If you are a new parent then you are probably thinking about the time you are going to have to start potty training your new child. The first thing that you need to realize is that there is nothing to worry about. It’s a very simple process that kids can pick up remarkably quickly and it’s something that everyone has to master. The ideal time to begin showing your child how to use a toilet and wean them off their diapers is when they are at least 18 months old. You don’t have to start that early on, but before they turn 3 years old is recommended.

It is easy to start potty training your child. Simply show them their kiddy toilet and tell them that it is where they are supposed to go. You will have to really help them when they first start learning though, and you might even have to carry them to the toilet. This means you have to pay careful attention to them and recognize when they are getting ready to go. They will slowly start to realize and make the connection in their mind that when they get that feeling they need to hold it in until they can get to their kiddy toilet.

You should try to reward your child in a small way and praise them for their efforts when they hold it in and make it to the toilet. Don’t give them anything huge, because all you really need to do is give them something small like a sticker. Just the thought of getting something for using the toilet will really make it easy for your child to succeed with potty training. If you add some nice praise and encouragement in along with their little reward, there will be no stopping them.

That’s really all there is to the potty training process. Tell your child what is expected of them and help them to do it the first couple of times. Give them a reward and encouragement when they start to do it on their own and repeat until they have mastered using the toilet and potty training like an adult.

]]> http://mommypottytraining.com/potty-training-toddlers/tips-for-potty-training-toddlers/feed/ 0 http://mommypottytraining.com/potty-training-toddlers/what-to-keep-in-mind-about-potty-training-toddlers/ http://mommypottytraining.com/potty-training-toddlers/what-to-keep-in-mind-about-potty-training-toddlers/#comments Tue, 22 Mar 2011 01:46:02 +0000 Admin http://mommypottytraining.com/?p=4060

It is understandable that a new parent would not know much about potty training a child. When should you start teaching them to use a toilet rather then a diaper? How do you do it? Should you reward them for it? The first thing that you need to realize is that a baby is ready to begin potty training between 18 months and 36 months of age. That is about a year and a half range when you can get started teaching your child how to use a toilet, so you should see that it’s not a clear cut point in time.

When you begin potty training your child, you first need to recognize what they do when they have to go. Recognize the signs they make, how they start to act, and what they say if anything. When you see those things happening, you need to get them to the toilet quickly. It will take a while for them to make the connection but once they do they will have the idea and it will only be a matter of remembering to do it each time they have to potty.

A lot of people find that it can be really helpful to show children how to go to the bathroom by giving them a very tiny reward each time they do it right. You don’t have to buy them an expensive toy every time, but can do something as simple as make a chart out of paper and put it on the wall. Get some stickers of gold stars or smiley faces or something else that they would like and give them a sticker whenever they remember to use the toilet. You would be amazed at how much of a difference this can make in the potty training process.

Obviously, you are going to have to be patient during the potty training process. It’s not an extremely challenging thing to learn but it might seem that way at first. Don’t rush it and remember to give your child plenty of praise each time they do the right thing and it will encourage them during potty training.

After your child has learned to potty train throughout the course of the day, you’ll want to start working to potty train your toddler at night.

Often, this can be a more challenging process than learning to potty train during the day as your child may not yet have enough bladder control to make it through the night yet. It is completely natural for this process to take some time. Often, working at nighttime potty training can lead to potty training regression. If this happens, please be patient.

Additionally, please be sure your child is quite comfortable with going to the potty during the day. If he or she hasn’t successfully learned to potty train throughout their day, they will most likely not make it through the night.

Listed below are a few some helpful hints to follow once you begin to potty train at night:

1. Be certain that your child goes to the potty right before they climb in bed.

2. To reduce the chances of an accident during the night, limit the amount of water, milk, or juice your toddler drinks for one to two hours before bedtime.

3. Leave the door cracked, a night light on, and put your child’s potty seat in the closest bathroom so that he or she can access it during the night. This likely won’t happen for some time, but with practice your child will get out of bed and use the potty when they need to.

4. In the early stages, you may want to consider getting your child out of bed once during the night to go to the bathroom. This can make the process of learning to potty train at night go more quickly.

5. Make use of pull-ups. By putting your child in pull-ups at night, they’ll have the protection of a diaper, but have the ability to go to the bathroom on their own once they are comfortable getting in and out of bed on their own.

6. Always provide your child with loads of encouragement. This goes for all steps of teaching your child to potty train, but be sure to offer your child heaps of encouragement and rewards. Make a big deal of small successes!

Above all else, nighttime potty training requires patience. By following the tips listed above, you will start to see progress. Every child learns to potty train at their own pace, so always remember to allow the process to unfold naturally without pressure or stress.

We’ve received quite a few emails here at Mommy Potty Training over the last few weeks from parents who are trying to find a Toy Story Potty Chart to help potty train their toddler. A while back Huggies offered a set of Pull-Ups which came in a box that included a “Toy Story Potty Chart” which could track your toddler’s progress in a fun way. Unfortunately, these are becoming pretty hard to find. I did locate a vendor on eBay which offers a personalized Toy Story Potty Chart for about $4.00 plus shipping.

