Most children are ready to begin potty training when they are between the ages of 18 and 24 months. You will know when they are ready because the signs will be there. These are the signs that you need to look for when you are potty training your child:

• Expresses an interest in using the toilet
• Tries to imitate other family members using the potty
• Is able to tell you that they need to go potty or telling you they went already
• Is able to pull their pants up and down by himself
• Expresses irritation when diapers are wet and stays dry for about two hours at a time
• Expresses an interest in big kid underwear

When I first tried to teach my daughter to potty train, I put her in "panties" and thought she would know what to do. Of course, I knew very little about the subject than I eventually learned some time to learn how to teach her to go potty. Then we would start over. It is important that no matter what, you keep potty training, and like anything else, keep things in perspective. You may make some or many errors but it will eventually work itself out.

As a parent it is very important that you try to keep your sense of humor when potty training your child. It is also very helpful that mom, dad and any siblings are in on the process of training. You can keep things upbeat by thinking no more diapers, no more diapers and try to stick to that except at night when it is not an option. By relaxing a bit, you can make potty training a fun time.

You will also have to start to develop your plan for the training process. There are several different opinions of how to potty train. However, it is important that you choose your method to make sure that it is the method that is most effective for you, your child and your family. There is the Potty train in less than a day method that Dr. Phil offers. This can work well but it is very intense and can be overwhelming for parents who are young or for those who do not have the right patience. You have to think of your personality as well as your child’s, and then choose your method.

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Additional Resources:

The Potty Trainer
I can highly recommend the Potty Trainer Ebook. Johanne Cesar has done such a great job in putting a tremendous amount of hands on potty training information and advice in this ebook. You will get a step by step guide to potty training your child.