Potty Time

Your toddler is quickly approaching two years old. She's interested in the toilet: She likes to flush, use toilet paper and even sits on the toilet regularly before her bath. You know she's not ready to wear panties. Yet, like most parents, you wonder when exactly she will be ready and what you should do to help the process along.

Most children, girls usually before boys, acquire the developmental maturation and skill to use the potty somewhere between two and three years old. When the child's body develops to the point where she can hold in her urine and stool and then release it into the toilet, she'll be willing and interested to try.

Until then, it is the parent's job to familiarize the child with using the toilet. Keep your child's interest up by encouraging her to learn about and practice toileting. During this familiarization process, begin to look for signs of readiness. Read our checklist to determine whether the time has come to train your child.

Jan Faull, a child-development and behavior specialist, is in her 20th year as a parent-education instructor and public speaker. She is the author of the recently published UNPLUGGING POWER STRUGGLES as well as MOMMY! I HAVE TO GO POTTY!, a guide to toilet training. Faull lives with her husband and three children in Renton, Washington.