Baby Potty Training Mommy | Practical Tips & Guides for Parents

Potty Training While Travelling: How to Handle It Without the Stress

The Trip You Were Dreading Is Actually Manageable

The moment you realise you have a holiday or trip planned right in the middle of potty training, that sinking feeling is familiar to every parent. You have just started making progress. Your child is getting it. And now you have to pack everything up, disrupt the routine, and spend hours in the car, on a plane, or in unfamiliar accommodation where you have no idea where the nearest toilet is.

I have been there. Multiple times. And while I will not pretend that travelling during potty training is completely seamless, I can tell you that it is absolutely manageable when you prepare properly.

Here is everything I have learned about potty training on the road.

family at airport departure hall with young children ready to travel

With the right preparation, travelling during potty training is completely manageable.

Before You Leave: The Preparation That Prevents Most Problems

Decide Whether to Continue or Pause Training

The first decision is whether to continue active potty training during the trip or temporarily pause it. There is no shame in pausing — and for some trips it is genuinely the right call.

Continue training if:

Your child has been training for 2+ weeks and is making solid progress
The trip is short (1–3 days) and mostly to familiar places
You have enough support and flexibility to handle accidents without major disruption

Consider pausing if:

Training started less than a week ago
The trip involves long flights, formal events, or situations where accidents would be very difficult to manage
Your child is already anxious about the trip itself

If you pause, use pull-ups without comment or explanation. When you return home, resume exactly where you left off. Most children pick up from where they paused within 1–2 days.

Pack the Travel Potty Kit

This is the most important preparation you can do. Your travel potty kit should include:

A portable potty or foldable toilet seat insert — the single most important item. A foldable toilet seat insert is more compact for travel; a portable standalone potty is better for car journeys and outdoor settings where toilets are not accessible.
Disposable potty liners — line the portable potty for quick, hygienic disposal away from home
5+ spare pairs of training pants — more than you think you need
3+ complete spare outfits — top, bottoms, socks, shoes if possible
Enzyme cleaner wipes — for accidents on car seats, hotel furniture, and anywhere else
Waterproof changing mat or pad — to create a clean surface anywhere
Hand sanitiser and wet wipes — for when handwashing facilities are not immediately available
Small reward stickers — keep the reward system going even away from home

In the Car

Long car journeys are one of the trickiest potty training scenarios because the combination of excitement, distraction, and the inability to stop immediately creates the perfect conditions for accidents.

Before Getting In

Always take your child to the potty immediately before getting in the car. Not 20 minutes before — right before. Make this a non-negotiable part of the departure routine for the entire trip.

During the Journey

Plan toilet stops every 45–60 minutes for children in early training, regardless of whether they say they need to go. "We are stopping at the services — let's try the toilet before we get back in the car."
Keep the portable potty accessible in the boot for motorway emergencies where the next services is 20 minutes away and your child cannot wait
Dress your child in easy clothing — elasticated waist, no fiddly buttons. You may be pulling over on a verge in the rain and you need this to be quick.
Avoid excessive drinks in the car but do not restrict fluids completely — dehydration causes concentrated urine which actually increases urgency

If an Accident Happens in the Car Seat

Stay calm. Pull over safely. Change your child matter-of-factly — "Let's get you clean and dry, then we can carry on." Most car seat covers are washable. The enzyme cleaner wipe deals with any smell on the seat itself. This is not a disaster — it is a Tuesday.

family driving on a road trip with children in the back seat

Keeping the handwashing routine consistent — even away from home — helps maintain familiarity.

On a Plane

Plane toilets present a unique challenge: they are small, loud, unfamiliar, and sometimes scary. The flush is extremely loud and the space is cramped. Many children who are confidently using the toilet at home will freeze up in a plane toilet.

Before the Flight

Use a pull-up for the flight itself if your child is in early training — the combination of seat belts, altitude, excitement, and a frightening toilet is not the moment to insist on training pants
If your child is further along in training, talk about the plane toilet in advance: "The toilet on the plane looks different and makes a loud noise, but it works the same way. We will go together."
Request an aisle seat so you can get to the toilet quickly

During the Flight

Take your child to the plane toilet when the seatbelt sign is off, whether they say they need to go or not
Warn them before flushing — the noise is startling for small children. "The flush is very loud — are you ready? Block your ears!"
Bring your foldable toilet seat insert — plane toilet seats are adult-sized and children feel much more secure with something that fits them

At the Destination

Establish the Routine Immediately

As soon as you arrive at your accommodation, locate the bathroom and take your child there. "This is where we use the potty here." Making the bathroom familiar from the first hour prevents a lot of hesitation later.

