Preschool Potty Training Readiness
Daycare Toilet Training and Developmental Readiness
Signs for preschool teachers, child care providers, and parents that a child is ready for potty training.
Toilet training success in the preschool or daycare environment depends heavily upon a child’s developmental readiness. Beginning or forcing toilet training before a child is ready creates stress and anxiety for both child and trainer. In addition, trying to force a child to potty train before they are developmentally ready increases the length of the toilet training process.
Toilet Training Readiness is A Two-Way Street
Both the child and the trainer must be ready for potty training. “Not all babies are ready to be trained at the same time, just as not all parents are ready for the training process in a uniform fashion. While there are some objective signs of toilet training readiness, they too depend on the child's physical, emotional, social and cognitive development”, says Dr. Judith Goldstein, pediatrician at Global Pediatrics in New York.
Many parents expect that their child will be potty trained at the age of two. However, there is a range of toilet training readiness which spans from eighteen months to four years of age.
Developmental Signs of Toilet Training Readiness
Dr. Goldstein suggests that childcare providers and preschool teachers look for the signs of potty training readiness recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics in their Guide to Toilet Training [American Academy of Pediatrics, 2003].
The following are the signs to look for in determining a child's readiness:
- Your child stays dry at least two hours at a time during the day or is dry after naps
- Bowel movements become regular and predictable.
- Facial expressions, posture or words reveal that your child is about to urinate or have a bowel movement.
- Your child can follow simple instructions
- Your child can walk to and from the bathroom and help undress
- Your child seems uncomfortable with soiled diapers and wants to be changed
- Your child asks to use the toilet or potty
- Your child asks to wear big-kid underwear
Kimberley Blaine, “The Go To Mom”, licensed family and child therapist and parenting expert, suggests additional signs that a child is developmentally ready for toilet training. Blaine suggests that a child should be able to show interest in watching parents or peers use the potty. A child who is ready for potty training should also be able to tell their caretaker that they have to go "pee pee." In addition, Blaine adds that children ready for potty training should also have the ability to pull their own pants down and balance alone on the potty.
Toilet training does not have to be stressful or difficult. With patience and the recognition of the signs that the child is ready for potty training, child care providers can help children reach a joyous milestone in their development.
