Practical advice and potty training tips from regular mamas who have been there – more than once!
Potty training. Oftentimes our toddler gets there before we are ready and we are left scratching our head thinking about when and how to get started. After all, weren’t we just holding our freshly swaddled newborn in our arms five minutes ago? Potty training, potty learning, toilet training – whatever you call it, it is definitely a big milestone for our toddler and how we manage the early days of potty training can make all of the difference to our child’s success.
So we have collected together a panel of six regular mamas who have been there – all have tackled potty training with their children, both boys and girls, two, three and even four times.
Today we are asking the question of our panel of mothers;
How did you know that your child was ready to potty train?
Here’s what they had to say;
- My kids told me! Two of my three girls said they were not going to wear nappies anymore and they didn’t. There were definite signs before though like telling me when they were wetting their nappy and asking for nappy changes. SR
- They showed interest in the toilet and sitting on it and copying me. Toilet paper was particularly fascinating! AH
- I didn’t. I thought I knew, but I was wrong. She let me know when she was really ready! CO
- They would tell me when they had done poo and were visibly uncomfortable with a soiled nappy. They could pull their pants up and down by themselves. We toilet trained both at 2.5 years of age. TW
- I read “Nappy Duck and Potty Piggy” to them. If they seemed interested then I started gently from there. SP
- For our girls there were none of the initial early signs of physical readiness. They became more aware and interested in the workings of going to the toilet but showed no sign of being interested in or able to use the toilet themselves. At about age 3, I initiated the process to ‘test the waters’ so to speak based mostly on their age and me having the time and opportunity to give it a go. KF
- At around 2, our son began wanting to do what his big sisters did – wear undies, sit on the toilet, etc. This was our first cue that he was emotionally interested and ready to try. Physically he began to wee in greater amounts less often – so more big wees instead of lots of little wees, a sign that his bladder could hold more and that his muscles were beginning to mature enough to hold on for longer. KF
Of course once they are ‘ready,’ the question becomes how do we get started? Check out the approaches our mothers took to potty training in the next posts in this series – potty training methods and what do I need for potty training.
Great big thanks for sharing so generously go to Shae (Mum to 3 girls), Tanya (Mum to a pigeon pair), Amanda (Mum to 2 girls), Kate (Mum to 4 – two of each), Cath (Mum to 1+1) and Sarah (Mum to 2 boys and 1 girl).
Christie Burnett is a teacher, presenter, writer and the mother of two. She created Childhood 101 as a place for teachers and parents to access engaging, high quality learning ideas.
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