It’s understandable why those and many other motivating factors might have you planning to start toilet training sooner rather than later. The fact is, though, that every child develops at their own pace and thus requires an individual approach to potty training. Start by watching your child closely for signs of potty training readiness. This potty training checklist will help you determine if your little one seems to be physically, emotionally, and cognitively ready to tackle this milestone. In these instances, you can certainly have your child using the potty and even get rid of diapers, but your child is not yet independently able to use the bathroom. As you start to see your child staying dry, but not quite free of accidents, consider switching them to cotton or disposable training pants like Pull-Ups. This way your child will be able to start going to the bathroom and taking down their pants on their own, taking the next step towards being completely potty trained. When my 2-year-old started following me into the bathroom and insisted on sitting on the seat, I went with it. He wasn’t showing many other signs, but I didn’t want to discourage his interest, so I began by just letting him sit on the seat while fully clothed. Eventually, his physical skills caught up and we had a fairly smooth training period since he associated the toilet with easy-going times. A smaller child may need to use a stand-alone chair that’s close enough to the ground to allow them to stand up without help. Make sure that you model the entire process for your toddler: undressing, how to sit and stand, wiping, redressing and washing up. You can also use potty training books or DVDs to explain the bathroom to your child.
