Every child is different when it comes to potty training age, and this stage in your child’s life requires a lot of patience and compromise from the parents’ side, to each member of the family.
From my experience as a nanny, I had the opportunity to help many families in this process, so I understand the struggles, feelings of impatience. However, it is important to understand that every healthy child will process the stages at some point. Even though they struggle to go through the process quicker, so be patient.
One issue with the word “training,“ which gives us the impression that we must stay proactive in the process that is best to happen naturally, don’t rush the process. When the child is ready, they will train themselves. As parents, if we are patient and make an atmosphere of guidance. Our toddlers will begin their transition from diapers to the toilet in no time and master the stages easily, then gain the confidence they deserve.
There is mainly a set age of when a child should be trained by, But not every child is the same and as the parent it is best that you don’t rush the process just be there for them when they need it.
The signs will start showing and here are some to watch for:
Physical signs
When cared for toddlers, they start to show physical signs. The first stage was to keep track of wet diapers and how often they wet themselves during the day. Keep track on how long they can dry for. If the toddler can stay dry for more than two hours the toddler is ready for potty training. Lastly keep an eye that your child has regular bowel movements at times where it’s predictable.
Behavioral signs
Looking at how my years as a nanny have taught me, it’s how behavior is changing constantly due to factors, such as age, environment, new people, and mood. These are all mainly the general signs to look for. The other kinds of signs that you should watch for, is that your toddler should be able to sit up to 5 minutes at a time, should be able to pull their pants up and down on their own, and if they can’t do it on their own give them a nug to help them realize they’re not alone.
A lot of times they like the feeling of being wet or dirty, they get an uncomfortable feeling, and if that’s the case take the opportunity to start potty training them. Once they start going to daycare and your toddler shows interest using the toilet its a good sign to potty train them.
Cognitive signs
In the training stage your child needs to be able to communicate with you to let you know it’s time to use the washroom, if your child can follow the simple stages and already speaks the words/phrases then they are to learn to identify pee or poop, which will the make the potty training stages and process easier for you and your toddler.
The signs that your toddler will resist:
It’s common that your toddler will end up resisting to use the toilet cause sometimes they see at a place that they could get stuck in. And it’s best to not force the process if they are scared. It’s important they feel confident so that the process is successful, if they start to resist it won’t help if you don’t listen to your child and observe the key signs mentioned before. These are all the signs that a toddler will go through.
I have seen signs where the child will resist in the beginning stages of using the potty, and when their parents try, and the resistance will continue into adulthood. Parents need to follow all the guidelines to make sure they don;t have any issues when addressing toilet training.
"Potty training age can be challenging for both the toddler and the parent, but it's a normal process at the end of the day."
As the parent we don’t see something that’s super big but when we need to think about how our toddler sees it, they are the ones going through the process. We are just there to catch them when they fall. As a nanny I have learned that the most important thing is to observe carefully and respect the child’s pace.
Again there is a set age but not every child is ready and they will resist. If you don’t follow the signs then have to be patient with them. Never look for the easy way out, plan how it should be handled, read books, follow meetings, ask family members closest to you. Do it all with ease. We were all toddlers and once had to go through the process and we didn’t know if we would handle it at first or if there was resistance or struggle. and when we become parents we just have to learn the same way we did for us.
Lastly, potty training is the best way to strengthen your relationship with your child, because it shows to them that I have parents who are willing to be patient, loving, kind, and well hearted parents ever. Don’t push or force your child because then they might not ever get to the point of trying to potty train, just be the parent they will see for the rest of their time.