If you have brought a portable potty, set it up in the bathroom rather than using the full-size toilet for the first day or two — this familiar object bridges the gap between home and the unfamiliar environment.

Maintain Your Language and Rewards

Whatever words you use at home for the potty, keep using them. Whatever reward system you have — stickers, praise, specific language — keep it consistent. Consistency of language is one of the most underrated factors in travelling during potty training. Your child's brain has associated specific words and routines with the toileting process. Keeping those consistent in an unfamiliar environment maintains the habit when everything else is new.

Sightseeing and Outings

Locate toilets on arrival at any new venue before you need them urgently. "Let's find the toilet so we know where it is" — make this a fun part of exploration rather than an emergency mission
Potty before every outing — before getting in the car, before entering the beach, before the museum. Non-negotiable.
Do not be embarrassed to ask — in restaurants, shops, and attractions, just ask staff where the nearest toilet is. People are universally understanding about small children and toilets.
Outdoor accidents happen — find a quiet corner. Nobody minds. You minded as a parent far more than anyone around you does.

When You Get Home: Expect a Brief Wobble

Many parents notice a small regression in the first 2–3 days after returning from a trip. This is completely normal. The disruption to routine, the excitement, and the return to a different environment all affect a toddler's focus and control.

Go back to basics briefly — reinstate the timer prompts for a day or two, give extra praise for successes, and do not react to accidents with frustration. Most children are back to their pre-trip level within 3–5 days.

Quick Summary: Travel Potty Training Checklist

☐ Portable potty or foldable toilet seat insert packed
☐ Disposable potty liners in the kit
☐ 5+ spare training pants
☐ 3+ complete spare outfits
☐ Enzyme cleaner wipes
☐ Reward stickers
☐ Potty before every car/plane journey and outing
☐ Locate bathroom on arrival at every new venue
☐ Keep language and rewards consistent with home
☐ Plan for a brief wobble on return home

Travelling with a potty training toddler is not the disaster it feels like in advance. With the right kit and the right mindset, it is just another day of parenting — one that happens to involve more spare clothes than usual.

More posts that might help:

Written by Baby Potty Training Mommy — sharing real-world potty training advice since 2010. Read more about me here.

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Want the Complete Potty Training Guide?

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The 4-week plan, boys & girls guides, regression help, 15 problems solved & printable charts.

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Best Potty Training Books for Toddlers: What Actually Helps

Why Books Are One of the Best Potty Training Tools

Before you put a single pair of training pants on your toddler, one of the most effective things you can do is read potty training books together. Not to teach them the mechanics of using the toilet — children pick that up quickly enough in practice — but to normalise the whole idea before it becomes a real expectation.

A well-chosen potty training book does several things at once: it introduces the concept in a safe, low-pressure way; it gives you a shared language and vocabulary for talking about the process; it answers the questions children often have but cannot articulate; and for many children, it builds a genuine enthusiasm and curiosity about using the potty that makes the real training go much more smoothly.

Here are the books I recommend — both for children and for parents.

parent reading colourful children's book with toddler at home

Reading together about the potty before training starts builds readiness and reduces anxiety.

Best Potty Training Books for Children

1. Potty by Leslie Patricelli

Best for: Ages 12–24 months — the earliest introduction to the potty concept

If I could recommend only one potty training book for very young toddlers, this would be it. Leslie Patricelli's simple, cheerful board book features a baby working out what the potty is for, with minimal text and warm, funny illustrations that children aged 1–2 absolutely love.

The genius of this book is in its simplicity. It does not overwhelm with explanation — it just presents the potty as a normal, interesting part of growing up. Children who have been read this book repeatedly often start showing interest in the real potty before you have even decided to start training.

Find Potty by Leslie Patricelli on Amazon

2. Once Upon a Potty by Alona Frankel

Best for: Ages 18 months–3 years — explains the process clearly and warmly

Once Upon a Potty has been a potty training classic since the 1970s and it remains one of the best because it actually explains what the potty is for with gentle directness. Available in a "him" and "her" version, it follows a child learning to use the potty with encouragement from their parent.

The anatomically correct illustrations were considered bold when the book was first published and remain unusual — but they answer the questions children are often quietly wondering about their bodies without making a big deal of it. Many parents report that their child asks to read this one repeatedly during the pre-training period.

Find Once Upon a Potty on Amazon

3. My Big Girl/Boy Potty by Joanna Cole

Best for: Ages 2–3 years — focuses on the "big kid" motivational angle

Joanna Cole's My Big Girl Potty and My Big Boy Potty tap directly into the developmental motivation that drives most successful potty training: the desire to be like older children and grown-ups. The books follow a young child through the process of learning to use the potty, with warm illustrations and reassuring text that normalises the occasional accident.

