As children approach 2 years of age, parents frequently start thinking about toilet training. When will they "GET" this? Depending on whom you ask, the "right" age may range from as young as 6 months to 3 years. While age can be used as a determining factor, there are several others to address. The most important factors are not necessarily age, but rather physiologic, physical and psychological readiness. Before a child can be "toilet trained", she or he must have attained a certain amount of physiologically readiness, namely "bladder readiness". In infancy, babies frequently are unable to hold large amounts of urine in their bladder and void small amounts. As a child grows older, her bladder becomes more mature, and is able over time to hold larger amounts of urine between voids. This comes hand in hand then with the additional ability to be able to increase the interval between voids. When you notice that your child is dry at longer intervals (ie dry after a nap or for at least 2 hours) and is voiding large amounts at a time, then that is a sign that your child may be physiologically ready for toilet training. Another component, which overlaps with psychological readiness, is the ability of your child to recognize that she is voiding (ie if your child does not recognize when she is voiding, toilet training is virtually impossible). Some children start showing some signs of "bladder readiness" around 2 years of age. Most will attain it by three years of age. Another ...
