Knowing Your Child's Currency (Rewards)

If you have a daughter, you may be wondering when she will be ready to potty train. Every child is different, so there is no exact right age or time to start potty training her. Instead, it will be the signs that she shows you that she is ready to start potty training.

Every child learns at different speeds and catches on to potty training differently, so it will really depend on your daughter's personality and how she takes to it and develops with the potty training.

However, again there are signs to look for that will let you know that she is ready to start or at least start the pre-potty training process to begin with. Since every child is different, how quickly you move through the pre-potty training to the potty training will vary. But, if she is showing all of these signs or a just a few of them, you will know that she is ready to begin.

Signs to look for include:

• She no longer is wet or soiled after naps or even when she wakes up in the morning. She is staying dry for extended periods of time. So, if she sleeps for two hours during a nap and her diaper is dry, than she is learning to control her bladder a bit and she is no longer going all the time like children do when they are littler.
• She wants to go to the bathroom with you or other people in the household. She is curious and asking questions about the bathroom and wants to be there when you or someone else goes and wants to know what is happening. She may stay there with you the entire time or even show signs of wanting to get on the toilet as well.
• She is no longer scared or uninterested in the bathroom, but wants to go in there, flush the toilet and wants to know what everything is used for and why you go to the bathroom.
• She is no longer comfortable with being wet or soiled. She becomes upset about it or wants to be changed immediately once she has gone. She may take you to the changing table, ask to be changed or go there on her own to be changed. She may also bring you the diapers or baby wipes to change her and wants you to do it right than.
• If she is helping you in the diaper changing process too. Some children will start to help and get their diaper off or put it on themselves too.

When your daughter is showing some or all of these signs, than it is a perfect time to get started, since she has naturally become interested in wanting to go and use the bathroom.

You do not want her to lose interest in going to the bathroom. So it is important to get started right away when you see her exhibiting these signs of wanting to go. This will make the entire potty training process so much easier and it will also be more fun and exciting too.

When potty training hygiene is definitely a consideration for both genders, however, special consideration need to be given to avoid future problems with infection.

Even after a child has been potty trained and has accepted the full responsibilities associated with potty training i.e. getting to the potty by themselves, pulling pant up and down, washing hands etc, wiping seems to remain a parental responsibility!

It is difficult for a children to do a good job of wiping themselves. Poor clean up can be irritating in more way than one!

How long you help your child will depend on your child and yourself. Some children will get to a point where they will want more privacy and hence will not want your help, while others do not like being dirty and will want your help until they are older.

Bottom line: Do what works for you, your child and your family!! Be assured - everything being typical - there will come a time when your child will not longer need or want your help!

As a parent, it is your job your stress good habits right from the beginning.

• Teach your child, especially your little girl to wipe from front to back. Wiping from back to front can cause bacteria from stool to infect the vaginal area.

• Flushable toilet paper or flushable wipes are now readily available. Teach your child to use the after bowel movements. Not only do they do a better job of cleaning, they will easy your burden when it comes to doing laundry.

• The flushable toilet paper can also be used for hand hygiene.

• Teach your child to look at the toilet paper that they use to wipe themselves and teach them to continue wiping until there is not brown stain.

• Insist that your child wash their hands after going potty. One way to encourage and motivate your child is to provide them with fun soaps - especially the foaming kind.

• If your little girl loves pretty things, purchase some pretty towels and soap that may encourage her to wash her hands.

Need more potty training tips and advice on potty training problems or just general advice, check out all of our Potty Training Articles!