Baby Resources Articles

Potty Training Home | Free Potty Training Mini Course | Link to Us | Order Now

Is Your Child Ready for Potty Training?

Now, most psychologists will tell you that your child is ready for potty training when you see them holding the potty. Others say it's when the child tells you they have to go potty.

I have a different opinion.

If a child is holding their number one or number two, doesn't that show you that the child is potty trained and was probably ready to be potty trained months before.

That window of opportunity has been lost. By the time you see the signs there is nothing else you can do. Here's an example. If you were going to teach your child how to read, you wouldn't wait until they read their first word to start. Why do so in potty training?

Secondly, if a child is going to tell you that they have to go to the bathroom, again, doesn't that exemplify to you that the child knows how to go potty, and they have even asked you can you take them to the potty.

There is nothing wrong with waiting if you do not mind waiting. There is no physiological or mental harm in waiting, but when you wait for the child, you lose valuable time of peace and tranquility that you could have had that is now lost forever.

There are some physics involved in whether your child is ready or not.

There are muscles in the body that control number one and number two. Usually these muscles will develop between the ages of 12 and 18 months. Once these muscles are developed, the child has the physical ability to be potty trained.

The sphincter muscle is one of those muscles. It contracts the muscle that controls the opening and closing to the bladder. If the child has the ability to control that muscle, they have the ability to hold pee long enough in order to reach the bathroom.

This muscle develops at about one year old. In my opinion, it is not physical readiness that you should be concerned with as a parent, it is mental readiness.

But you have got to ask yourself, is your child mentally ready to be potty trained? Do you find that your child is able to follow directions? Do you find that your child can listen? Do you find that your child can express themselves correctly?

If the answers to these questions are yes, then absolutely your child is ready to be potty trained. If the answers to these questions are no, then your child is not ready to be potty trained because they do not have the ability to make decisions.

Most people do not realize how smart their children really are, but if your child can say yes or no and tell you what they want, then guess what, your child is smart enough to be potty trained. But again, is your child mentally ready? That is the question. Just like anything else, you want to be proactive and start practicing some of the exercises early enough so that the child can learn them and maybe you can move forward in the potty training process.

Once you find your child is potty trained or is ready to be potty trained, you want to use some of the techniques that we have outlined in our course,

Johanne Cesar
mailto:supportstaff@thepottytrainer.com
203-404-7178