When children are young, parents face many challenges, one of these being the continuous need to change the toddler’s dirty diapers. Due to its unpleasant nature, many parents feel the need to start potty training as soon as possible, but this is not the right way to go about it.
During my years as a childminder, I’ve been bombarded with questions referring to when parents should start potty training. While some believe that potty training before 2 is okay for all children, this isn’t necessarily true. It’s important to keep in mind that each child, regardless of being a boy or a girl is ready at a different age, therefore the perfect time to start potty training your child, is when he/she is truly ready.
Now, there are a couple of signs that you can look out for. Once your child grows, they will surely begin showing interest in the potty, especially since they can see that mommy and daddy are doing it differently. Once this happens, you can safely start the process of potty training, but make sure that you only use suitable strategies. In terms of statistics, studies have shown that healthy children are usually not emotionally and physically ready to use a potty until they are around 18 months to three years old. It has also been proven that most often, boys tend to be ready a few months later than girls, so it’s important not to rush them, as this will bring in anxiety and a couple of other unpleasant condition, but also possible accidents.
Usually, a child under two years of age does not have the physical ability to control when they woo and pee, as the muscles controlling their bladder and bowels haven’t matured yet. While starting early is dangerous, starting later shouldn’t be a big issue. In fact, potty training a 3 year old can be quite easy, especially since the child can already speak and understand most phrases, whereas potty training before 2 is just like training a baby dog what’s good and what’s bad.
Based on everything that has been outlined so far, it’s important to note that potty training is an important event in the lives of many parents, but also a challenge at the same time. To make things short, starting too early, before your child shows the clear signs can end up badly, with accidents and anxiety, whereas starting later will give you more headaches, but might just be much healthier for your child.
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