Potty Training Secrets: Best Age and Tips to Encourage Success!

Potty training is a significant developmental milestone for children. If your little one is starting to embrace the idea of moving from diapers to using the potty, that’s a great start, especially with school starting in September. However, it’s important not to rush the process: this transition requires patience and understanding. It’s best to wait until your child shows signs of readiness. How can you best support them? By introducing the potty gently, celebrating each success, setting an example, and tailoring your approach to their pace. Here are some guidelines and tips to help your child become confidently potty-trained.

Potty Training: When to Start?

Potty training typically begins between ages 2 and 3, when the child feels ready. In fact, it depends on the maturity of the child’s brain, which is usually between 18 and 24 months. Therefore, don’t start too early. “To gauge readiness, your child might be ready for potty training if they can climb stairs on their own,” notes Hélène Romano, a psychologist.

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How to Help Your Child Become Potty Trained?

According to Dr. Willig, a pediatrician and member of the French Association of Outpatient Pediatrics (AFPA), parents’ impatience pushing their child to use the potty is not effective. “When it comes to potty training, the most important thing is to observe the child without pressure, noticing when they begin to sit on the potty to imitate others, and when they clearly need to urinate or defecate, as indicated by pausing or changing behavior. At this point, parents can remove the diaper and place the child on the potty,” advises the expert.

Effective Tips for Potty Training

Some parents, for example, draw a sun each time the child uses the potty so that they feel proud to go by themselves later on. Others choose a fun and unique potty that makes the child eager to ditch the diapers… In his book “My Child Isn’t Yet Potty Trained: 1 Problem, 7 Solutions,” Dr. Arnault Pfersdorff helps parents understand why children might refuse to leave their diapers behind. More importantly, he offers advice to prevent accidents and help the child become potty trained, day and night.

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What Are the Risks of Starting Potty Training Too Early or Too Late?

An American study suggests that early potty training, before the age of two, may lead to issues with incontinence and constipation. Similarly, children who start using the potty late, after three years, may face the same issues. Conducted by researchers at Wake Forest University in the USA, the study followed 112 children aged 3 to 10 years, most of whom already had incontinence issues. Results showed that 60% of children who started using the potty before age 2 experienced daytime leakage. Furthermore, compared to a normal potty training timeline, these risks of incontinence were three times higher, as were constipation issues. The problem? Children trained too early to control their bladder and bowel movements may retain urine and stool while their bladder and bowel are still developing. Therefore, the researchers recommend using diapers until the age of two to allow the child’s bladder and bowel system to develop properly.