Potty Learning with Montessori | Signs of Readiness

In the the potty learning 2.0 series, following Benedict's progress as he has learned to use the potty on his own, I have discussed what we do to start, how to have a no pressure attitude, why praise and rewards are not recommended and the distinction between potty learning and potty training. To read my entire journey with Jerome, read our first potty learning series.

And to read how to approach Montessori potty learning from start to finish go here.

* This post includes affiliate links at no cost to you. The Fishies in a Row earns a small commission on products purchased through these links and are so thankful for your support. 

Gradual and Peaceful (!) Potty Training

It has been my experience that potty training, or rather learning, with Montessori principles, has been gradual and peaceful, two words you would not generally hear in regards to toileting.

I want to preface this by saying that you need to follow your child's natural cues and not place expectations on them based on an age or timeline you would like to see them trained by. 

The peacefulness of Montessori toilet learning is largely due to the no pressure attitude of it, respecting that this is a bodily awareness only your child can accomplish, (with much more success if you give them freedom and autonomy.)

My attitude as we started potty learning with Benedict was very much "lets see how this goes" with no pressure at all.

He started showing signs of readiness, which are pretty obvious.

Noticeable Signs of Readiness for Potty Learning

1. He protested diaper changes and hated me putting a diaper on him. 

• We did standing diaper changes, baths whenever he was dirty, and would sometimes have to just hold him down and clean him as quickly as possible. No matter what, he would scream, run from me when he had done his business, and otherwise avoid having his diaper changed.  

      2. He showed a lot of interest, especially when his brother would go to the bathroom.

• He began wanting to be in the bathroom when Jerome was using the toilet and would watch everything he did with fascination. At this point, I put the learning potty in the bathroom and we would casually talk about it and he would choose to sit on it every once in a while before going in the bath.

      3. He started telling me when he would go pee in his diaper

• We would be sitting together and he would suddenly announce, "I pee!" or even "yucky" when he would go in his diaper. This was a lot different than when we started with Jerome, as Benedict has had such an extensive vocabulary for such a little child. 

     4.  He started showing an interest in work cycles

• For example, when we change his diaper, he wants to bring his diaper to the garbage, take his pants off and put it in the hamper, put dishes away from the dishwasher.

We had the learning potty in the bathroom for months before we approached putting Benedict in underwear, as I wanted to be sure he had had a lot of exposure and was not intimidated or scared of the process before we started.

I think it is important for the child to see other family members as much as is normal and comfortable, so they can absorb the process, especially when you really start to notice signs of readiness.

Now you're ready to get started:

Underwear here
Learning toilet options here | here
Books to read to normalize toiletting here | here
Mat to give everything a place here
Basket for new underwear here
Bucket for dirty underwear here


If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact me. I would also love to hear any suggestions for posts you would like me to write about. And if you are interested in following along in our daily adventures, follow us on Instagram where I post daily.

God bless,
Olivia Fischer