(HealthDayNews) -- You may wish you were done with diapers, but your 18-month-old toddler doesn't seem to share the sentiment. This is probably because she's just not ready.

Most girls show signs of readiness around their second birthdays; boys usually later. But you can introduce some pre-training concepts earlier than this.

Once your child is between 12- and 18-months-of-age, Boy's Town Pediatrics in Omaha suggests you:

• Teach her to use words such as "pee," poop," "dry," "wet," and "clean."
• Have your toddler watch you or her older siblings of the same gender use the toilet correctly.
• Change her diaper often to encourage her to prefer a dry diaper.
• Teach her to let an adult know when her diaper is wet or soiled.

Signs your child is ready to toilet train include:

• Certain facial expressions.
• Grunting.
• Holding the genital area.
• Tugging at clothes.
• Pacing, squatting, or shifting from foot to foot.