Potty training kids before age 3 may hurt them

London: Potty training your kid before the age of three may be harmful for them.

Parents, who pressure their children to potty train before the age of three may be hurting them, according to a paediatric urologist.

Dr Steve Hodges, a professor at Wake Forest University in North Carolina, said that training too early can lead to more toilet accidents because the bladder may not be strong enough.

It can also lead to constipation, kidney damage and even urinary tract infections because the toddlers hold in their bowel movements longer than they should, the Daily Mail reported.

"Virtually all toileting problems, bedwetting, urinary frequency, and urinary tract infections are related to chronically holding pee or poop or both," Hodges wrote in Babble.com.

It's the kids who trained earliest and most easily who develop the most serious problems, he said.

Hodges, who authored the book, It's No Accident, Breakthrough Solutions to Your Child's Wetting, Constipation, UTIs, and Other Potty Problems debunked myths that parents should struggle to get their children out of diapers and onto toilets at earlier ages, the report said.

He said that babies need to experience 'uninhibited voiding', or elimination, in a way they can respond to their bodies urges in a sensible manner.

"Children under age three should not manage their own toileting habits any more than they should manage their college funds," he said.