6 Things Every Parent Should Know About Toilet Training

First published March 2018
Updated September 2025

Children typically begin toilet training between 18-24 months and are toilet trained by 24-36 months. Nighttime toilet training for bedwetting is often completed between the ages of 3 and 8, though this can vary for each child. Understanding the toilet training process is important and so is recognizing when it might be beneficial to reach out for professional help.

Your child may be ready if he or she:

• Shows interest in sitting on the toilet or being curious when others use the bathroom.
• Stays dry for long periods of time.
• Announces the need to urinate or have a bowel movement.
• Has the motor skills to sit on the toilet and remove appropriate articles of clothing.

Children can easily detect when their parents are worried. Feeling overwhelmed or pressured about toilet training may make it harder for children to transition out of diapers. On the other hand, being confident and encouraging can lower stress and promote positive toileting skills. Here are some tips to ease the process.

1. Highlight the positives. Rather than focusing on what is done incorrectly, praise your child for each toilet step that they have mastered. This can include simply sitting on a toilet or having a bowel movement in a diaper while seated on the toilet. Children love their parents’ attention, so the more positive the response, the higher the motivation.
2. Give them choices. Finding small ways to include them in the training process gives them a sense of empowerment. For example:
   • If you are shopping for a child potty, allow your child to choose from a couple of options.
   • If you are developing a reward system, give them a choice between two small rewards.
3. Support those feet. If your child is using an adult-sized toilet, give them a footstool for support, especially when they are trying to have a bowel movement. A squatting position may prevent constipation and help with emptying bowels.
4. Schedule toilet sits.
   • For bowel movements, schedule toilet sits in the morning, before bed, and about 10–20 minutes after a meal. If your child is always having a bowel movement at certain times and rarely having them during other sits, you can change times.
   • If your child shows signs of needing to use the toilet (e.g., crossing their legs, crouching, going into a corner), quickly prompt them to sit on the toilet.
   • Refrain from telling your child to pee or poop in the toilet, as they can then argue that they do not have to go. Instead, prompt them to sit on the toilet.
   • Instead of asking your child to sit (“Can you sit on the potty?”), prompt them to sit (“It’s time to sit on the potty”).
   • Sitting on the toilet too briefly may not give your child enough time to go. If they sit too long, your child may feel that they are spending all day in the bathroom. We recommend 3–5-minute sits, as this gives children enough time to sense urgency, but is not so long that it makes sitting something they want to avoid.
5. Encourage timely toilet sits by minimizing distractions. Young children often ignore the urge to use the toilet while playing, either by holding in stool or urine or simply having an accident. It can be difficult for a child to stop doing something fun and switch to what feels like a “task,” such as sitting on the toilet. 

   To make toilet sits more effective, try scheduling them before playtime rather than immediately after. This way, playtime becomes a natural reward for completing the toilet sit, making it easier for your child to cooperate and stay focused during the process.    

6. Reward positive toileting. While praise and high-fives may be enough to encourage some children to toilet train, others may require more tangible rewards. Toilet training is hard work, so rewarding children for their efforts is okay and can be useful if done consistently. Consider giving your child a small immediate reward (extra screen time, a story or book before bedtime, or a sticker) for completing a toilet sit, urinating, or having a bowel movement in the toilet.
7. Encourage toilet sits, not staying accident-free. Although it may seem logical to urge your child to remain dry, this can make them more likely to withhold urine or stool, which can lead to health complications. Instead, encourage them to sit on and use the toilet, even if this means that they have more accidents initially. Similarly, resist shaming or punishing your child for having accidents, which can delay training and may make them more likely to hide accidents from you.
8. Handling setbacks during potty training. Unexpected situations can lead to potty training setbacks. Accidents may happen simply because your child’s body isn’t sure how to respond to the unfamiliar circumstances. In some cases, medical conditions may also affect bowel movements or bladder control.

It’s perfectly okay to pause potty training while your child recovers or adjusts. Once things return to normal, you can gently resume the process with patience and encouragement.

Children’s readiness to fully master toilet training varies, and many children occasionally have accidents after being trained. However, you may want to contact your doctor if you notice your child doing any of the following:

• Having bowel movements that are very hard, complaining of having painful stools, or going more than two days without having a bowel movement.
• Leaking watery stool throughout the day.
• Having urine or stool accidents repeatedly after previously being toilet trained.
• Hiding dirty underwear around the house or intentionally smearing feces on the walls.
• Resisting attempts to toilet train for either urine or stool past the age of 48 months.