List of Skills by Age
1-2 Months
2-4 Months
4-6 Months
6-8 Months
8-10 Months
10-12 Months
12-15 Months
Uses facial expressions, squatting to indicate need to eliminate
15-18 Months
Indicates discomfort when soiled
Sits on the toilet for one minute alone
Visits the bathroom with adults and watches them
: Plays with toilet paper, flushing, and washing hands
18-21 Months
Indicates need for toilet with words or actions, but often too late
21-24 Months
Practices getting on and off the potty, pulling pants down and back up
May be bladder trained during the day if adults and children are both motivated
24-27 Months
Demonstrates a pattern of toileting needs (i.e. when and how often)
27-30 Months
Girls ask to urinate in the toilet
Girls wear training pants or underwear
30-33 Months
Boys and girls seat themselves on the toilet with steps and toilet seat
Boys urinate in the toilet when sitting down
Boys wear training pants or underwear
Boys and girls may tell before having BM
Girls stay BM free during the day
33-36 Months
Responds to routine bathroom times for bowel movements
Boys stay BM free during the day
Boys tell before having to urinate
Girls enter bathroom and urinate and have BM independently (may need help with wiping)
36-42 Months
Boys enter bathroom and urinate and have BM independently
Boys urinate while standing up
42-48 Months
Manages toilet seat, toilet paper, and flushes
48-54 Months
May have occasional night bed-wetting
54-60 Months
North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, 2015
©2015 by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/.