The "big girl/big boy" framing is simple but powerful for children who are developmentally ready and want to be seen as growing up. A great complement to Patricelli for children who are closer to the active training phase.

Find My Big Boy/Girl Potty on Amazon

4. Everybody Poops by Taro Gomi

Best for: Ages 18 months–3 years — particularly useful for children anxious about pooing in the potty

Everybody Poops is not strictly a potty training book — it is more of a demystification of the whole concept of bodily functions — but it is one of the most useful books in a potty trainer's library for one specific reason: it normalises pooing completely.

For children who are reluctant or anxious about pooing in the potty — which is extremely common — this book’s matter-of-fact, even humorous approach to the subject takes away some of the mystery and anxiety. It says, simply and clearly: everyone does this. It is normal. It is fine.

Find Everybody Poops on Amazon

5. Princess Potty / Pirate Potty by Samantha Berger

Best for: Ages 2–3 years — for children who need character-based motivation

Some children respond better to potty training books with a strong character-based narrative that they can identify with. Samantha Berger's Princess Potty and Pirate Potty are entertaining, rhyming stories that make the potty training process feel like an adventure rather than a chore.

The "royal flush" sticker included in Princess Potty is a particular hit with many children — a physical reward they can look forward to from the first reading. A fun, motivating choice for children who love imaginative play.

Find Princess Potty on Amazon

colourful stack of children's picture books for toddlers

The right books build familiarity and reduce anxiety before active training begins.

Best Potty Training Books for Parents

Oh Crap! Potty Training by Jamie Glowacki

Best for: Parents who want a clear, structured, research-backed method with strong philosophical grounding

Oh Crap! Potty Training has become the most recommended parent potty training book of the past decade for good reason. Jamie Glowacki is a parenting consultant who has helped thousands of families through the process, and her approach is refreshingly direct: she tells you exactly what to do, in what order, and why — and she is honest about what is hard.

The method involves a structured sequence moving from nappy-free to commando to loose clothing to trained, with clear guidance on reading your child's signals and responding consistently. The book is longer than it needs to be in places but the core content is excellent. If you want one parent guide to read, this is it.

Find Oh Crap! Potty Training on Amazon

Stress-Free Potty Training by Sara Au & Peter Stavinoha

Best for: Parents who want to tailor their approach to their child's specific personality type

This book’s most useful contribution is its personality-based framework: it identifies different child types — the goal-directed child, the sensory-oriented child, the internalising child, the impulsive child — and gives specific guidance for each. If you have read general potty training advice and felt like none of it quite fits your child, this book often provides the missing piece.

Particularly useful for parents of children with strong-willed temperaments, sensory sensitivities, or anxiety around the process.

Find Stress-Free Potty Training on Amazon

How to Use Books Most Effectively

Start reading 2–4 weeks before active training begins — the goal is familiarity and normalisation, not instruction the week before
Let your child ask for them — a child who wants to read the potty book repeatedly is pre-motivating themselves
Read them at bathtime or bedtime as part of the routine — the relaxed association helps
Reference them during training — "Remember what happened in the book when they felt that feeling? That is what is happening now!"
Do not force the books — if your child is not interested in a particular title, try a different one. The right book for each child varies.

toddler engrossed in a picture book building early reading habits

Regular reading together builds the language and familiarity that makes real training smoother.

Quick Summary: Books by Age and Purpose

Book	Best Age	Best For
Potty (Patricelli)	12–24 months	First introduction to the concept
Once Upon a Potty	18 months–3 years	Clear, warm explanation of the process
My Big Boy/Girl Potty	2–3 years	Motivating "grown up" angle
Everybody Poops	18 months–3 years	Normalising bowel movements, poo anxiety
Princess/Pirate Potty	2–3 years	Character-driven motivation, imaginative children
Oh Crap! (parent)	Parent read	Clear structured method for parents
Stress-Free Potty Training (parent)	Parent read	Temperament-based approach

Have a favourite potty training book that is not on this list? Leave a comment below — I love adding parent recommendations.

More posts that might help:

Written by Baby Potty Training Mommy — sharing real-world potty training advice since 2010. Read more about me here.

This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through my links I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products I have used or thoroughly researched.

👶

Want the Complete Potty Training Guide?

Everything in this blog — organised into one clear, step-by-step PDF guide.
The 4-week plan, boys & girls guides, regression help, 15 problems solved & printable charts.

Get the Guide — $9 →

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Potty Training a Stubborn Toddler: Strategies That Actually Work

When Your Toddler Has Decided They Are Not Going to Do It

You know your child is ready. They can stay dry. They understand what the potty is for. They have watched you use the toilet. You have done everything right. And they are absolutely, categorically, with great enthusiasm, refusing to use the potty.

