The thought of potty training a child can be very scary and unappealing. I remember dreading when the time came to potty train my son because I had heard horror stories and, let’s be honest, who likes cleaning up poop and pee off the floor and furniture? For some reason I just had it in my head that there would be so many accidents, that it would be insanely difficult, and that it would just be a huge mess all together. While this may be true for some children and some parents, many children are actually very open to the idea of going potty on a toilet instead of in their diaper, especially if they are really ready for it. That is one of the key things to remember: they have to be ready for it. How do you know when they’re ready for it? Well, luckily for us parents, there are a couple of tall tale signs that signal when a child is ready for potty training. Here are 7 of them.
1. Interest In The Potty
When your child starts to notice and take interest in what you and your family members are doing on the toilet, it’s a great time to teach them what the toilet is for. Usually if they are interested and curious about this, they are ready and willing to learn about it. What’s great for kids is to see their dads, big brothers, moms and sisters using the potty. It helps them to comprehend what the potty is for and that they can do it, too, just like daddy or mommy.
2. Able To Pull Their Pants/Diaper Down On Their Own
If you notice that your child keeps pulling their pants and diapers down and off, they could be ready for the next big step of going potty on the toilet. This can be one of the biggest battles when it comes to potty training a child. I know teaching my son to pull off his own pants was difficult (and still is even though he’s completely potty trained), but if they’re already doing it on their own, that’s great and one less thing you have to worry about.
3. Diaper Stays Dry For Long Periods Of Time
One of the biggest changes I noticed in my son when he was ready to potty train was that he would go hours without peeing in his diaper. So many times I would go to change his diaper and it would be completely dry! I was shocked and knew that he was ready to start using the toilet instead of his diaper. If he was holding it in his diaper, then he could certainly hold it while wearing underwear, too.
4. Their Bowel Movements Become Predictable
It’s weird and kind of gross to talk about, but toddlers eventually become pretty routine and regular when it comes to bowel movements. Since my son turned 2 and a half it seemed like he always pooped in the early afternoon right before his nap. This regularity is great for potty training because then you can predict when they’ll need to go to the bathroom so you can watch them around this time and encourage them to use the toilet instead of going in their diaper. It takes a lot of stress out of wondering if you’re going to end up with poop in the corner of the room one day or not.
5. Dislike Dirty or Wet Diapers
A huge sign of being ready for potty training is when your toddler dislikes when their diaper is dirty or wet. They may cry, get upset, tug on the diaper, take it off, etc. This is great because if they don’t like it, chances are they’ll be more open to not having to use a diaper anymore. They’ll probably welcome and enjoy the opportunity to go on a toilet instead of soiling themselves and sitting in it or walking around in it for a while until you change their diaper.
6. Express The Need To Go Either Verbally Or Non-Verbally
Just because your child doesn’t verbally tell you that they need to go potty, doesn’t mean that they’re not telling you some other way. There are other signs they can be doing that will signal the need to go. Those would include the potty dance, holding themselves, passing a lot of gas, etc. If you notice your child doing any of these, start asking them if they need to go potty or take them into the bathroom and have them try to go on the toilet instead of in their diaper. If they flat out tell you that they need to go, they are most definitely ready for potty training.
7. Tell You They Need Their Diaper Changed
It didn’t seem like my son cared one way or another if his diaper was wet or dirty, but once he got older he started telling me when he needed his diaper changed or he would tell me that he had pooped. If they’re aware that they soiled their diaper and are able to tell you that, then they are old enough to be aware of when they need to go potty and are certainly old enough to tell you so.