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When do you start potty training?
When your child shows signs of readiness.
Healthy children aren't physically and emotionally ready to start using a potty until they are between 18 months and 3 years old. Boys are usually ready a few months later than girls.
Most parents start the training when their children are between two and three years old.
There's no official age, and you needn't potty train your child at all if you don't want to. Your little one may copy others without needing any instructions, as long as you make it clear to him what he has to do, and where he must do it. You shouldn't force your child to use a potty if he doesn't want to, or if he is not ready to start.
Some parents start potty training when their babies are younger than four months. This is done by watching for signs of an imminent wee or poo and catching it in the potty. This method is called elimination communication.
However, most nurses don't advise this, and even suggest that children who have been trained in this way have problems later on. They may experience setbacks with using school toilets, or when they encounter stressful situations. It's better to wait until your child is ready, and is showing an interest.
A child under two years cannot control when they wee and poo. The muscles that control their bladder and rectum aren't mature until they reach about 18 months to two years. That's why waiting for signs that they are ready is the key to success and starting too early will result in accidents.
True independence is a lot to ask of a baby, as it means that he knows:
- how and when to use the toilet
- how to pull his clothes up and down
- how to hang on until he reaches the toilet
- how to wipe his bottom without your help
- how to flush
All of this doesn't usually happen in most children until the age of three or four years.
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