilet-trained later than girls?

According to the America Academy of Paediatrics, two large population studies show that males are delayed by approximately six months compared to girls in toilet training. However, it should be noted that population studies are not representative of individuals.