Welcome to potty training a stubborn toddler. It is one of the most frustrating parenting experiences precisely because there is so little you can actually do to make a child use the toilet if they have decided they are not going to. You cannot force the bladder to cooperate. You cannot reason with a two-year-old in the grip of a power struggle.

But there are strategies that work. Not by overpowering your child's will — but by working with their psychology rather than against it. Here is what I have learned.

strong-willed toddler showing independence and determination

Stubborn toddlers need to feel in control of the process — the strategies that work give them that.

First: Is It Stubbornness or Not Yet Readiness?

Before anything else, be honest with yourself about whether what you are seeing is genuine stubbornness or whether your child is simply not developmentally ready yet.

True stubbornness in potty training looks like this: your child clearly has bladder and bowel control (they can hold it, they have dry periods, they know when they are going), they understand what the potty is for, and they are choosing not to use it.

Readiness issues look like this: your child has accidents without warning, cannot seem to hold urine for more than 20–30 minutes, does not notice or does not care when they are wet.

The strategies below are for genuine stubbornness — a child who is physiologically ready but resistant. If your child is not yet physiologically ready, the most effective strategy is simply to wait a few more weeks and try again.

Strategy 1: Remove the Power Struggle Entirely

The single most effective thing you can do with a genuinely stubborn toddler is to stop the power struggle. Not by giving up on training — but by removing yourself from the equation as much as possible.

Power struggles over the potty happen because the toilet is one of the few arenas where a toddler has genuine, inviolable control. You cannot make them go. They know this. And if they have sensed that you are anxious, frustrated, or invested in whether they use the potty, that power becomes very attractive.

What to do: Become as neutral and uninterested in the outcome as you can manage. Set the potty in the bathroom. Mention it once, matter-of-factly. Then drop it completely. "The potty is there if you need it." No prompting, no reminders, no reactions when they do not use it. You are removing the game.

This feels counterintuitive — surely less prompting means more accidents? In the short term, perhaps. But for a child who is using refusal as a control mechanism, withdrawing your interest in the outcome removes the pay-off for refusing.

Strategy 2: Give Them Ownership of the Process

Stubborn toddlers are almost always strong-willed children who need to feel in control of their environment. The solution is not to take control away from them — it is to give them control of the things you can genuinely let them control.

Let them:

Choose their own training pants (take them to the shop and let them pick)
Choose which potty to use and where it goes in the bathroom
Choose the stickers for their reward chart
Choose what the milestone reward will be
Choose whether to use the potty or the toilet (give a genuine choice)
Choose which book to read while sitting on the potty

The more a stubborn child feels that the potty training process belongs to them rather than being imposed on them, the less they need to resist it.

Strategy 3: Use Indirect Motivation

Direct pressure backfires with stubborn children. Indirect motivation often works where direct asking does not.

The doll technique: Use a potty training doll or stuffed animal. Sit the doll on the potty, celebrate the doll's success enthusiastically. Many resistant children are more willing to use the potty when they are "teaching" their toy than when they are being asked to do it themselves.

The older child technique: "Did you know your cousin uses the toilet now? Isn't that amazing?" Casual mentions of slightly older children doing something tends to trigger the developmental drive to match them — without creating the pressure of a direct request.

The book technique: Read potty training books together without any connection to real training. Let the books do the motivational work without any pressure from you.

The timer technique: "The timer is going to go off in 5 minutes and then it's potty time." Giving advance notice rather than a sudden request reduces resistance. The timer becomes the authority — not you.

toddler playing independently showing strong autonomous temperament

When stubborn toddlers decide they want to do something, they commit completely — your job is to make it their idea.

Strategy 4: Make the Reward Irresistible

Sometimes the issue is not stubbornness but an insufficiently motivating reward. The sticker chart that worked for your first child may do nothing for your second. Different children are motivated by different things.

Ask your child what they would really, genuinely love to work towards. Let them name it. A specific toy they have been asking for, a special outing, a particular activity. Make a picture of it and attach it to the reward chart as the goal.

For some children, the reward needs to be more immediate — a sticker that goes on the chart is too abstract. Try a sticker that goes on their hand, a stamp on their wrist, or a small tangible reward (a raisin, a puzzle piece, a marble in a jar) that they can hold right now.

Important: Never remove rewards as punishment. Never express disappointment when the reward is not earned. The reward system only works as a positive motivator — the moment it becomes a source of shame or failure it stops working entirely.

Strategy 5: The Cold Turkey Break

If you have been trying for more than 3–4 weeks and making no progress — or if every interaction around the potty has become a conflict — the most effective thing is often to stop completely.

