Routines & Rituals
Provided by Healthy Start, Grow Smart
Learning to Use the Toilet
After 12 months of dealing with diapers, parents may want a change. Parents often
say, "I'll be so glad when she can use the toilet!"
The key is not when you're ready, but when your child is ready. Problems with getting
children out of diapers almost always come from trying too soon.
Typically, girls are ready before boys. Some children are ready around age 18 months,
while others aren’t ready until age three.
When is a Child Ready?
Your child is ready to learn to use the toilet when she has:
Physical Ability
- Is able to walk
- Has a larger bladder, so she urinates fewer times a day
- Wakes up from a nap with a dry diaper
- Can control the muscles that hold and release urine and bowel movements
- Can take underwear off and put it back on
Mental Ability
- Understands the body's signals for needing to use the toilet
- Understands words such as "pee-pee," "poo-poo" and "potty"
- Understands what is expected: when to go, what to do and where to do it
Social and Emotional Ability
- Can express her needs, like telling you that her diaper needs to be changed
- Wants to learn to use the toilet
When all these abilities are in place, your child can move out of diapers easily.
A child who's not ready may resist learning, and parents may become frustrated.
So don't force it!
Healthy Start, Grow Smart: U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department
of Education and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
