Let’s face it; potty training your toddler is not going to be an easy chore. It is going to take some know-how, a lot of patience, and a few very basic supplies.
Visual Aids
Books, videos, and dolls can be used to give your toddler an idea of what potty training is all about months before he or she is actually ready to attempt it for himself.
There are dozens of good books and videos you can read to your child. Most of them tell about the main character’s little sister or brother getting potty trained. Some have animal characters. Check out your local book store for a book or video that would be suitable for your child.
Some toy-manufacturers have placed diaper wearing dolls on the market; dolls that wet after being fed. By using these dolls, a parent can show a toddler how to put the doll on the potty in time to catch the liquid there instead of wetting its diaper. These are excellent, even though a bit spendy.
Potty Chair Or Adjustable Seat For Top Of Toilet
Secondly, you need to invest in a good potty chair even before potty training begins so that your child will get used to seeing it around. He may even get curious and start sitting on it ahead of time.
From experience, I think a small, individual potty chair works the best, but a lot of parents prefer to start their child out on the regular toilet so there will not be any readjustment period later on. Being able to flush after a bowel movement is definitely easier than scrubbing out the small bowl attached to the potty chair each time your child has used it.
Still, a small potty chair the child feels comfortable in; one where he can have a small table beside him with a favorite book or toy to help him adjust to this strange new routine might help the process along a bit. Some children, perched high up on an adult toilet feel as though they might fall at any minute, and this may cause unnecessary anxiety. For these children, a transfer after the initial goal of training has been reached may be wiser.
If you do use the adjustable seat on an adult toilet, stay close to the child so that he feels secure. A small stool to assist the child in climbing up to the seat and for him to rest his feet while he is seated will add to his feeling of being safe. (Always wait until the child has climbed down from the toilet to flush it. The sudden noise of the toilet flushing beneath them can cause the child to panic in fear of being flushed down himself.)
Cute Little Underpants
Another thing you will need to buy are some cute little underpants. If possible, let the child pick out his own design. Maybe even a variety of designs if you can afford them. Get enough that you won’t have to be switching back to diapers while waiting for underpants to work their way through the laundry.
Talk to your child about how he or she is getting to be a big kid now and before long won’t have to wear diapers any more. Help him see this as a good thing, a goal worth working toward.
Let him have some experience wearing the new underpants before any attempt at actual potty training is made. Have him put them on and take them off numerous times. If he can stay dry several hours at a time, you may want to let him start wearing the new underpants around the house most of the time. If he can talk on the phone, give him a chance to tell someone, maybe grandma or grandpa about his new underpants, and how he is going to be a big boy soon and won’t be wearing diapers any more.
Incentives & Rewards
We all like to be rewarded for a job well done. Your child is no exception. Pick up or construct a chart with squares where he can put a sticker of some kind each time he manages to make a deposit, no matter how small, in the potty chair.
Make a big fuss over each accomplishment and you will find him trying harder to avoid accidents. --- and there will be some, but just let him help you clean them up, and tell him how well he did the day before.
After several stickers go up, you could reward the child with a small treat. Later, as he gains more and more control, the rewards will not seem as important to him as the pride he takes in being diaper-free, so you will be able to wean him off the rewards gradually.
M & M’s, or raisins work well with very young toddlers. Later, maybe a more tangible gift for no accidents for a month could be offered.
That’s about it. If your child is old enough to understand what potty training is all about and shows signs of being interested in trying it for himself, give it a try. Don’t panic if it doesn’t work the first time around. Just wait a few weeks and try it again. Chances are, he will learn even faster the second time around, and it won’t be long before he will be donning those cute little underpants for trips to grandma’s or to the shopping mall, and you won’t have to wonder if he is going to ruin someone’s immaculate carpet, or mess all over the play equipment in the middle of the mall.
Of course, you might want to carry a diaper and a few baby wipes in your purse for a while, just in case. Happy potty training.
* Click Here! to read about a fast, efficient program to potty train your child, once you have determined that he or she is really ready, and you have gathered the supplies you need to complete the task successfully.
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