QUESTION

Dear Dr. Laura,
Help! My four-year-old little girl has been potty trained since the week prior to her turning three. Never an accident up until a few months ago. Now, she is wetting her pants daily. Sometimes emptying her entire bladder, sometimes, just enough to wet her underwear.

by Alan Greene, MD, FAAP

Most children are ready to tackle the challenge of potty use somewhere between age 2 and shortly after their third birthday, with boys generally at the latter end of this range. Letting you know when their diapers are dirty is an early sign of readiness. When they start to let you know just before they need to go, it is time to begin. Here are some suggestions for easing the transition from diaper to potty:

She wears pull-ups, enjoys sitting on the toilet, and gets very excited when she urinates. The problem is she has been doing this for months. She has not made the transition to going to the toilet and using it when she has to go.

Potty training is easier and happens faster if your child is truly ready in all three areas: physical, cognitive and social. But the big question is: how do you know when your child is ready? Take this quiz to find out where your child is on the readiness spectrum.

When you were pregnant, one of your many decisions was whether you would use cloth diapers or disposable diapers. Now that your child is no longer a baby, the cloth versus disposable decision comes into play again -- this time over training pants. A third alternative is to simply go directly to underwear.

There are pros and cons to each choice. This time another voice (a quite loud and opinionated voice) takes part in the decision -- your toddler! Let's take a look at the advantages and disadvantages.

Cloth Training Pants

Pros:

The perfect age to begin potty training is different for every child. Your child's best starting age could be anywhere from eighteen to thirty-two months. Pre-potty training preparation can begin when a child is as young as ten months.

If your child is near or has passed his first birthday, you can begin incorporating pre-potty training ideas into his life. They are simple things that will lay the groundwork for potty training and will make the process much easier when you're ready to begin.

Throughout the process of toilet training there are periods of highs and lows, just as with learning any new skill. New skills to learn associated with toilet training include: