# Toilet-training approach

**When and how should we potty train?**

Potty training, also called toilet training or toilet learning, is teaching a child to pee and poo in a potty or toilet instead of a diaper. Approaches range from watching a baby's cues from the first months (elimination communication), to an intensive few-day method, to waiting until the child shows they are ready.

In short: Parents choose between 5 main approaches: Elimination communication from infancy; Early parent-led (before 24 months); Intensive "few days" method at 20-30 months ("Oh Crap!"); Child-oriented, readiness-based (AAP, CPS); Wait until the child asks. Evidence: your call. No outcome evidence picks a winner. Preference, culture, money and logistics decide. Best settled: toddler.

- Area: Health, body and toileting
- Evidence: Your call
- Best settled: Toddler
- First published: 2026-10-03
- Last updated: 2026-10-05
- Page: https://www.raisingyourchild.com/topics/health-body-and-toileting--toilet-training-approach

## Toilet-training approach: what are the options?

1. **Elimination communication from infancy**: You offer the potty from the first months, following the baby's signals.
2. **Early parent-led (before 24 months)**: You start training before two, led by you.
3. **Intensive "few days" method at 20-30 months ("Oh Crap!")**: You train over a few days with no diapers, somewhere between 20 and 30 months.
4. **Child-oriented, readiness-based (AAP, CPS)**: You wait for signs that the child is ready and go at their pace.
5. **Wait until the child asks**: You wait until the child says they want to use the toilet.

## Toilet-training approach: what does the evidence say?

**Your call.** No outcome evidence picks a winner. Preference, culture, money and logistics decide.

No method has been shown to be better than another: a US evidence review found the studies too weak to compare them. Most children show signs of readiness between 18 and 24 months, training in the US usually begins between 2 and 3, and most children are trained by 4. In one study 68% of children who started before 24 months were trained by 36 months, against 54% of those who started later; in Oster's parent survey a later start meant a faster process

Sources:

- [AAFP](https://www.aafp.org/afp/2008/1101/p1059)
- [AAP](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/toddler/toilet-training/Pages/the-right-age-to-toilet-train.aspx)
- [ParentData](https://parentdata.org/potty-training/)

## What else is worth knowing?

Signs a child is ready include staying dry for a couple of hours, having predictable poos, following simple instructions, being able to sit steadily on a potty, showing interest and being able to tell you they need to go. Some children are ready at 18 months, and most start between 2 and 4. Once started, it commonly takes 3 to 6 months to be out of diapers in the day. Daycare expectations, a new sibling or a move can all affect the timing, so it helps to agree on a method and a start before you begin. Read the full potty training guide for a comparison of the methods.

## Questions to ask each other

- How did we each learn to use the toilet, and what do we remember?
- Which approach appeals to us and which does not?
- What would we do if daycare wants training sooner than we do?

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General information, not medical advice. Two parents can each answer this and compare: https://www.raisingyourchild.com/explore?cat=health-body-and-toileting&topic=health-body-and-toileting--toilet-training-approach