# Potty Training: Readiness and How to Start

> Signs your child is ready, a calm way to start, and handling accidents and setbacks.

Stage: toddler - Topic: Everyday care - Page: https://www.askcladle.com/guides/toddler/potty-training

Grounded in: AAP HealthyChildren guidance on toilet training and bedwetting.

## TLDR

- There's no right age; many children show readiness between 18 and 24 months, others at 30 months or later.
- Wait for signs like staying dry 2 hours and pulling pants up and down, and start in a calm stretch.
- Accidents and setbacks are normal: clean up without shame. Night dryness often takes until 5 or later.

## When children are ready

- There's no right age. Many children show signs of readiness between about 18 and 24 months;
  others not until 30 months or later. Many are trained in the daytime by about 2.5 to 3 years.
- Starting before a child is ready usually makes training take longer, not shorter.
- Staying dry at night often takes longer; wetting at night is common until age 5 or later.

## Signs of readiness

- Stays dry for about 2 hours at a time, or wakes dry from naps.
- Has fairly regular, soft bowel movements.
- Can walk to the potty, sit on it, and pull pants down and up.
- Follows simple instructions and can tell you, with words or signs, that they need to go.
- Shows interest in the potty or in grown-ups using the toilet, or dislikes a dirty diaper.

## How to start

- Pick a calm stretch. Avoid starting right before or after a new sibling, a move or a new
  childcare.
- Use a child-size potty, or a seat insert with a step stool so their feet are supported.
- Let them sit dressed at first, then without a diaper. Offer sits after waking, after meals and
  before bath.
- Keep it light and matter-of-fact. Praise trying, not just success.
- Dress them in clothes they can pull down quickly.
- Teach wiping front to back, and handwashing every time.

## Accidents and setbacks

- Accidents are part of learning. Clean up calmly, without shame or punishment.
- Setbacks are common with illness, travel or a new sibling. Go back a step, without making it a
  battle.
- If it turns into a power struggle, take a break for a few weeks and try again.
- Holding in poop is common and can cause constipation, which makes going painful and leads to more
  holding. More fruit, vegetables, water and active play help.

## When to check in

Mention it at the next checkup if:
- Constipation lasts more than a couple of weeks, or poops are painful and hard.
- A child who was dry for months starts wetting again.
- Your child is still not trained during the day by about age 4, or wets the bed regularly after
  about age 7.

Call the pediatrician the same day for pain or burning when peeing, peeing much more often than
usual, blood in pee or poop, or a fever with any of these.