Children may not always be cooperative with all your plans for them. Potty-training is one such area, where no matter what you do, unless your child is ready for it , nothing will move forward. Especially when all tactics and methods used for potty-training don’t work, it is natural to wonder if your child is not ready for potty-training as yet. And this is something that keeps running in your mind and you start looking out for signs your child is not ready for potty-training. Fret not.
Now while raising a child is a lot of fun, there is a lot of hard work involved. Potty-training a child could be tiring and frustrating. The factor of other moms boasting about their kids achieving potty-training can also add to your frustration. Comparing your child with someone is not going to be of any help. Probably your child might not be ready for potty-training and there is nothing wrong with it.
So, how to know if the child is not ready for potty-training or what are the signs of potty-training too early. Let us see in detail the cognitive signs of readiness for toilet training and when to quit potty-training if your child isn’t ready.
11 Signs Your Child Is Not Ready For Potty-Training
When there are clear signs, your child is not ready for potty-training, all you need to do is to wait. But yeah, there are a few interesting things to do such as singing potty-training songs or reading books on potty-training. This could tap their interest and the learning may be quick. Before that, you need to know if the child is ready both physically and mentally for potty-training.
Related Reading: 10 Toilet Training Tips For Your Baby Girl
It could take a long time if you had potty trained your child before the actual time believing the signs of potty-training too early. Many children show interest in potty-training by the age of two but may not be ready until 2 ½ years.
Look out for the below signs before potty-training your children.
1. Shows interest in potty or potty-training chairs
2. Able to follow simple instructions and directions
3. Able to communicate either verbally or through facial expressions on the signs a toddler needs to pee
4. Exhibits cognitive signs of readiness for toilet training
5. Able to pull-up and pull-down pants
Listed below are 11 signs your child is not ready for potty-training. If you can spot these with your child, please take a break from the training and resume later.
1. Your child doesn’t mind dirty diapers
Babies and toddlers are not comfortable in diapers for a long time. They keep mending or playing or trying to remove it every now and then. Especially if the diapers are dirty, you can hear them scream or cry for the main reason behind it could be diaper rashes.
If you are thinking about when to potty train a girl, look out for signs when she is uncomfortable with soiled diapers and is trying to pull it off. Without the awareness of soiled or dirty diapers, your child might not show interest in potty-training.
Related Reading: 10 Safe Home Remedies For Baby Diaper Rash
2. Your child does not complain when diaper is wet
One ability your child needs to master for potty-training is to remain in dry diapers for a few hours. We all need to hold the pee/poop at least for a minute before we reach the restroom. Your child similarly needs to have control over their bowel movements.
But for a child who doesn’t have control over bowel movements remains wet all the time and does not show interest in potty-training. Also, their bowel movements remain unpredictable.
The child must remain dry at least for an hour in the beginning. If the child remains dry post-sleep, it is an indication that he/she can hold the potty until reaching the toilet. This is where you get a green signal.
3. No awareness or interest
Kids aren’t always excited when it comes to potty-training. But if you have a question on when to quit potty-training, we suggest you do it when the child doesn’t show any interest or has zero knowledge about it.
Your child needs to know the difference between pee and poop and most importantly to tell you if he/she wants to go or has already gone. Also, the child must be able to sit on the potty chair or the toilet seat comfortably. If the child refuses to sit on either of them, it is time you drop the training.
Related Reading: 10 Tips To Potty-Train Your Baby Boy
4. Doesn’t undress themselves
One important cognitive sign of readiness for potty-training is undressing. Kids must be able to pull down their bottoms before they go sit on the chair. Of course, let us not be greedy for them to remove their tight jeans. But at least those loose pants or undies are a sign of readiness.
If this is still a problem for the child, we suggest you put the activity on hold.
5. Doesn’t sit on the potty
Making your child sit on a potty could be a challenge. But one important requirement for potty-training is the child’s ability to sit with patience for a while until he/she is done with the toilet activity.
You can distract the child’s restlessness by reading her a book or making her watch her favorite cartoon. If you still find the child is unwilling to sit in the chair for a while, we suggest you take a break as these are signs your child is not ready for potty-training.
6. Your child resists potty
One of the biggest signs your child is not ready for potty-training is his/her ability to resist potty. Your child may get an aversion to the process that she doesn’t care about doing the potty.
Your child could feel lost in the battle of potty-training so much that they don’t even want to take a try. Perhaps, they could not even be ready physically. You shouldn’t try potty-training them during this phase and better give them a good long break. But yes, you can still keep singing and telling stories about potty-training.
7. They are not ready
No matter what best technique you choose to train your child for potty-training, if the child isn’t ready, you are sure to fail. Even if you catch them at the right time of peeing and put them in the restroom it doesn’t assure you that they are ready.
Even older children have problems in using the potty right. So, it’s important to make sure that there aren’t any signs your child is not ready for potty-training.
Related Reading: 21 Indoor Activities For Babies And Toddlers (Age 0m-2 years)
8. They are afraid of the toilet
Fear of the toilet is common amongst the kids even if they know how to control pee or how to use the potty. They could have fear for the adult toilet seat or fear of falling down or even the process of flushing could scare them.
Give them the time to become used to the process by making it fun and placing them on the seat with the clothes first and then undressing them.
Allow the child to sit by themself and get the balance in the seat for a few minutes every day. If you find resistance in any step, repeat the previous one to make them comfortable.
Let them keep flushing the tank even when they don’t use it so they get to play and know how it works. By this, the child would get rid of the fear.
9. Your training method(s) are harsh
If you have been using the potty techniques of the elder one to train the younger child, it may probably not work. Every child is different and needs different methods and strategies.
Also, if you are a mom of two with a boy and girl, the technique to be used for potty-training could completely vary. Boys tend to get trained later than girls and they need to move from sitting to standing during training.
Related Reading: 12 Tips to Help You Prepare Your Child for Preschool
10. Check for constipation
Children who experience constipation have more difficulty in getting trained for potty. When the poop gets hard, many children find it tough to hold it and pass. They could associate their pains with the toilet which could be one of the signs your child is not ready for potty-training.
Child constipation can be treated early by giving the child more water and a lot of fruits and vegetables, apple juice can also be used for constipation for kids less than 2 years of age. Constipation can also lead to loss of appetite and feeding issues.
11. If your child is passing through a phase
If your child is going through a phase like shifting from bed crib to bed or you move from one city to another then it’s better not to start with the potty-training activity.
Already there could be so much pressure on the child and adding potty-training during the phase could fail.
Conclusion
Considering the above facts, potty-training could be difficult for the mother and the child, especially if you find signs your child is not ready for potty-training. Remember, that this is a new lifestyle change and you need to maintain patience until the child gets adapted to it.
Potty-training readiness could vary from one child to another. A slowdown doesn’t mean your child is any less than the rest. If your child isn’t ready for potty-training, it isn’t the end of the world. All you need to do is to wait and when you find things at ease, you will realize you are on the right track.