The Top 10 Tips for Potty
Training Your Child
What parent feels knowledgeable and confident about
potty training their child? Potty training is one of the
greatest challenges that both children and their parents
face in the first few years of a child's life.
1. Dress your child in underwear at about 28 months of
age when the child is at home. Today's disposable
diapers provide almost no feedback to the child about
when they are wet. Your child will feel uncomfortable in
their 'big kid' pants when they are wet and may
therefore feel motivated to try the potty.
2. Allow your child to run around naked when you are
at home.
Having to deal with the urge to eliminate will be much
more noticeable to your child when there is nothing to
catch it in but the potty-chair.
3. Look for signs of potty training readiness in your
child.
These signs of readiness may include: telling you when
they are peeing or pooping in their diaper, requesting
that you change a poopy diaper, keeping their diaper dry
for hours at a time, showing enthusiasm for their potty,
etc.
4. Begin potty training at an appropriate age.
Potty training becomes less difficult as your child gets
older. Potty training prematurely can make a child feel
misunderstood, alone, and rebellious. It is often best
to wait until the child is three years old to focus on
potty training.
5. Make potty training fun by giving your child
little rewards for sitting on the potty with no diaper
on.
You could use stickers, crackers, small, inexpensive
toys, etc. Using candy could produce sugar cravings and
tooth decay.
6. Purchase a couple of potty training videos
designed for toddler viewing.
The research shows that the best way to teach any
behavior is to have role models demonstrating the
behavior. (Live models are more effective than video
modeling.)
7. Pour cheerios or crackers into the toilet for
little boys to take 'aim' at.
This challenge taps into a little boy's natural interest
in hitting targets.
8. Purchase several toddler-level books about
children being potty trained.
Potty training feels more natural and less stressful to
a child who has been exposed to the process at
"storybook time".
9. Consider allowing other trusted adults to help you
to potty train your child.
Many pre-schoolers respond more quickly to input from
grandparents, aunts, and trusted babysitters than they
do to input from their parents in the area of potty
training. Some parents report that a grandparent was
able to potty train their child in one weekend away.
10. Make potty training a top priority on a
consistent basis when you have the emotional and
physical energy to do it.
Even if your child shows signs of potty training
readiness, you may not be ready for it as a parent!