Return to nappies without comment or explanation. Do not say "we are stopping because you are not ready" or anything that frames it as failure. Just stop, and do not mention the potty at all for 2–4 weeks.

The break resets the emotional dynamic around toileting. When you restart, you do so from a place where the potty is not associated with conflict, pressure, or failure. Many parents find that after a break, a previously resistant child starts showing interest in the potty themselves — because the pressure is gone.

Strategy 6: For the Child Who Holds On

Some stubborn children express their resistance not by refusing to sit on the potty but by refusing to actually release. They will sit there for 10 minutes and produce nothing — then have an accident 5 minutes later.

This is often related to anxiety about letting go rather than pure stubbornness, and it needs a slightly different approach:

Ensure there is no constipation — a child who has had a painful bowel movement will sometimes hold subsequent ones to avoid the pain. Increase fibre and fluid first.
Make sitting pressure-free — read a book, sing a song, do not sit watching them
Try running warm water — the sound of water often relaxes the bladder sphincter
Try a slightly different position — feet flat on a step stool, leaning slightly forward
Celebrate trying — for a child who is anxious, sitting on the potty is itself an achievement worth rewarding, separate from whether anything happens

What Not to Do

With stubborn children, some common potty training approaches actively backfire:

Do not show frustration — your frustration is the most powerful fuel for a child who is engaged in a power struggle. A calm, uninterested response is far more effective than an emotional one.
Do not shame or compare — "Your friend Mia uses the potty" as a shaming statement makes things worse. As an incidental, matter-of-fact observation, it can motivate; as a pointed comparison, it creates shame and digs resistance in deeper.
Do not use threats — "If you don't use the potty you can't watch TV" creates a negative association with the whole process and escalates conflict.
Do not keep asking — asking 15 times is not more effective than asking once. It is more annoying and teaches the child to tune you out.

A Word on Timing

Stubbornness in potty training is most common in two age windows: around 2 to 2.5 years, when toddlers are in the height of their autonomy phase and "no" is a complete sentence; and again around 3.5 to 4 years, when children who were previously trained sometimes regress as they test boundaries in new ways.

If your child is 2 to 2.5 and in a strong "no" phase about everything, the most effective strategy is often to wait a few months. The developmental phase passes. The physiological readiness does not go away. A child who was immovably resistant at 26 months is often completely cooperative at 30 months with no change in your approach at all.

patient parent talking calmly with toddler at eye level

Keeping the relationship positive matters more than keeping to a training timeline.

Quick Summary: Strategies for Stubborn Toddlers

Remove the power struggle — become neutral and uninterested in the outcome
Give them ownership — let them choose pants, potty, stickers, rewards
Use indirect motivation — dolls, older children, books, timers
Make the reward irresistible — ask what they really want and make it the goal
Take a break if needed — 2–4 weeks off resets the dynamic
Never shame, threaten or show frustration — it always makes things worse

Have you cracked potty training with a particularly stubborn child? I would love to hear what worked for you in the comments below.

More posts that might help:

Written by Baby Potty Training Mommy — sharing real-world potty training advice since 2010. Read more about me here.

👶

Want the Complete Potty Training Guide?

Everything in this blog — organised into one clear, step-by-step PDF guide.
The 4-week plan, boys & girls guides, regression help, 15 problems solved & printable charts.

Get the Guide — $9 →

Instant PDF download • 30-day money-back guarantee

Best Potty Training Pants for Toddlers: Cloth vs Disposable — Which Is Better?

The Training Pants Question Every Parent Asks

Once you decide to start potty training, the question of training pants comes up almost immediately. Should you use cloth training pants? Disposable pull-ups? Regular underwear? And what is actually the difference between a training pant and a pull-up — because the packaging can make this very confusing.

I have used all of these options at different stages and with different children. Here is my honest, practical breakdown of everything you need to know before you buy.

toddler in cotton underwear showing independence during potty training

The right training pants help toddlers feel the difference between wet and dry — and build independence.

First: The Important Distinction

Before comparing cloth and disposable, it helps to understand the difference between two types of product that often get confused:

Pull-ups (disposable training pants) — like Pampers Easy-Ups or Huggies Pull-Ups. These feel similar to nappies and absorb accidents almost as well as a nappy. Your child may not notice when they are wet.
Training pants (cloth or lightly padded) — thicker than regular underwear but much thinner than a pull-up. Your child feels wet when they have an accident, which provides the natural feedback that drives learning.

This distinction matters because the feeling of being wet is one of the most powerful teachers in potty training. A product that absorbs accidents too well removes the natural consequence and slows the learning process.

Cloth Training Pants

What they are

Cloth training pants are usually made from cotton with extra padding in the gusset area — enough to hold a small accident without immediate soaking through to clothes, but thin enough that your child feels the wetness. They look and feel like real underwear, which most children find motivating.

