When to leave the diapers behind?

The answer is that there is no specific time for them to start using the toilet as each child is different. The process should be natural and gradual and not determined by the parents’ urgency, the summer, or by when other kids have done it in the family, or the neighborhood.

It is recommended to talk about the body functions at early stages so that the child is familiar and recognizes the two main necessities. Normally, kids start having an interest in the toilet around the 15 months. If you buy a potty at an early age and start playing with it, your child will get used to sitting in it at times, just for fun. Some children get used to it quite quickly, others prefer to use the adult’s toilet directly, and others have no interest whatsoever in getting rid of their nappies until latter ages.

This process comes naturally, as the children start disliking the feeling of being wet and dirty. If you encourage comfy clothes and training pants inside the house, they will quickly prefer to use the toilet than doing it in the diaper. There will be some accidents taking place, but it is part of the learning process, just take them easy!

Once they are used to sitting in the toiler or potty you can teach them how to use the toilet paper, to pull up their pants, flush the toilet and wash their hands.

There should not be any pressure, or planned strategy to make the child progress. Moreover, there should be no punishment or reward as the development will be part of the child’s learning of how his/her environment works.

The most important idea to remember is that we should follow the children to promote a respectful growth that involves patience and self- discovery, not follow the adult’s agenda and urge to fulfill stages.