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Potty training: Signs your child is ready

Timing is key to successful potty training. Before you begin, make sure your child is ready.
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Narrator: Most children are ready for potty training between the ages of 1 and a half and 3. But how will you know when the time is right?

Josh Rabinowitz of Advocare Mainline Pediatrics in Pennsylvania is a pediatrician and father of three. He's meeting with Alynn and her son, 22-month-old Mason, to talk through the signs of potty training readiness. With a new baby on the way, Alynn hopes Mason is on his way to being done with diapers.

Mother: So how do I know Mason's ready? What are the things that I look for?

Pediatrician: There are many signs that children may give us to let us know that they are ready for potty training.

Narrator: Starting the process before your child is ready – or after his initial interest has waned – can add to the challenge of potty training. That's why it's key to watch for signs of readiness, though not every child will exhibit every sign. One sign is showing interest in the potty.

Child: Can I go potty?

Pediatrician: When you talk to Mason about going to the potty, does he show interest?

Mother: We recently bought him a new potty seat and he has been interested in trying to sit on it.

Pediatrician: Now is he just sitting on the potty, just for fun?

Mother: He sits and reads.

Pediatrician: Well that's another great sign that Mason is working on getting ready to go to the potty!

Child: Wow!

Mother: I'm so proud of you.

Pediatrician: Another sign that Mason may be ready for the potty is if he can follow directions.

Narrator: Using the bathroom requires several steps, from sitting on the potty to washing hands. Your child will need to be able to follow your instructions.

Mother: He can follow one-, sometimes two-step directions.

Pediatrician: And probably pretty soon, three- and four-step directions.

Pediatrician: Can you get me the book from the chair over there? See the book? That's great, thank you.

Mother: Hey buddy, do you have to go potty?

Narrator: If your child can tell you or show you that he needs to go pee or poop, that'll help with training.

Mother: He does tell me definitely when he poops. He says, “I'm a poo poo boy.”

Pediatrician: “I'm a poo poo boy,” that's wonderful.

Narrator: Having wet or dirty diapers less frequently is another sign of potty training readiness.

Pediatrician: Are you noticing that Mason stays dry in his diaper for periods of time?

Mother: I have noticed that, yes.

Pediatrician: Has he ever been dry through a whole nap?

Mother: I don't think so, no.

Pediatrician: Children at around 12 months become aware of their ability to hold their urine. They develop the ability to recognize that the bladder is full, and can let it go when it needs to be let go. Uh, it takes until 18 months or older for kids to be better at controlling their bladder muscles and the sphincters that allow the urine and the stool to be released into the potty.

Another skill that kids need in order to be able to become potty trained is coordination. Coordination to be able to walk or run to the potty even if they're in a little potty chair, they need to be able to sit themselves down nicely. It takes some time and coordination for kids to be ready.

Narrator: Mason is working hard at getting on and off the potty.

Pediatrician: Another skill for kids to have in order to do well with potty training is to be able to sit still.

Mother: Why is that important?

Pediatrician: It's important because it takes time to allow your body to let the bowels move, or to let the urinary sphincter open so that they can then pee, and release all the urine from their bladder. If we have a very jumpy kid, who is impatient, isn't gonna stay there, it's going to be harder and then I would probably hold off on training that child until they were able to sit still for a little longer period of time.

Narrator: Being able to remove clothes is a key step toward being able to use the potty independently.

Pediatrician: Does Mason help you with this?

Mother: He's working on it.

Pediatrician: Pull up! Pull, pull, pull, yeah.

Mother: Good boy. We practice, he tries, uh with a little help from me, he can do it.

Pediatrician: Another sign that Mason might be ready to start potty training is that he doesn't like being in his poopy diaper.

Mother: Yeah, he doesn't seem to mind if he has a poopy diaper.

Pediatrician: Well, that's okay, there are many other signs.

Narrator: The next sign is willingness to use the potty. Potty training will be tough if your child is opposed to trying. If that's the case, delay training until he's more willing.

Finally, a good sign of potty training readiness is that your child is proud of using the potty.

Mother: We've read some potty books that he's interested in, and it seems like he really wants to model the behavior he sees in the books.

Pediatrician: And also seeing his parents use the potty as well, and he's becoming a big boy, he's becoming a big brother, so to him it may be a source of pride that he learns this new skill.

Mother: Good job, hooray! You went potty.

Narrator: No matter how ready your child is for potty training, expect setbacks and accidents. Stay positive and the process will go more smoothly.

Mother: If I train Mason too soon, is there a chance that he'll regress when the second child comes along?

Pediatrician: Yes, even if you train Mason at the exact right moment for him and he's great at working the potty, there's a good chance that when you have your new baby he will regress, he'll have some accidents.

Narrator: If you have questions or concerns about your child's readiness or progress, talk to the doctor.

Pediatrician: From what I can see, Mason seems to be demonstrating a lot of readiness for potty training. He's coordinated, he follows directions, and he's interested in sitting on the potty and he's interested in watching you guys on the potty. From my standpoint, he's ready to get started.

Mother: (reading to Mason) I sit down and wait. Using the potty feels…

Child: Great.


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