Potty training; when is it the right time?

Potty training your child can be quite a contentious parenting issue. Potty train too early and you run the risk of a child having multiple 'accidents', a child not understanding what's expected of them or from my own experience of working with children, negative connotations and issues such as withholding and refusing to go. Or leave it 'too late' and you're branded lazy and inadequate as a parent.

Potty training is one of many milestones that a child will be expected to achieve; however I don't believe that parents should come under criticism for the parenting choices that they make with regards to potty training. With our eldest, we simply waited until he was ready, could understand what was expected of him and didn't force the issue. 

Some people may have said that I'd left it too late, however when we tried when he was around 2 1/2 and just before he was 3, he simply wasn't ready. A couple of months after he was 3, he showed a lot more signs of readiness, so we went for it. It was far simpler than I imagined; as it was the right time for him developmentally. He's now dry both day and night, with infrequent accidents.

So, some things that worked for us;

* Have a potty readily available in places that your child regularly plays, we kept ours in the living room.

* Choose a character potty or buy a plain one and add stickers. Noah decided that he wanted a blue Peppa Pig potty (that didn't exist in the shops!) so we bought stickers and a plain blue one.

* Take your child shopping to buy underwear. We opted for bright colours and character undies (he didn't want to get George Pig or Thomas The Tank wet!) 

* Gentle encouragement and reminders of when to go to 'try'. Don't make a huge deal out of it.

* Don't get stressed when accidents occur, it'll only be for a short time. 

* Encourage your child to vocalise or sign when they need to go.

* Your child should wear clothes that make going to the toilet easily accessible; elasticated waist trousers, jeans or jogging bottoms are ideal. 

* We bought pull ups for evenings, but found that these caused some confusion. So personally, we've avoided them and luckily he's been dry most nights after the first week of toilet training.

* A sticker chart is a great way to visually see their successes. A sticker for every successful toilet trip may work.

Do it in good humour, as there will be accidents/exploration and your carpets may end up covered in your child's bodily fluids. It's easily cleaned up (bicarbonate of soda removes both smells and a Vax carpet cleaner has been invaluable!) Good luck! What's your best potty training tip?