Popular options include Gerber Training Pants, Potty Scotty, and various bamboo cotton options.

Pros of cloth training pants

Child feels wet immediately — the most important factor in teaching bladder awareness
Looks like real underwear — many children find this motivating and grown-up
More economical long-term — washable and reusable, a set of 10 pairs typically lasts the entire training period
Environmentally friendlier — no disposable waste
Better for readiness-led training — works with your child's natural learning process rather than against it

Cons of cloth training pants

Accidents soak through to clothes — you will be doing more laundry, especially in the first week
Not suitable for outings in the early days — the leak protection is limited
Require washing — you need enough pairs to cover a full day of accidents
Some children resist them — if they have always worn nappies, the thinner feel can take adjustment

Disposable Pull-Ups

What they are

Disposable pull-ups like Huggies Pull-Ups or Pampers Easy-Ups are designed to pull up and down like underwear while providing nappy-level absorbency. Some brands include a "Cool Alert" feature that creates a cool sensation when wet to simulate the feeling of a wet training pant.

Pros of pull-ups

Excellent for outings — accident protection means less laundry away from home
Good for night use — during the night training phase before reliable dryness is established
Convenient for nursery and childminders — easier to manage in a group setting
Good transition product — if your child is not quite ready for full underwear independence
Less laundry — simply dispose of accidents

Cons of pull-ups

Child may not feel wet — the absorbency that makes them convenient is the same thing that slows learning
Expensive long-term — ongoing cost adds up quickly if training takes weeks or months
Can confuse the child — feels too similar to a nappy, which can blur the boundary between trained and not trained
Environmental impact — disposable product generating ongoing waste

young child independently pulling up trousers during potty training

Building independence in the bathroom is the ultimate goal — the right pants support rather than slow that process.

Head-to-Head Comparison

Factor	Cloth Training Pants	Disposable Pull-Ups
Teaches wetness awareness	Excellent	Poor to moderate
Accident containment at home	Moderate	Excellent
Accident containment out	Limited	Excellent
Long-term cost	Low (reusable)	High (ongoing)
Training speed	Generally faster	Generally slower
Laundry	More	Less
Night use	Not ideal	Good
Environment	Eco-friendly	Ongoing waste

My Recommendation: Use Both — But for Different Things

The most effective approach I have found — and the one that most experienced potty training parents settle on — is to use each product for what it does best:

Cloth training pants at home during the day. This is where learning happens. Your child needs to feel wet to understand the connection between the urge and the outcome.
Disposable pull-ups for outings in the early weeks, while accident frequency is still high. The practical protection prevents disasters on the bus or at the supermarket without significantly slowing learning if you are consistent at home.
Disposable pull-ups at night until reliable night dryness is established — which may be weeks or months after daytime training is complete.
Real underwear as soon as your child is reliably self-initiating during the day. Moving to real pants is itself a motivational milestone for many children.

The parents who struggle most are those who use pull-ups full-time during the day at home. The absorbency removes the feedback loop that drives learning. If you are going to use pull-ups, reserve them for specific situations where the protection genuinely matters.

What to Look For in Cloth Training Pants

Not all cloth training pants are equal. Here is what matters when choosing:

Enough padding to hold a small accident — but not so much that wetness is not felt. 2–3 layers in the gusset is about right.
Easy to pull up and down independently — your child needs to be able to manage them alone. Avoid elasticated waistbands that are too tight or too loose.
Machine washable at 40°C or higher — for proper hygiene.
Sized correctly — training pants that are too big will leak at the legs; too small and your child cannot pull them down in time.
At least 10 pairs — you will need enough for a full day of accidents plus a day's buffer for washing.

happy confident toddler proud of their potty training progress

Every child trains at their own pace — the right pants make the process a little easier for everyone.

What About Waterproof Training Pants?

Waterproof training pants have a waterproof outer layer that contains leaks while still allowing the child to feel wet inside. They offer a middle ground between cloth and pull-ups — wetness feedback with better leak containment. They are particularly useful for:

Children who have accidents frequently and unpredictably in the early days
Families with carpets or upholstered furniture they want to protect
Use at nursery where staff need more containment than a standard cloth training pant provides

Waterproof training pants are worth having a few pairs of alongside standard cloth training pants, especially for the first 1–2 weeks when accidents are most frequent.

Quick Summary

For daytime training at home: Cloth training pants — wetness feedback is essential for learning
For outings in early weeks: Disposable pull-ups — practical accident protection
For night use: Disposable pull-ups until reliable dryness is established
How many to buy: 10+ cloth training pants; pull-ups by the pack for outings and nights
When to move to real underwear: As soon as daytime self-initiation is reliable

Have a question about training pants that I haven't covered? Leave a comment below — I read every one.

