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New Mummy Blog: Five Unmistakable Signs My Child Is Ready For Potty Training

With a six-week-old baby keeping her busy night and day, potty training her toddler was the last thing our mummy blogger wanted to do. But the toddler in question had other ideas

I am in no hurry to get my daughter out of nappies and onto a potty. Really, none whatsoever.

For one thing, I’d be mad to take on something so notoriously tricky, sensitive and messy right now, while juggling a newborn. I could really do without the accidents and the tantrums that surely will follow.

Potty training is a development stage I'd been dreading [Rex]
Potty training is a development stage I'd been dreading [Rex]

Having two children in nappies might mean I spend a LOT of my day cleaning bottoms but at least it’s easy and the mess is contained.

And more importantly, there’s the amount of upheaval and change my toddler has gone through already since her brother’s arrival. Why add this challenge into the mix?

But also, there’s research currently doing the rounds on my Facebook feed that suggests early potty training is a very bad idea indeed. The study’s author recommends pushing it back until the age of three if possible.

Honor is 20 months – would early potty training sentence her to a lifetime of poor bladder control and recurring urinary tract infections?

Honor couldn't wait to have her own potty - but is yet to use it [Copyright/Yahoo]
Honor couldn't wait to have her own potty - but is yet to use it [Copyright/Yahoo]



I know, you shouldn’t believe everything you read. And it does seem that any bit of parenting advice I read can and will be contradicted by another report the very next week. But, as a neurotic mother, I find it difficult to ignore an expert with lots of letters after his name falling so decisively down on one side of the fence.

But despite all of this, it would seem that what I think is irrelevant. Because my daughter has other ideas.

First came the need for privacy, as she began taking herself off into a corner or behind a chair or door to do her business in peace. This would be followed by a loud announcement that she had passed a movement: reappearing from her hiding place while clutching at her nappy and chanting ‘poo poo’ or ‘wee wee’.

It was pretty unmistakable that she was aware of what she was doing (and as an additional bonus, pretty handy for me to be told she was ready for a nappy change, rather than waiting for the smell to hit me).

Second, and requiring a lightning-quick response, was the escalation from telling me about it to doing something about it herself. Upon emptying bladder or bowel, Honor began promptly taking off her clothes, and then her nappy. No matter where we happened to be.

Honor is a big fan of this potty training book <a title=Princess Polly's Potty Training Book href=http://www.amazon.co.uk/Princess-Pollys-Potty-Ladybird-training-ebook/dp/B006YLZ2ZM target=_blank>[Amazon]</a>
Honor is a big fan of this potty training book [Amazon]


The next sign was when the book Princess Polly’s Potty, in which Princess Polly gets a potty and (spoiler alert) learns to use it, was elevated to the lofty status of Honor’s favourite book. This means it is the number one choice of book for her bedtime story every night without fail. And it must come with us wherever we go in the day.

Then there’s the potty itself, which I bought against my better, potty-training-reluctant judgement, following the success of Princess Polly. There’s not a toy in the world that I could have pulled out of the packaging that would have elicited more excitement than this potty.

Quick as a flash, the trousers were down and the nappy was off (again), and Honor took to her throne proud as punch. She knew exactly what it was for, and needed no coaxing.

She went through the whole rigmarole of pretending to wee (sound effects included), wiping and hand washing. She’s yet to do an actual wee, but she’s very good at practici

Honor's potty is her new fave toy [Rex]
Honor's potty is her new fave toy [Rex]

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And finally, there are her ‘big girl pants’ that she wants to wear instead of a nappy. I’ve tried to trick her with colourful pull up nappies with Disney characters on them. But it’s the proper pants she wants. So much so that she can’t wait to get them on – pulling them over her pyjama trousers like a lemon-yellow-pink-trimmed superhero.

So, the timing isn’t great (but when is toddler timing ever?), but the evidence is there and it’s pretty conclusive. Potty training here we come.

Wish me luck...

[How To Help Your Child With Potty Training]

[New Mummy Blog: Two Children Under The Age Of Two - Send Help, Please]