728x90
my iParenting
From Our Sponsors
e-newsletters
Sign up to receive our free weekly e-newsletters

new terms of use
new privacy policy
award-winning products
The iParenting Media Awards program helps parents find the best products for their families.
Home › Articles › Bedwetting › On the Right Path?

On the Right Path?

How to Tell if You're Making Potty Training Progress

By Jenn Director Knudsen

Pages:  1  2  

You may believe your child is well on his way to being potty trained. But every once in a while, doubt creeps in. Here are some key signs that your child is on the right path to potty training success!

Seeing the Signs

One clue your child is making progress with training is if she asks to use the potty nearly every time she has to go instead of needing you to remind her to take a potty break. Another sign is your child may ask to wear underwear, just like her parents, older siblings or some of her peers do.

That's how Dr. Jennifer Shu, an instructor of pediatrics at Dartmouth Medical School and co-author of the book Heading Home with Your Newborn: From Birth to Reality (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2005), knew her son was ready for the next step in his potty training.

"[At first, when he was only 2-1/2] he was totally capable of using the potty long before he was mentally ready to use it consistently," says Dr. Shu. But then, influenced by his older peers at daycare who were farther along in the process, "he aspired to use the potty like his older friends did and easily became fully trained when exposed to the older children in his new class," she says. Dr. Shu's son, who is now 5, was in underwear by age 31/2.

Children on their way to becoming fully toilet trained also will remember – and carry out – other steps each time they use the potty. These include wiping themselves and thoroughly washing their hands every time they urinate or have a bowel movement.

Of course, another obvious sign of progress is your child will have fewer and fewer accidents – though they still may occur. Accidents at this stage are normal, as are some kids' desire to withhold bowel movements. According to the AAP, for some children, seeing their stools flushed away could be frightening and difficult for them to understand.

Danielle Wheeler's daughter, Ava, nearly 3, quickly figured out how to deal with any separation anxiety she may have had, moving her closer to potty-training success. "Ava learns at preschool to 'walk away' from a situation where she's annoying another child or being disruptive," says the Portland, Ore., mom. "She just started pooping in the potty and got so excited she yelled at the poop as it was being flushed, 'Walk away, poop!'"


Pages:  1  2