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September 10, 2026
Last updated: August 2026
Most children show signs of being ready for toilet training somewhere between 18 months and 3 years old, and most are toilet trained by the time they start preschool, though there's a wide normal range either side of that. There's no single "right" age. What matters more than the calendar is whether your child is showing genuine signs of readiness: staying dry for two hours or more, telling you (in words or gestures) when they've done a wee or poo, showing interest in the toilet, and being able to follow a simple instruction.
A child does not need to be fully toilet trained to start at a long day care service such as Kings Road Long Day Preschool. Under the National Quality Framework, services are required to tailor toileting and nappy-changing routines to each child's own stage and needs, not the other way around. If your child is still in nappies, still having regular accidents, or hasn't shown any interest yet, that's a normal part of early childhood, not a barrier to enrolment.
Toilet training is one of many developmental milestones between three and five, and like most of them, it unfolds at each child's own pace rather than on a schedule.
There isn't one correct age. Raising Children Network, the Australian Government-supported parenting resource, notes that signs of readiness usually appear from around 2 years, though some children show them earlier and others later. StartingBlocks.gov.au, the government's own early childhood resource (published by ACECQA), puts the typical window a little wider: most children aren't genuinely ready until somewhere between 18 months and 3 years.
NSW Health's Sydney Children's Hospitals Network adds a useful, practical note: most children start at about two or three, and girls are often ready a little before boys. Learning to wee on the toilet usually comes before learning to poo on the toilet, and that gap is completely normal.
A child is showing genuine signs of readiness when several of these appear together, not just one in isolation. According to Raising Children Network, look for:
Not every sign needs to show up at once. A general trend across several of these is what to watch for, not a single tick-box moment. If your three-year-old hasn't shown many of these signs yet, NSW Health's guidance suggests gently familiarising them with the idea, sitting on a potty for a minute or two, without pushing.
No. A long day care service supports children at whatever stage they're at, and toileting readiness is not a condition of enrolment. This is built into the regulatory framework itself, not just good practice. ACECQA's information sheet on toileting and nappy-changing principles requires services to be "sensitive to individual children's needs and styles" and to tailor toileting procedures to each child, consistent with every child's right to dignity and privacy under Regulation 155 of the Education and Care Services National Regulations. In practice, a child who's mid-toilet-training, or hasn't started at all, is cared for exactly the same as any other child: nappy changes or toileting support happen on their own schedule, not a fixed one for the whole room.
A good service treats toilet training as a partnership with your family, not something that happens separately at home and at care. StartingBlocks.gov.au, the government's own early learning resource, puts it plainly: consistency between home and care makes the process easier for children.
What that looks like day to day:
Night-time dryness comes later, and separately, from daytime toilet training, so there's no need to expect the two to line up. NSW Health notes that most children become dry overnight sometime between three and five years old, well after they're managing daytime toileting confidently. Bedwetting into the early primary school years is common and, on its own, isn't a cause for concern. If you're ever unsure, your GP or child and family health nurse is the right person to ask.
A long day care service is required to support children at their own developmental stage, including toileting, under the National Quality Framework. Toileting readiness isn't something a family needs to have "sorted" before enrolling.
There's a wide normal range, and most guidance points to somewhere between 18 months and 3 years for readiness to appear, not a fixed deadline. If your child is well past three with no signs of interest at all, it's worth mentioning to your GP or child and family health nurse, mainly to rule out anything else going on.
Either can work. Some families wait for a settled routine with no other big changes happening, which can mean starting after care begins. Others start at home first and let the service pick up the same approach. Consistency matters more than timing.
A quality service follows your lead, not a fixed method. At Kings Road Long Day Preschool, educators work with what's already happening at home so your child experiences the same words, cues and encouragement in both places.
Yes. NSW Health notes this is a very common pattern. Bladder control tends to develop before bowel control, so a child who's confidently doing wees on the toilet but still needs a nappy for poos is right on track, not behind.
Setbacks are common, especially around big changes like starting care, a house move, or a new sibling. Comfort, not correction. The accidents usually settle again once things feel steady.
Toilet training happens on your child's own timeline here, not a fixed one. Whether your child is fully trained, halfway there, or hasn't started yet, our educators tailor day-to-day toileting support the same way for every child, and we'll work with whatever routine and language you're already using at home. It's the same approach we take with everyday routines generally, including mealtimes (see our guide to fussy eating in preschoolers). Since 1989, Kings Road Long Day Preschool has taken the view that these small, everyday routines are where trust between a family and a preschool gets built.
If you'd like to see how our Wallaby and Kangaroo classes handle everyday routines like this in person, we'd love to show you around.
Book a tour or get in touch to ask any question, toilet training included. There's no such thing as a silly one.
