Toddler · Planner · About 18 months to 3 years
Potty training plan
Start when your child shows they are ready, time it around the move to preschool, and keep every caregiver doing the same thing. This page is for you to observe your child, not to test them.
Download the PDF (A4, 4 pages)Open to print
Use it with: Visual routine builder · Where should we start with a toddler in Singapore?
Not yet reviewed by a clinician. We're arranging a clinical review; until then, check anything about your child's health with your doctor or the Child Health Booklet. This plan is general guidance, not a diagnosis.
1Signs you may notice
From Families for Life. Signs often show from about 2 years, some as early as 18 months. Not every sign needs to be there: look for a general trend. Nothing here is scored.
- Has a dry diaper for up to two hours
- Tells you, with words or gestures, when they wee or poo in the diaper
- Starts to dislike the diaper, perhaps pulling it off when it is wet or dirty
- Walks, and can sit for short periods
- Can pull their pants up and down
- Follows simple instructions, like “Give the ball to Daddy”
- Is interested in watching others go to the toilet
- Has regular, soft, formed poos
- Is becoming more independent, and says “no” more often
- Understands that things have their place around the home
2Choosing when to start
Easier times
- A long weekend or a few days of leave at home
- A settled few weeks with the same caregivers
- Some weeks before or after starting preschool, not the same week
Harder times
- The weeks around a new baby, a house move or a new helper
- Long trips, or when your child is unwell
- The first week at a new centre
3When to talk to your doctor
If anything about your child's toileting worries you, such as pain or discomfort, or a child who was dry and starts having many accidents again, talk to your doctor. Write your questions in the Child Health Booklet so you remember them at the next check-up.
Source: Families for Life (adapted from raisingchildren.net.au), Toilet training, familiesforlife.sg/pages/fflparticle/Toddlers-Toilet-Training, checked 18 October 2026.
Toddler · Planner
Our plan, timed around preschool
Work back from the day your child starts playgroup or moves up from infant care. If your child isn't showing many signs yet, it's fine to start after they have settled in.
1Step by step
- 6 to 8 weeks before preschool: watch for the signs on page 1. Read a potty picture book, and let your child sit on the potty in clothes.Ask the centre how they handle toileting, how many spare sets to pack and whether they prefer pants or pull-ups.
- 4 weeks before: agree the words and the plan below with everyone who cares for your child. Buy a potty or a toilet seat and step stool, and some pants.
- Start week (at home): pants on in the day, reminders every so often and after meals and naps, lots of drinks, and calm cleanups.
- Weeks 2 and 3: fewer reminders as your child starts telling you. Try short outings: the toilet before leaving, spare clothes in the bag.
- First week at preschool: give the centre the note on page 4. Expect a few more accidents while everything is new; that is common, and not a step back.
- Naps and nights: these often come later. Families for Life says children are often 3 to 4 years old before they are dry at night. A diaper at night is fine until then.
2What we all agree
| Decision | Our choice |
|---|---|
| Words we useFor wee, poo and the potty, the same at home, at Grandma's and at the centre | |
| Potty or toilet seatMany families use both: a potty at home, a seat and step stool for outings | |
| Pants or pull-ups in the day | |
| When we remindAfter waking, after meals, before going out, before bath | |
| After an accidentWhat we say ("Oops, let's get clean") and what we do | |
| Who helps whereParents, helper, grandparents, the centre | |
| OutingsPublic toilets, squat toilets and the spare-clothes bag |
Toddler · Chart
My potty sticker chart
A sticker for trying, not only for getting it in the potty. Keep it at your child's eye level near the potty, and let them choose and stick the sticker.
1My potty steps
- 1Potty timePants down, sit down
- 2TrySit for a little while
- 3Pants upWipe, then pull up
- 4Wash handsSoap, rinse, dry
2My stickers
Several tries in a day? Put several stickers in the circle, or one big one. Missed a day or had a messy one? Leave it blank and carry on; the chart is for cheering, not for keeping track of accidents.
3Ways to cheer, whoever is with me
- "You listened to your body!"
- "You sat and tried. Well done for trying."
- "Oops, that's okay. Let's get clean and try again next time."
- A high five or a little dance works as well as a treat.
Toddler · Template
Notes for the preschool and the helper
Fill these in and hand one to the preschool teacher and one to the helper or grandparent, so your child hears the same words all day.
For our preschool
We are toilet training at home and would love to keep things the same at the centre.
For our helper or grandparent
Thank you for helping. Please follow the same plan as us, even when it is slower or messier.
- Please don't scold, punish or shame accidents, and don't make our child sit for a long time.
- Praise trying, and let our child put the sticker on the chart.
- Wash hands together after every try.
1Spare-clothes bag for the centre and outings
- Two or three spare sets: pants, shorts, socks
- A wet bag or a few plastic bags
- Wet wipes and a small towel
- A foldable toilet seat for outings
- Spare shoes or slippers
- Everything labelled with your child's name
Updated 18 October 2026. Print on A4, portrait, black and white is fine. Stick the sticker chart near the potty at your child's eye level and give page 4 to the preschool and the helper.