Potty Training Checklist: Is Your Child Ready?

So, Mamma, you’ve had enough of stinky diapers; we don’t blame you. There comes a time when every parent reaches their poop threshold. Fed up of smelling it, seeing it, washing it off your hands, clothes, and even the carpet, it’s no surprise that you are soooo ready to ditch the diapers.

But while you are ready to potty train, is your toddler ready?

It’s important that they are. Jumping the gun and trying to force it too early can be detrimental for both of you.

As a parent, training a toddler who isn’t ready can be frustrating, stressful, and unnecessarily messy. For your toddler, toilet training is an important milestone in their behavioral and psychological development. When it goes successfully it boosts their sense of independence, self-esteem and personal responsibility. On the flipside, if it goes badly, then it can negatively impact these areas.

And so…

How do you know when your toddler is ready for potty training?

It’s actually pretty straightforward and involves keeping an eye out for some basic indicators. These will be physical, behavioral, and cognitive clues that your little one is ready. Of course, follow your parental intuition, but once you spot enough of them, then you can be pretty confident that they are good to go.

Here is a great “Potty Readiness Checklist” by We The Parents that highlights everything to look out for:

Now that you are clear when to start. Here are a few dos and don’ts that will make your potty training journey smooth sailing.

DOO-DOs

• Make a plan
• Practice patience
• Model proper habits in the bathroom
• Learn the signs your child gives you when they are ready to go eliminate
• Encourage your child to verbalize when they needs to potty
• Allow your child to interact with the potty during play
• Cheer on good bathroom habits
• Talk about accidents without making your child feel shameful or expressing anger
• Have your child clothed in items that are easy to remove and put back on
  
  DOO-DON’Ts
• Share your child or punish them for accidents
• Refer to a urinary or bowel movements as “gross” or “disgusting” to your child (but feel free to think it to yourself)
• Withhold beverages
• Assume what worked for your first child will work for your second
• Create a potty-training deadline
• Feel like you need to adhere to one method and one method only
• Expect immediate results
• Turn the bathroom into a war of wills

Good luck, Mamma, you’ve got this!