Why I Hate Setting Timers

You know how some people recommend setting a timer for arbitrary amounts of time to remind you when to put your child on the toilet? Yeah, don’t do that.

I would never recommend this approach because proper potty training teaches a child how to listen to their instincts and act on them in real time. There is a progression that happens during this learning curve where a child goes from being clueless to having peed to feeling the urge to pee or poop and knowing when the right time is to take themselves on the toilet, so they sit just in time to release without having an accident.

Setting a timer teaches your child how to sit on the toilet at random times. If your child is at least 6 months old, I have news for you: they already know how to sit down! In fact, I’m sure if your child is a toddler, then they have mastered the art of sitting.

Telling or asking your child to sit down during arbitrary blocks of time does not teach them how to listen to their body’s cues and pee or poop in the toilet. In fact, you can land yourself in some pretty hot water either from overprompting or having them linger for way too long on the pot instead of doing their business and getting off.

One of the markers of being potty trained is being able to consolidate your pee, so instead of going a little bit now and a little bit later, you’re able to void your body of a moderate to large amount of pee in one go. Improper potty training as a result of timed sitting, for example, can result in the inability or delayed ability to consolidate pee.

I promise you do not ever have to set a single timer in order to get potty training to “click” for your little one. I will show you exactly how.