More posts that might help:

Written by Baby Potty Training Mommy — sharing real-world potty training advice since 2010. Read more about me here.

This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through my links I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products I genuinely believe in.

👶

Want the Complete Potty Training Guide?

Everything in this blog — organised into one clear, step-by-step PDF guide.
The 4-week plan, boys & girls guides, regression help, 15 problems solved & printable charts.

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When to Start Potty Training: Signs Your Child Is Ready

The Question Every Parent Asks

There is probably no question in early parenting that generates more conflicting advice than this one. Your mother-in-law tells you she trained her children at 18 months. Your NCT friend says her health visitor told her to wait until at least 2.5. The internet offers approximately 47 different answers depending on which article you stumble across first.

Here is the honest answer: there is no single right age to start potty training. What matters far more than age is readiness — a cluster of physical, developmental, and emotional signs that tell you your child's body and mind are genuinely prepared to make this transition.

Start too early and you will spend months struggling against a child who is not physiologically capable of controlling their bladder consistently. Start when they are ready and the whole process is faster, smoother, and far less stressful for everyone.

This guide covers everything you need to know about timing — the signs to look for, the signs that mean wait, and how to begin when the time is right.

What Does "Ready" Actually Mean?

Readiness for potty training is not a single switch that flips on one particular birthday. It is a combination of factors that emerge gradually — and different children reach them at different times, in different orders, and at different paces.

There are three broad categories of readiness: physical, developmental, and emotional. Your child does not need to tick every box in every category before you begin — but the more boxes are ticked, the smoother the process will be.

Physical Readiness Signs

1. Staying Dry for Periods of Time

This is the most fundamental physical readiness sign. Before potty training can work, your child's bladder needs to be capable of holding urine for a reasonable period — usually at least 1.5 to 2 hours. You can check this by tracking how often they are wet during the day. If their nappy is wet every 20 to 30 minutes with no dry gaps, their bladder is not yet developed enough for reliable training.

A child who wakes from a nap with a dry nappy is showing particularly strong physical readiness — it means their bladder can hold urine even during a period of relaxed, reduced awareness.

2. Predictable Bowel Movements

If your child tends to have bowel movements at roughly the same time each day — often after a meal — this predictability makes the training process much easier. You can anticipate when to sit them on the potty and catch those early successes that are so important for motivation.

3. Physical Awareness of Going

Before a child can get to the potty in time, they first need to be aware that they are going — or ideally, that they are about to go. Watch for signs like:

Going quiet and still, or squatting, while filling their nappy
Crossing their legs, clutching themselves, or fidgeting when their bladder is full
Telling you after the fact that they have done a wee or poo — even if they cannot yet tell you before
Moving to a private spot or hiding behind furniture for bowel movements

This awareness — even retroactive awareness — is a positive sign. A child who is completely unaware that they have gone, or shows no reaction at all to a wet or soiled nappy, is likely not ready yet.

4. Ability to Pull Clothing Up and Down

Your child does not need to be fully independent with clothing before you start — but being close to able to pull their trousers and knickers down makes the process significantly smoother. If they are nowhere near this skill yet, practice it alongside your potty training preparation rather than waiting for it to develop completely.

Developmental Readiness Signs

5. Understanding Simple Instructions

Potty training requires your child to follow a sequence of steps — recognise the urge, tell you or go to the potty, sit down, relax, wipe, flush, wash hands. To begin this process, they need to be able to understand and follow at least simple two-step instructions: "Go to the bathroom and sit on the potty."

If your child cannot yet follow basic two-step instructions reliably, the cognitive piece of training is not quite in place — though this usually develops quickly and it is worth beginning potty familiarity while you wait.

6. Using Words or Signs for Toileting

Your child does not need a sophisticated vocabulary — simple words like "wee", "poo", "potty", or even a sign or gesture they consistently use to communicate a need to go are enough. What matters is that they have some way of communicating the need, and that you understand it.

If your child has no words at all and limited communication generally, it is worth discussing with your health visitor whether speech and language support might be helpful before beginning training.

7. Interest in the Toilet or Bathroom

Children who are curious about what happens in the bathroom — who want to watch, ask questions, flush the toilet, or sit on the potty fully clothed — are showing developmental readiness. This interest is your cue to begin making the potty a normal, familiar, low-pressure part of their world.

Emotional Readiness Signs

8. Willingness to Cooperate with New Things

Potty training requires a child who is generally willing to give new things a try — not perfectly cooperative all the time (no toddler is), but not in the middle of a major phase of opposition and defiance either. If your child is going through a period where the answer to everything is an emphatic "no", it is worth waiting for a calmer window.

