Developmental Information

CDC Milestone Checklists and Tracker

5 Steps for Brain-Building Serve and Return - Center on the Developing Child at Harvard UniversityChild-adult relationships that are responsive and attentive—with lots of back and forth interactions—build a strong foundation in a child’s brain for all future learning and development. This is called “serve and return,” and it takes two to play! Follow these 5 steps to practice serve and return with your child.

Attention Spans: What is Developmentally Appropriate?

Article Link from Teach me to Talk

How to Introduce Books and a Love of Literacy to Babies and Toddlers

Article from Zero to Three Learn
Reading together should be fun!
Reading for just a few minutes at a time is ok!
Make books a part of your daily routine
Let you little one help turn the pages
Try singing or talking about the pictures
Go to the library together for story time and to pick put books together- see what your little one is interested in!

How do you know if your child is ready to start potty training? While every little one is different, here are some of the signs of readiness that you might see:

Showing an interest in the bathroom/potty. They may start to imitate what they see happening.
Starting to gain more recognition of their own body. This includes showing some awareness of when their diaper is wet/soiled, communicating to you that they have eliminated in their diaper, or that they need to go to the bathroom.
Demonstrating that they do not like having their diaper wet/soiled and wanting to be changed quickly.
No bowel movements during the night and their diaper remaining dry for longer periods of time.
Having some regularity with bowel movements.
Urinating a lot at one time vs a little bit many times.
Becoming more independent with dressing/undressing.
Being able to climb up steps or situate themselves on a small chair.
Being able to imitate motor actions and model behavior.
Being able to follow directions.
Can understand basic terms relating to the bathroom.
The desire to be more independent and do things themselves.
An understanding of what a potty is and what it's for.
See this article for more information relating to potty training readiness.

Remember that while children typically begin potty training between 18 months and 3 years, every child will go at his/her own pace - and that is ok! Some children need more time to develop the pre-requisite skills or body awareness before they are ready to potty train.

Potty Training Resources

Just as every child is different, potty training each child is different as well. Remember to stay calm, positive, and fun- you and your little one can do this!
Some ideas that might make potty training a more positive experience include:
- Keeping a special book or toy by the toilet that is just for potty time. You can also have special potty time songs for sing together.
- Create a potty routine- things that you do each time you go. This could be phrases you say, a song you sing, and/or talking about the steps that you do each time.
- Have your child wear loose bottoms (or no bottoms when possible) when activity teaching potty training. Keep their clothes as easy to manage as possible during this time .
- Use a doll or stuffy to model sitting on the potty.
- Start practicing sitting on the potty very briefly and make it positive and fun!
- Praise your child for doing a great job and being such a big kid when they're sitting on the potty!
- Set a timer to take them to the toilet every 15-60 minutes. Some parents let their little ones drink extra water/drinks during this time.
- It's ok if they don't "go" while sitting on the potty. Remember to keep praising/encouraging them anyway!
- If your child is very upset or resistant, take a break from potty training and come back to it when they are a little older.
- Remember that accidents happen- this is totally ok! Keep calm when this happens.
- Try to be consistent when using terms about going to the bathroom (i.e. pee-pee, potty, toilet, etc.).
- It's often helpful to use a statement, rather than a question when it's time for potty trips (i.e. "Let's go to the potty!" or "Potty time!", rather than "Do you want to go to the potty?")
- Boys may learn faster sitting on the toilet, rather than standing. Once he has sitting and going to the bathroom down, you can teach standing.
Want more information? Check out these sites for more information and ideas:
https://www.first5california.com/en-us/articles/toilet-training-toddler-preschooler/
https://www.berkeleyparentsnetwork.org/advice/potty-training-2-3-year-olds
https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/toddler/toilet-training/Pages/default.aspx
https://www.verywellfamily.com/potty-training-boys-versus-girls-4158362

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