1) Make sure your child is developmentally ready.
* Are you wanting to potty train because somebody told you you should?
* Is your child able to tell you when they have gone to the bathroom? Do they show an interest in the potty? Do they have some dry diapers?
* You are in for one of the most frustrating times in your life if your child is not ready for this.
2) Are you ready?
* You have to be ready for the time commitement on your part and you have to have the patience.
* A positive atmosphere in the home will keep it from becoming too stressful...nobody learns well in stressful conditions.
3) Make sure your child can get to the potty...
* Out of sight = out of mind...so put the potty out in the open, in a high traffic area.
* This is a new life skill, not a punishment so do not bury it in a corner.
4) Establish a reward system...
* Currency is otherwise known as positive reinforcement or bribery -- depending on who you ask.
* The key is not to make the reward expensive, but it has to be valuable to your child and immediately given.
* My daughter's reward was Smarties; for trying she got 1 Smartie, for peeing she got 2 Smarties and if she had a bowel movement she got a whole (small) box.
* Once the routine is established then you can slowly substitute praise into the equation.
5) Find the time...
* When learning a new life skill like toilet training it helps to keep things like your location consistent.
* Getting your child to recognize when they need to go potty and actually using it is the first skill to be learned.
* 2nd you can then work on their ability to control the need until you can get them to a potty.
* Remember to stock up the fridge, cancel the play dates (at other people's houses) and stay put for at least a couple of days...maybe longer.
6) Ditch the pull-ups...
* Put away any form of diapers...that includes pull-ups for the immediate future.
* Your child needs to experience how it feels to use the bathroom.
* 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) Be prepared for some mess...
* There will be accidents especially right at the beginning, so do not lose your temper.
* Think ahead...do not play on the expensive rugs. Come up with different activities for the more accident friendly zones in your house.
8) Make the kitchen timer the bad guy (and your best friend)...
* You will not have to be the nagging parent who watches the clock all day if you use a timer.
* Set the timer for 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.
Getting out of the house...eventually...
* Pack extra clothes and try a short field trip.
* If you have to have a longer trip then Pull-ups are OK. I had to use them for a while when my daughter developed a fear of public washrooms.
* If you start and after a couple of days things are not going well consider taking a few weeks off and then trying again...after all there is no exact timetable and everybody learns at their own pace.
* Are you wanting to potty train because somebody told you you should?
* Is your child able to tell you when they have gone to the bathroom? Do they show an interest in the potty? Do they have some dry diapers?
* You are in for one of the most frustrating times in your life if your child is not ready for this.
2) Are you ready?
* You have to be ready for the time commitement on your part and you have to have the patience.
* A positive atmosphere in the home will keep it from becoming too stressful...nobody learns well in stressful conditions.
3) Make sure your child can get to the potty...
* Out of sight = out of mind...so put the potty out in the open, in a high traffic area.
* This is a new life skill, not a punishment so do not bury it in a corner.
4) Establish a reward system...
* Currency is otherwise known as positive reinforcement or bribery -- depending on who you ask.
* The key is not to make the reward expensive, but it has to be valuable to your child and immediately given.
* My daughter's reward was Smarties; for trying she got 1 Smartie, for peeing she got 2 Smarties and if she had a bowel movement she got a whole (small) box.
* Once the routine is established then you can slowly substitute praise into the equation.
5) Find the time...
* When learning a new life skill like toilet training it helps to keep things like your location consistent.
* Getting your child to recognize when they need to go potty and actually using it is the first skill to be learned.
* 2nd you can then work on their ability to control the need until you can get them to a potty.
* Remember to stock up the fridge, cancel the play dates (at other people's houses) and stay put for at least a couple of days...maybe longer.
6) Ditch the pull-ups...
* Put away any form of diapers...that includes pull-ups for the immediate future.
* Your child needs to experience how it feels to use the bathroom.
* 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) Be prepared for some mess...
* There will be accidents especially right at the beginning, so do not lose your temper.
* Think ahead...do not play on the expensive rugs. Come up with different activities for the more accident friendly zones in your house.
8) Make the kitchen timer the bad guy (and your best friend)...
* You will not have to be the nagging parent who watches the clock all day if you use a timer.
* Set the timer for 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.
Getting out of the house...eventually...
* Pack extra clothes and try a short field trip.
* If you have to have a longer trip then Pull-ups are OK. I had to use them for a while when my daughter developed a fear of public washrooms.
* If you start and after a couple of days things are not going well consider taking a few weeks off and then trying again...after all there is no exact timetable and everybody learns at their own pace.
About the Author:
As a mom of two adorable kids, Jennifer Hess can identify with the difficult developmental phases that moms and dads endure. She is also the owner of Growing Growing Gone, a brand name kids clothing store for the baby, kid or teen on your shopping list. Get a totally unique version of this article from our article submission service
No comments:
Post a Comment