Contrary to what some people will tell you, there really isn’t a set age at which babies are ready to potty train. Some babies are ready to start potty training as early as 15 months old, while others really aren’t ready until they are almost 4 years old.

Ultimately, your baby will let you know when it is time to potty train if you know what to look for. While toddlers don’t generally walk right up to you and say, “By the way, I think I’m ready to start using the toilet now,” their signs are almost as clear. Here are some things you should be looking for:

• Baby can sit still in one spot for two minutes or more without becoming overly fidgety.
• Baby has been walking and running long enough that she doesn’t stumble and fall often.
• Baby is starting to show an independent streak.
• Baby stays dry for 3 hours or more at a time. This shows that he now has sufficient control of his bladder to begin potty training.
• Baby can tell you he is going to the bathroom, either by using words or making obvious signs such as grunting. If baby has a word for BMs and for urine, all the better.
• Baby doesn’t fight you about sitting on the potty.

There’s no point in trying to potty train your toddler before he’s ready. If he fights you on it, leave it for another day. Trust us, sometime between now and when he goes to school, he will figure it out and start showing a desire to use the bathroom like the big people do. Except in extremely unusual cases, you just don’t seen children wearing diapers to high school.

When your little one is ready for potty training, make sure that you focus on the positives, and on encouraging him when he has success. This will give you much better results than getting angry when he has an accident, or shows that he isn’t ready. If your little one sees the potty as a generally positive experience, he will be much more willing to cooperate with you. In most cases, this leads to babies being potty trained much more quickly.

Trying to potty train your toddler before he is ready only leads to hours of frustration for both of you.

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