Fairfax Pediatric Associates, PC
Comprehensive Health Care for Infants, Children & Young Adults
(703) 391-0900

Congratulations! Your baby is growing up and becoming more independent in many ways. How do you know if your child is ready for toilet training? If your child shows two or more of the following signs, he or she may be ready to start.

— Ability to put on and remove pants
— Staying dry for at least two hours or during a nap
— Regular and predictable bowel movements
— Wanting wet or soiled diapers changed
— Understanding and following simple directions
— Showing interest in the bathroom
— Indicating the need to go potty by words, posture or facial expression
— Wanting to wear training pants or underwear

There are three basic steps to toilet training.

1. Recognize the right time to start. If your child doesn’t seem ready, don’t push, it will only make things more difficult. If your child is not ready, re-evaluate in one month.

2. Make the big switch out of diapers. Once your child is ready to train, moving your child out of diapers into disposable training pants, cloth training pants, or underwear is one of the most effective techniques for rapid toilet training. Introduce the potty chair at this time. Be sure the seat is not too big, so the child can sit comfortably. Also, the child should be able to rest his/her feet on the floor or stool.

3. Coach your child using effective techniques.

— Give praise for progress
— Celebrate all the little successes
— Remember that a toddler’s attention span is short. Your child will need frequent reminders to stay dry.
— Consistency is the key from start to finish. Putting your child back into diapers may slow the process.
— Encourage the use of the potty when at home and away.
— Use different level of rewards for different levels of success. Change the rewards to help keep the interest level high.
— Be patient. Remember, “accidents” present ideal learning opportunities.

Nighttime dryness will come later. It may not happen for a year or more after successful daytime training.