The ideal potty training age will be different for every child.  Here is what the experts are saying is the right age for potty training.

As you can see the recommended potty training age varies anywhere from 18 months to 5 years old.  So if you are trying to decide if it is the right time to begin potty training your 3 year old or your 18 month old then read on.  

Also find out what the potty training readiness signs are.

"25 years ago 90% of toddlers were potty training by 2 ½ years of age.
Now more than 1/3 of toddlers are still wearing nappies after their third birthday."

From:  The Everything Toddler Book: From Controlling Tantrums to Potty Training, Practical Advice to Get You and Your Toddler Through the Formative Years (Everything Series)
By Dr, Linda Sonna (p.101)

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"Most people, including doctors, say that children lack physical control until after age 2 and may not be emotionally ready for potty training until close to age 3. This just isn't true! Most of the world's children finish training before age 2, as they did in the U.S. before disposable diapers were invented.

There are some compelling reasons to begin teaching sooner rather than later - before the stool begins to harden and independence struggles heat up. A single painful movement can cause children to avoid the potty; older children are less willing to put aside their toys for a potty trip; giving up diapers becomes more challenging once the habit of eliminating into them has become ingrained." Read More about Early Start Potty Training and the ideal potty training age.

By Dr. Linda Sonna author of  Early-Start Potty Training

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"Some children are ready for toilet training before their second birthday and others not until after their third, but most are ready somewhere in between."

From:  What to Expect the First Year, Second Ed, by Mrufkoff, Eisenberg and Hathaway (p.490)

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"The vast majority of children are able to master daytime toileting by the age of three and a half or so."

From:  The No-Cry Potty Training Solution: Gentle Ways to Help Your Child Say Good-Bye to Diapers (Pantley), by Elizabeth Pantley (p.13)

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"It would be so much easier if there were some magic age at which to potty train your child.  You could simply wake up on the morning of the day he turns, say 26 months, plonk him on the potty - and hey presto!  However every child is different.  Some gain the necessary mental and emotional skills as early as 18 months, whereas others aren't ready until they're 4 or 5 years old!"

From:  Potty Training: Making the Transition Without Stress or Mess by Jane Gilbert, and "Practical Parenting" (p.10)

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