Mom approved method for toilet training your toddler in 8 easy steps.
A happy potty trained baby - photo by blogs-glam.com
1) Is your child ready?
* Are you wanting to potty train because somebody told you you should?
* Some signs to look for are
a) showing an interest in the toilet;
b) able to tell you when he/she needs to go; and
c) times during the day/night when the diaper is dry.
* If your child is not ready this is going to be an extremely painful process.
2) Are you ready for this experience?
* You are going to need time and patience to make it through this experience.
* Nobody learns well under stressful conditions so your part is to provide the proper positive attitude in the home.
3) Make sure your child can get to the potty…
* Put the potty in a high traffic area, out in the open so “out of sight = out of mind” does not work against you.
* Would you want to be sent to the corner? This is a new life skill, not a punishment so the process should be openly accepted by everyone.
4) Find their currency…
* Positive reinforcement and bribery are other words used to describe this step. It does not matter what you call it. It is a valuable tool.
* It must be valuable to your child and small enough not to bankrupt the family.
* Smarties were my daughter’s currency; she got one Smartie for trying, two for a successful #1 and a whole (small) box for a successful #2.
* Praise can be gradually substituted in for the reward once the routine is established
5) Find the time…
* Clear your calendar. When establishing a new routine it helps to keep some consistency…stay at home.
* 1st you get them to understand when they need to go potty…and actually get there in time.
* Then your child can work on recognizing they need to use the potty and being able to hold it until a washroom can be found.
* There are lots of activities you can still do; it just takes a little creativity. Lots of company could be a distraction, so please be aware of that fact.
6) Good bye pull-ups…
* Put away any form of diapers…that includes pull-ups for the immediate future.
* How it feels to go to the bathroom is something your child needs to experience.
* For the first couple of days I had my daughter go around in a dress with nothing underneath. I believe that the bare experience helped speed up our process.
7) This is not going to be a mess free transition…
* DO NOT lose your temper when an accident occurs, there will be lots of them during this process.
* Plan, Plan, Plan. Roll up that expensive Oriental rug. Put a washable covering (rubber backed mattress protector) on the sofa. Play in clean up friendly areas.
Set the timer…
* If you use a timer you will not be the nagging parent, and you will not have to watch the clock all day.
* In order to get used to the potty I recommend you set the timer for every 20-30 minutes.
* Your child will then sit on the potty. They do not sit there until they go potty, they simply have to sit there for thirty seconds to one minute and try.
After the 1st hurdle…
* Once the need is recognized by your child then you can start taking small short field trips. Remember to pack a couple changes of clothes.
* For longer trips it is OK to go back to the pull-ups especially if your child develops a fear of public washrooms (that’s another article).
* If things are just not going well with the first part of training then reconsider step #1. It might be beneficial to both of you if you stopped the process for a couple of weeks then tried again. Potty training can be pretty easy only if everybody is ready.
