137 Week Old Toddler: Your Toddler's Development and Your Recovery This Week

Your toddler might be ready to ditch the nappy, or might tell you "no" every time you ask.

Potty training is not a deadline. Some kids take to it at 2; some are not there until closer to 3 and a half. Girls often train a little earlier than boys on average, but ranges overlap hugely. The most useful thing a parent can do is read the readiness cues and then move at the child's pace.

• Stays dry for 2 hours or more
• Tells you (or signals) when nappy is wet or dirty
• Wakes up dry from naps sometimes
• Shows interest in the bathroom
• Can pull pants up and down
• Follows simple instructions
• Dislikes feeling wet or dirty

• A small potty on the floor is easier than a seat on the big toilet
• Let them sit fully clothed at first, just to get used to it
• Underpants with favourite characters can be motivating
• Offer the potty every 1 to 2 hours on the training days, not every 10 minutes
• Praise trying, not just success

• Every toddler has accidents while learning, often for weeks. Stay calm, clean up without fuss, move on. Scolding slows progress and can make a toddler "hold it", which can cause constipation. Night dryness usually takes another year or two and is not under your toddler's control. Pull-ups at night are fine for a long time.

• If your toddler shares a bed with you or sleeps near grandparents, consistency on bedtime, same time, same wind-down, same room layout, matters more than where they sleep. A soft lullaby (lori) works the same in a joint family bed.

Whether your little one takes to the potty this month or many months from now, they are moving at the pace their body trusts. So much of toddler development is exactly this: waiting, watching, and cheering the small tries. Your patience is the ground they practice on.

Around 35 months. Toilet training is winding up for many families around now.

What's happening for you

• Whether your toddler is fully trained, mostly trained, or just starting, year 3 is when most kids transition out of nappies. The day-vs-night training timeline often differs (day first, night later).

Things that often help

• Patience with accidents
• Praise effort
• Underwear instead of nappies during the day (be ready for accidents)
• Regular potty offers (every 2 hours)
• No shaming around accidents

For mum's energy

• The transition takes 2-6 weeks of focus. Pick a stretch when you have bandwidth.

Eating well

• Three meals + two snacks. Hydration matters during training.

Worth flagging

• A toddler who has been trained but suddenly regresses for more than 2 weeks, has chronic constipation, or shows pain on the toilet, talk to the pediatrician.

Indian-context note

• Many Indian families do "elimination communication" early, holding the baby over a basin from infancy. If this has been your norm, formal training is often smoother. If not, the structured approach works fine.

Indian-tradition tip

• A small potty seat by the bathroom, easy-pull pants, and a willing adult, the basics. No fancy equipment needed.

Indian-mum reminder

• Children train at different ages. Some at 18 months, some at 4 years. Most fall in the 24-36 month range. Pressure rarely speeds things up; patience does.

A note for joint-family mums

• If you live with extended family, weekly small chats with your partner about logistics, boundaries and your own state matter. Without them, joint-family stress builds invisibly. 15 minutes once a week, in private.

Indian-mum self-care anchor

Three small daily anchors that compound over a year:

• A real breakfast within 1 hour of waking (not just chai-biscuit)
• A 30-minute walk most days, ideally early morning or evening
• 10 minutes of pranayama or quiet meditation before bed

These are free, traditional, and genuinely effective. Skip the wellness-trend stuff if it doesn't fit your life.

There will be laundry, there will be sighs, and one day, quietly, there will be a child who did it all by themselves. Parenting a toddler through this stretch is a masterclass in letting go of timelines. The calm you keep now becomes the confidence they keep forever.