How to tell if toddler has bladder control?

[wishIwasonholiday10]

I want to try potty training with my almost 3 year old as she shows a lot of signs of being ready and already uses the potty sometimes. However I’m not sure if she has sufficient bladder control as her nappy often seems a bit wet even after relatively short times and when she is going to the potty at night she often does several small wees. Is there any way to tell if she us ready without just giving it a go (which we plan to do over Easter)? She does have low muscle tone which can affect bladder control from what I’ve read but not all children are affected in the same way.

It sounds like she's ready. No children have full control while they still have a nappy.

Most people train well before 3. Unless you suspect SEN or physical challenges then you should definitely start now imo. Have you talked to her about it? At 3 you can have a conversation with her about what's happening! You don't wait for dry nappies before starting, until you try their nappies likely won't be dry, they're used to just going whenever. Plan for a few days in the house without going away. Naked from waist down with potty out. Ask her regularly do you need a wee or poo, sit on potty every 20 mins. Chocolate button every time she goes in potty. All of mine trained in a couple of days. They did nights automatically at same time, but not everyone does, nights can take a bit longer for some. The trick is no sneaking back to the odd nappy, take potty out everywhere. They need to get used to the feeling of being wet, there will be accidents but that's part of the training!

They don’t have the control because they use a nappy, they need to learn to hold their wee and then purposely do a big wee rather than little bits here and there.
At almost 3 there’s no reason they can’t pick it up, you just need to start.
Personally I don’t believe in “ready”.

Thanks for the advice! We have been talking to her about it and reading books already and are already planning an attempt over Easter. There are some physical challenges in out case. We didn’t do it already as she only learnt to walk a couple of months ago and still can’t manage her clothes yet.

I don’t think managing their own clothes is necessary. My DD was out of nappies just after 2, she couldn’t do her clothes or get herself on the toilet though. She said she needed to go and we helped, the same in nursery.
Over the year she’s become more independent with practice.
I think referring to it as potty training and the idea what it’s a weekend job does children a disservice imo. It’s a process like anything, don’t let the fact that she can’t dress herself put you off. It doesn’t need to be entirely independent toileting or nappies.

Have a look at Eric website. They are not just for children having difficulties, they have an awful lot of evidence based advice for all children.

Thanks all for the advice!

We have started potty training this morning and so far had 5 wees over the space if an hour (after drinking a cup of milk) mostly not on the potty. Is this normal at the start? It seems very frequent?