An even easier and more fun activity, however, might be to actually make one of these for your toddler on your computer using a word processing application, publishing program, or Photoshop if you have access.  We can’t offer images to use in your project due to copyright issues, however, here’s what you need to do:

Making a Toy Story Potty Chart

1. Create a new 8 ½ x 11 inch document

2. Fill in a fun background color (blue seems to work well with all of the Toy Story characters)

3. Create a table in the lower half of the document with 7 columns (one for each day of the week) and 4 to 6 rows (depending on how many times per day your toddler “goes”)

4. At the top of the table, place a title which includes your child’s name (such as “Cole’s Potty Chart”)

5. At the top of each column, label the days of the week

6. Go to an image site such as Google Images or Flickr and find images of your child’s favorite characters, either from Toy Story or another theme

7. Right-click and save the images to your computer, then place them in the top half of the document. If you really want to have some fun, you can use “bubble quotes” and place words of encouragement in them straight from the mouths of Woody or Buzz!

8. Next, I would recommend saving the document and sending it to a printer to produce a full-color print. You’ll also want to have it laminated so that you can easily remove stickers and start over. FedEx Office, Office Max, Staples, and many other stores will allow you to log right into their website, upload the document, select your options, check out, and then pick up at your convenience.

9. Purchase similar themed stickers in your local department store’s toy department, making sure they’re small enough to fit in your “potty boxes” (about ½ x ½ inches).

10. Hang the chart by the potty and have some fun!

When teaching your toddler to potty train, these reward charts can be an incredibly fun way of getting your child excited about this big step. While the Toy Story Potty Chart may be hard to find, you can have a lot of fun using your creativity to design one specifically for your child!

We often repeat this message here at Mommy Potty Training, but it’s a point that’s always worth repeating and in this article we’re going to explore it in more detail: the less stress that your child (and you as a parent) experiences when they learn to potty train, the more successful he or she will be. When you potty train your child, there are a few simple keys to keeping the process lighthearted and educational that will help ensure that the process is as rewarding as possible for your toddler.

Don’t Rush Your Toddler

This is perhaps the most important key to keeping the stress level at a minimum and it’s a simple one to follow: don’t start to potty train before your child is ready. If you’re child lacks the necessary physical and cognitive skills to potty train with consistency, it’s going to be a long, painful process. There are no parenting awards for having a potty trained one-year old. If your child is capable prior to two years of age, go for it. Otherwise, let the right time come along.

Pile on the Praise

This is probably the most fun part of potty training toddlers for both the child and the parent. Lavish the praise on your toddler when he or she accomplishes any little step in the process. If you make a big deal of small successes and perhaps employ a few treats of choice along the way, you’ll make the process of learning to potty train much more fun for your little one.

Get Everyone on the Same Page

When your toddler begins to potty train, mixed signals from mom, dad, aunts, uncles, and other caretakers can be very confusing.  When potty training toddlers, it’s crucial to make sure that everyone who will spend a significant amount of time with your child throughout the day communicates the same messages regarding the process of potty training, positive words of encouragement, and what’s expected of your child.

Add Potty Books Into the Mix

Potty training books are a time-tested way of illustrating to your little one that this very private and strange activity that you’re working on is something that absolutely everyone in the world experiences. Show them they’re not alone by choosing a couple of potty training books that they can look at while using their potty.

Maintain Appropriate Expectation

Above all else, be sure not to expect the world in a day when you potty train your toddler. Be realistic. This is a lifelong skill that takes time to learn. Be patient and help your child through each step in the process without demanding anything of them.

Teaching your child to potty train isn’t always easy and can often be frustrating, but if you follow these simple tips you’ll find the process much more rewarding for both you and your child.

Many parents are now aware of the general recommendation by the American Academy of Pediatrics to wait until the age of 24 months before you begin to potty train your child.  We’ve mentioned many times before on this site that potty training toddlers is far from an exact science, and while this guideline is appropriate for most children, you might be asking yourself if you need to wait until age two to potty train.

It’s helpful here to discuss some of the considerations which the AAP may have taken into account when introducing this recommendation so that you can make your own decision on when to potty train when the timing is right.

According to the AAP, beginning to potty train prior to age two (and even 18 months) is likely to have no long-term consequences for your toddler.  However, they do recommend setting very realistic goals and expectations if you choose to potty train your toddler at such an early age. As you may be aware, in past decades and in some world culture today, potty training begins in infancy. Many cultures, even in European countries, begin to potty train at around one year of age.

However, the primary consideration you should keep in mind is that in the majority of cases, the longer you wait to potty train your toddler, the less time it will take and the more effective and successful the process will be.  There are a few reasons behind this.

Primarily, you child needs to be physically capable of the demands associated with potty training toddlers.  This includes being able to cognitively recognize the physical sensations which make them aware of a need to go to the bathroom.

Secondly, emotional readiness is a factor in the process.  Is your child interested in potty training? Can they give you verbal feedback on when they need to go the potty?  Will they be interested in the process and rewards of learning to potty train?

