When should you start potty training?

From curiosity to potty training

Potty training starts with sparking your child’s interest. We’ll tell you more about that in our other articles. Have you completed that step? Then your child has become curious about the toilet and understands that big kids and grown-ups don’t wear diapers. You’ve talked about the toilet, pooping, peeing, and diapers, and introduced your child to the toilet in a playful way. Then you can move on to step 2: the first time on the potty.

First time on the potty: what should your child be able to do? 

In this step, it helps if your child is a little more independent. Your child will start practicing using the potty or the toilet. Start by keeping the diaper on. During this step, you’ll take the diaper off for about an hour every now and then. Offer the potty so your child can sit on it.

You can do this once your child can do the following:

• The child is interested
• The child can walk on their own
• The child can sit down and stand up again on their own (on a potty)
• The child understands simple instructions
• The child can point to it or describe it in their own words

The goal of Step 2 is for your child to pee or poop in a potty for the first time.

Doing more and more on your own

In Step 1, your child becomes curious, and in Step 2, your child has peed or pooped on the potty for the first time. Then comes the real practice phase. During this phase, your child will practice using the potty or toilet more and more often. They’ll go without a diaper for longer periods and more frequently. In the Ready for Potty, we call these steps 3 and 4. It’s helpful if your child can do a little more by then. Want to move on to step 3? Then check what your child can already do.

What can your little one do already?

Canyour child:

• …open the bedroom door or bathroom door yourself?
• …take off and put on a pair of easy-to-wear pants or leggings yourself?
• …turn on the light in the bathroom yourself?
• ...reach for the potty or the toilet seat reducer yourself?
• …climb onto the toilet on their own, for example using a step stool or a small stool?
• ...tear off your own toilet paper?
• …wiping your own butt and bending over to check?
• ...flush the toilet?
• …washing their own hands, with a little help?

A little help is fine, of course, but ultimately your child needs to be able to do all of this on their own.

Connect with your child

Most children aged 2 and older can do this or learn it quickly, but it varies from child to child. It’s also possible that your child has a developmental delay or is a bit smaller, which makes these things still difficult. In most cases, your child will be able to do it after a few weeks or months.  

Have you reached this stage yet? Great! You can find more articles and tips under “Potty Training.” Good luck!

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