Potty Training Readiness?

Ok, so I am not expecting Eva to stop using diapers any time soon, but I have to admit I am psyched. Eva has been showing some signs of potty training readiness, such as telling me if she has to go when her diaper is off and staying dry for an hour or more. Yesterday Eva was obviously ready to dirty her diaper and she came to tell me about it. I asked her if she wanted to go potty. “Yes!,” she said emphatically. So, I grabbed a potty seat that happened to be handy (helps to live in a house that has housed multiple toddlers over the years!). ‘

We went to bathroom and I put her on the potty seat atop the toilet. Two minutes later, success! She pooped in the potty. I asked if she was done and she said no. I waited another minute, and she peed. Then she pointed at the toilet paper and said “Down!”

She has asked to go potty 6 times today, with success on three of those attempts. Pretty good odds for a 15 month old.

I don’t want to pressure her, so for now I am just going to keep offering her the option when she wants to go. Since she can’t yet open doors or get her clothes up and down alone, I don’t expect her to be completely trained for many more months. I am just really surprised to see that she has the physical ability to hold it and the ability to choose when to go. Most little girls are not ready to train until close to 2, boys generally train at 2 1/2 or later.

I’ve seen far too many parents engaged in a battle of wills with a child who is not ready to potty train – or worse, parents who have waited so long to potty train that the child is determined to continue their habit well past the age when they could have easily trained. Picking the right time to train is not easy, but it makes a huge difference in how easy it is for a child to learn to use the potty. The biggest thing to remember is that you can’t force a child to potty train! They have to be a willing participant – even if you need to incentivize them to be willing.

So, no rush for my little one to potty train. I am  just thrilled to have fewer dirty diapers to change!

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