Toilet training

🔎When to start: readiness signs

Many children become dry during the day between ages 2 and 3. Timing differs for each child, and starting early does not mean finishing early. Start when you see several of these signs, rather than at a set age.

• Diaper stays dry for about 2 hours or after naps
• Lets you know, with words, faces or gestures, that they are peeing or pooping or just did
• Dislikes a wet diaper and asks to be changed
• Shows interest in the potty or in adults using the toilet
• Can pull pants down and up to some extent
• Understands and follows simple instructions like "let's sit on the potty"

🪜Step by step

• Get a child-sized potty or a toilet seat insert and step stool, and use picture books to make the bathroom familiar.
• Start by sitting with clothes on. Once comfortable, sit for a few minutes at regular times: after waking, after meals, after naps and before bed.
• Take your child to the toilet as soon as they show a sign. Praise success specifically ("You told me you needed to pee!").
• Do not keep your child on the potty for long. If nothing happens within a few minutes, let them know it is fine to get up.
• Teach handwashing after the toilet, and wiping front to back for girls.
• Switch to underwear once your child succeeds most of the day. Pack spare clothes when going out.

🧺Accidents and regression

Accidents are part of toilet training. Scolding or shaming makes children tense, so they hold it in or hide it, which can lead to constipation. Stay calm, say "let's try the potty next time," and clean up together.

After a new sibling, a move, starting daycare or an illness, even a child who was doing well may have more accidents. It is usually temporary, so ease the pressure and wait. If your child strongly resists, it is fine to pause for a few weeks and try again.

🥦When there is constipation

Holding in stool and becoming constipated is common during toilet training. Hard, painful stools make children hold it more, creating a vicious cycle. Offer plenty of vegetables, fruit, whole grains and water, and give regular potty time after meals. If constipation continues, pause training and treat the constipation first.

🌙Nighttime dryness and bedwetting

Staying dry at night comes later than daytime and depends more on body maturity than willpower. It is not unusual for children around age 5 to still have occasional wet nights, and most outgrow it.

Using the toilet before bed and not drinking a lot late in the evening can help. Do not scold for wet nights. Medically, bedwetting is usually evaluated if it continues past about age 5, so if you are concerned, talk with your pediatrician around then.

🚩Signs to see a doctor

• Pain when peeing, needing to pee very often, or blood in the urine
• Fever with strong-smelling urine, or belly or side pain
• A child who was dry suddenly has frequent daytime accidents and is drinking unusually large amounts
• Still rarely dry during the day after age 4 to 5
• A weak urine stream, or constant dribbling

💬FAQ