9. Showing Discomfort with a Dirty or Wet Nappy

A child who asks to be changed, protests at staying in a wet nappy, or shows clear discomfort with the feeling of being wet is demonstrating both physical awareness and emotional motivation to be clean and dry. This motivation is a powerful driver in the training process.

10. Interest in "Big Kid" Underwear

The desire to wear "proper" knickers or pants like older siblings, parents, or friends is surprisingly powerful motivation for many toddlers. If your child is excited by the idea of choosing their own underwear, this is a strong emotional readiness signal worth building on.

What Age Do Most Children Show These Signs?

In practice, most children begin showing the majority of readiness signs somewhere between 18 and 30 months. Girls often reach readiness slightly earlier than boys on average — though this is a generalisation and there is enormous individual variation.

The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests that most children are ready between 18 and 24 months, but notes that some children may not be ready until age 3 or even later — and that this is completely normal. The NHS guidance echoes this, noting that most children are reliably trained between ages 2 and 3 for daytime, and later for night-time.

The important thing is not to compare your child to a neighbour's child, a sibling, or a milestone chart that tells you it "should" happen by a certain age. Every child develops on their own timetable.

Signs Your Child Is NOT Ready Yet

Just as important as knowing when to start is knowing when to wait. Here are signs that now is probably not the right time:

No dry periods during the day — their bladder is not yet holding urine for long enough
No awareness of going — they show no reaction to a wet or soiled nappy and give no signals before or during
Active resistance or distress — if the mention of the potty causes significant upset, forcing the issue will create negative associations that outlast the training period
A major life change is happening or imminent — a new sibling, a house move, starting nursery, a change in family circumstances, or any other significant disruption. Wait until life is settled and your child feels secure before beginning
Illness or significant developmental concerns — if your child has been unwell, or you have concerns about their development, discuss timing with your health visitor or GP before beginning

How to Prepare Before You Start

Once you are seeing the majority of readiness signs, there are several things you can do in the weeks before you formally begin training that make the actual start much smoother:

Introduce the Potty Early

Put the potty in the bathroom — or wherever feels right in your home — and let your child get used to its presence. Let them sit on it fully clothed with no expectation of producing anything. Make it theirs by letting them decorate it with stickers if they like.

Read Potty Training Books Together

Picture books about potty training help normalise the concept and answer questions in a low-pressure way. Pirate Pete's Potty, Princess Polly's Potty, Once Upon a Potty, and Everybody Poops are all popular choices that children often ask to read repeatedly.

Let Them Come with You

Allow your child to come with you when you use the toilet and explain simply what you are doing. Children learn enormously from imitation, and watching a parent or older sibling use the toilet demystifies the whole process and answers questions in the most natural way possible.

Talk About It Matter-of-Factly

Use the words you have decided to use consistently — wee, poo, potty, toilet — in everyday conversation without making a big deal of it. "I need to go to the toilet — do you want to come?" normalises the experience before the formal training begins.

Let Them Choose Their Underwear

A trip to buy special "big kid" underwear in the week before you start is one of the most effective motivational tools available. Let them choose entirely based on what they love — their favourite characters, colours, animals. This creates anticipation and ownership around the transition.

How Do You Know When to Actually Begin?

Here is my practical rule of thumb after many years of writing about potty training and talking to hundreds of parents: if your child is showing at least six of the ten readiness signs above, and there are no major life changes on the horizon, you are probably in the right window to begin.

Pick a time when you can be at home for at least three consecutive days — a long weekend works well. Make sure both you and your co-parent or caregiver are aligned on the approach you are going to use and can be consistent with each other.

And then begin — knowing that no child is perfectly ready, that accidents are part of the process, and that patience and consistency will get you there far more reliably than timing ever will.

Quick Readiness Checklist

Use this as a simple guide — not a rigid test:

☐ Stays dry for 1.5–2 hours at a stretch
☐ Has predictable bowel movements
☐ Shows physical awareness of going (squatting, hiding, telling you after)
☐ Can pull clothing up and down, or nearly can
☐ Can follow simple two-step instructions
☐ Has words or signs for toileting needs
☐ Shows interest in the toilet or bathroom
☐ Generally willing to cooperate with new things
☐ Shows discomfort with a wet or dirty nappy
☐ Interested in "big kid" underwear

If you are ticking six or more of these — you are probably ready to begin.

Do you have a question about timing that I have not covered here? Leave it in the comments and I will do my best to help.

When you are ready to start, these posts will walk you through exactly what to do:

Written by Baby Potty Training Mommy — sharing real-world potty training advice since 2010. Read more about me here.

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