Is it time for your child to learn about the toilet? It depends on where you live, your child's developmental ability and the methods you use to teach him or her the routine. Setting reasonable expectations when it comes to toilet training is not an easy thing to do, unless you ask your grandmother.

Grandma may have told you that she had all of her children toilet trained by their 16th month on the planet. While this might be true, you may want to ask yourself if her children were toilet trained, or if she was trained to recognize when they needed to go to the toilet? Also, different cultures view and address toilet training differently. So where Grandma lived at the time is important.

We have come a long way in the past four decades in the United States when it comes to our attitudes about toilet training. Today's professionals suggest waiting until your child is physically, emotionally and mentally ready to control his or her own bowels. This usually occurs between ages 2 and 3. Most of us can understand why parents may want to start sooner, but it may cause more frustration than relief.

When it comes to setting some reasonable expectations for toilet training, keep the following in mind:

1) Most children will learn to use the toilet with proficiency between 24 and 30 months, regardless of how soon their parents start trying to train them.

2) Girls often develop ahead of boys when it comes to toileting.

3) Studies show that it takes consistent teaching for at least four months for most children to be fully toilet trained.

4) It is important that parents provide plenty of teaching opportunities for children to learn about the toilet when the children demonstrate they are mature enough to handle the subject. This will be slightly different for every child.

5) Parents who use punishment to encourage their children to use the toilet are not successful because spankings cannot increase rectum and bladder signals.

6) Parents who provide emotionally and socially comforting environments usually have children fully trained in fewer months than parents who do not provide a pleasant surrounding for toilet training.

Did you know? Boys are more likely to sleepwalk than girls, and the habit tends to run in families.