You may be ready for your little one to start using the toilet, but what’s important is, are they? Like walking, using the toilet is a skill that may take a lot of time and practice for your child to learn. They’ve been peeing and pooping in a diaper for their entire lives and will need to begin doing it differently. The transition involves learning to recognize their body’s signals as well as perform bathroom routines. Try these Montessori methods to help your child learn at their own pace: 🟫 As with any new skill, model how to use the toilet for them. 👁️ Bring them with you on your trips to the bathroom, so they can learn from watching you. 🟫 Explain what’s happening. Read realistic books 📖 to them that describe misses and successful trips to the toilet, like ‘Ready to Go: Pee’ and ‘Ready to Go: Poop’ from the book bundle add-on to The Realist Play Kit. 🟫 Even before they’re ready, place a potty chair in the bathroom, so they can mimic you. 🚽 To help promote their body awareness, you can also mount a child-safe mirror on the wall at their level. Once they begin to practice using the potty chair, keeping a stack of clean underwear and a child-size hamper 🧺for dirty clothes handy will help give them a sense of control when they miss. 🟫 Relax! Potty learning is a process for which there is no set timeline. Most children don’t use the toilet entirely on their own until they’re around 3 or older. As Nicole Kavanaugh (@nickav25), author of the Montessori-style parenting blog The Kavanaugh Report says, meet your child where they are and really enjoy that moment that they’re in. Thanks to @sherrymmmontessorish for sharing the beginning of their little one’s potty learning journey! Follow us for more child development tips and expert insights! #Lovevery #LoveveryToddler #PottyLearning #Parenting #ToddlerLife