Lastly, potty training toddlers tends to be more successful when your child can control the process themselves. When learning to potty train, if your child is able to participate in the process by going to the potty on their own, pull up and down his or her trousers, and control their bladder and bowel movements they will tend to progress much more rapidly and many pitfalls can be eliminated.

By understanding the physical and emotional factors associated with potty training readiness, you and your child can make the experience of learning to potty train relatively painless and maybe even fun!

One of the most common questions that parents ask prior to potty training toddlers is “How long will it take to potty train my child?”  As with many issues surrounding the process of teaching your child to potty train, there is no one answer to this question.  There are so many variables involved and every toddler will respond to the process of potty training differently.

Many pediatricians and parenting professionals claim to have methods to potty train which ensure a successful experience within one to three days, while some children may not consistently go to the potty on their own for three to six months.  While there are a few things you can do to prepare your toddler to successfully potty train, be patient and understand that this is a dynamic process which requires some flexibility and openness from you as a parent and for your child as well.

Additionally, your child may learn to potty train during the day in a relatively short amount of time, but not learn to go at night for months after that.  Again, this is part of the experience and you need to be sensitive to your child’s specific needs and progression.

In my experience, the major determining factors in the amount of time it takes to initially potty train toddlers are the process and environment that you adopt at the first stage of potty training.  For one of my children, we locked ourselves in the house for a three day weekend with no other plans and nothing but a potty chair, lollipops, and a dozen pairs of Dora the Explorer underpants.  We totally committed to it for the entire period, took her to the potty every 30 minutes all weekend long, and she was almost completely potty trained by the end of the third day.  If you’re interested in this rapid method of potty training, there are several courses available for a minor investment, including the system that we advertise at the top of this page by Dr. Wayne Jensen.

For our second child, we let the process unfold much more slowly.  We began to potty train on a Monday when he was going to day care and let the environment at school in which he saw many of his friends “going potty” do a lot of the teaching for us.  This method of teaching him to potty train was equally as successful, but it took about two weeks to actually see any consistency in him using the potty on his own.

Some children may take a few months to potty train and this often includes several periods of potty training regression in which the child will experience “accidents” and very often refuse to go to the potty on his or her own.  This is perfectly natural and you need to have patience with your child during these setbacks.

Remember, once you choose the process that you plan to use to potty train your toddler, have patience and stick with it.  By working with your child to find the best method that works for them, you’ll successfully teach your child to potty train regardless of how long it takes.

When it comes to setting out on the path to potty train, you and your toddler need to ensure that you’re setting yourselves up for success.  Deciding it’s time to start to potty train is a big step and you need to realize that you’re investing this time in helping your toddler learn a very critical life skill, not just something to check off the list of parenting “been there, done that” experiences.  That being said, there are a few tools and products that you may want to employ during the process to potty train your toddler with success.

Potty Chair

This is perhaps the most important item the list when it’s time to potty train.  You can find small potty chairs in a variety of sizes, shapes, and colors.  Take your toddler to the store with you to pick one out if you’re planning to purchase one locally or show him pictures of the different potty chairs if you’re ordering online.  It will be rewarding for your child to feel like he’s helping to direct the process.

These chairs typically are placed on the floor so that your child can have easy access to them while they’re learning to potty train.  Place the chair in a private place, but in an area in which you’ll be spending a lot of time during the potty training process.

I recommend starting with a potty chair over a toilet trainer (which sits on top of your existing toilet lid).  It’s a little too daunting to start out with the “big potty”. Our family used the BabyBjorn Potty Chair and both of our children did really well with it. We have a girl and a boy, so we chose a neutral color: green. It has received great reviews on Amazon and is currently available for $23.49 and qualifies for free shipping.

Pull-Ups

As your child transitions from diapers to underpants, you’ll probably want to introduce them to pull-ups.  This will keep them from having messy accidents (trust me, you’ll have plenty) while at the same time letting them have the opportunity to try helping themselves to the potty chairs when they need to.  If you choose to potty train your toddler while keeping them in diapers, you’re going to be stuck helping them get a diaper off each and every time which is cumbersome for you and takes away from their independence. We used the Huggies Training Pants in a 2T-3T size, which worked well.

Rewards

These can be any that you choose to make the experience of learning to potty train fun for your child.  There are many philosophies regarding the use of rewards with regards to behavioral training, but with potty training toddlers it is really an effective approach.  Many parents use lollipops, candy, fruit, or other sweets.  Just stick with something that you’re comfortable giving your child that they can get excited about.  Give them a reward each and every time they sit on the potty chair at first and then gradually begin to reserve them for instances in which they actually “go”.  You can phase them out after a few days of success. If you plan to use rewards, it’s a good idea to combine them with a potty training chart such as the Kenson Kids Reward and Responsibility System. This will provide your toddler with a visual guide that indicates what they have done to successfully work toward receiving a reward.

There are many others products out there than can assist you with your special situation.  Do some homework and you’ll find that when you decide it’s time to potty train, there are many resources to help you and your child succeed!

Sunshine (1999)

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