Earlier toilet training not necessarily better
11 April 2003
There is little benefit for most children in starting intensive toilet training before 27 months, US paediatricians say.
Intensive toilet training (asking the child to sit on a potty or toilet more than 3 times a day) in younger children was likely to take much longer to complete, the researchers said.
Follow-up of 378 children showed that intensive training in younger children was not associated with earlier completion of training. Children who started toilet training before 2 years of age took, on average, more than a year to complete toilet training (Pediatrics 2003; 111: 810-14).
But children who did not start toilet training until they were 3, in general, completed toilet training in under 6 months.
There was no link between starting toilet training early and constipation.
Last Reviewed: 14 April 2003
- 1. Medical Observer Weekly 11/4/03
