Potty training: what it takes and costs

The NHS says almost all children can be potty trained between 18 months and 2 and a half, and you don't have to wait for signs before you begin. The kit is cheap. The Minimum Income Standard (MIS) list from Loughborough University has two potties and a training seat at £20 in total.

The bigger costs are patience and laundry, and neither comes with a receipt.

When to start

"The best thing to do is to start the training," says the NHS page. Your child may tell you when they're wet, or they may not, and the NHS calls both normal. Waiting for the perfect moment can mean putting it off for longer than necessary.

Pick a fairly calm stretch of life, with not too many changes at once. A house move or a new baby can unsettle things, the NHS says. If there is a new baby at home, their sleep advice carries on as usual: on their back, on a firm, flat mattress, in a clear cot, in the same room as you for at least the first 6 months.

Older data gives a sense of the spread. Environment Agency surveys from 2004 found the average child out of nappies at 2 years 2 months, with 17.6% still in them between 24 and 30 months and 4.8% between 30 and 36 months. That's over 20 years old, and we can't say whether things have shifted. It isn't a target.

Children with special educational needs and disabilities can still learn these skills, says the NHS, and may need more time and support.

What it costs

MIS is the only source we found with item prices. It's what members of the public agree is a minimum, and it isn't average spending, so read it as a floor. These are from its 2024 budget list, read on 3 November 2026.

The NHS kit list adds pants or reusable training pants, clothes that pull up and down easily, spare clothes and a washable, absorbent car seat liner. We didn't find a sourced price for those, so we won't give one. You may have most of it already. Check with the seat's maker before putting a liner under a child in a car seat.

You may not need both a potty and a seat, either. The NHS says some families go straight to the toilet with a training seat, step and rails, so there's no switch to make later. It also says you may be able to borrow what you need, or get it for free. Ask around. A borrowed potty and a good clean costs nothing.

What you save

Daytime nappies stop, which is the good part. Environment Agency surveys found 4.85 changes a day in the 24 to 30 month band. At 5.94p a nappy, worked out from the £4.99 pack of 84 on the MIS 0-1 list, that's about 29p a day. The sum is ours, at 2024 prices. Your pack may cost a lot more.

You'll probably still buy some for a while, since the NHS says to keep using nappies at naps and at night to begin with. Our nappy count and costs has current packs, and there's a wider list of nappies in the catalog.

One mismatch is worth knowing. The MIS budget for ages 2 to 4 assumes 2 pull-up pants a day and 2 a night at £4.35 for 32, or £3.81 a week, for the whole age band. The NHS says to stop all types of nappy in the day, pull-ups included, when you start. So the MIS line is a budget assumption, and it isn't training advice. Don't let it talk you out of switching to pants.

The five NHS steps

In short:

1. Tell your child what's happening, so it doesn't come as a surprise
2. Stop nappies and pull-ups in the day, and switch to pants
3. Make the potty part of the routine: on waking, after food, before going out, before naps and before bed
4. Praise the trying, whether or not anything happens. A sticker or a reward chart can help
5. Build their confidence with wiping, washing hands, flushing and pulling pants up and down

Before you stop nappies, the NHS suggests checking your child isn't constipated. It says to talk to your health visitor or GP if you think they are, and to do that first.

The NHS also suggests getting ready gradually. Read books about potties. Change nappies in the bathroom where you can. Give nappy-free time of around 30 minutes after a wee or poo.

Clothes make a difference

Buttons, zips and tights slow things down when a child needs the toilet quickly, says the NHS. Joggers and leggings are easier. That's an easy fix if you're already buying the next size up, and our clothes size guide has the chart.

Nights and accidents

Most children stay dry at night after they're dry in the day, says the NHS, and it happens naturally over time. It's not something to teach. Once your child is regularly dry at naps, you can try pants at nap time.

Accidents happen to most children. Stay calm, clean up together and move on. The NHS calls each one another chance to practise, which is a generous way to look at a car seat.

Who can help

Talk to your nursery or childminder, because the same routine in both places helps, says the NHS. If you're finding it hard or you're worried about progress, speak to your health visitor or GP at any time. You can also ask at your child's 2 to 2-and-a-half year review.

To see where this sits in the wider budget, the three-year cost calculator lets you set the age your child comes out of nappies, and the 2 to 3 years page shows what else tends to come up now.