Judging from the questions posed on the parenting websites I haunt and the discussions I participate in, potty training remains a concern for young parents around the world. When should a child be fully potty trained? What if the child resists using the potty? How do I get this done before my child goes to pre-school?
Let’s get some good advice before we get to the fun.
When to start?
According to the Mayo Clinic many children will show with their behavior that they are ready for potty training sometime between the ages of a year and a half (18 months) to two years. (24 months) Some might not might not be receptive until they're 3 years old (36 months). If you start too early, it might take longer to accomplish your goal. Here are the signs to look for?
Can he/she walk to and sit on a toilet?
Can he/she pull down his or her pants and pull them up again?
Does he/she stay dry for up to two hours?
Can he/she understand and follow basic directions?
Can he/she tell you when he/she needs to go?
Does he/she seem interested in using the toilet or wearing "big-kid" underwear?
If you answered yes to most of these questions, your child might be ready.
The Basics
Equipment: If you have a potty chair available, place it in the bathroom. This is my preferred location. I see this as an opportunity to introduce the concept of privacy. Some authorities recommend that you place it where your child is spending most of his/her time. It is certainly up to you. If you don’t have a potty chair, the regular toilet is fine. There are seat adapters available to make your child more comfortable. In either case, just be sure that your child has a foot stool or another support like a box to elevate his/her feet. This is not only for comfort, kids will wiggle a lot if their feet are left to dangle. This “knees elevated” position is also a recommended to encourage,…ahem…the pee pee/ poopy production you are looking for.
You may want to bring the potty chair with you when you're away from home with your child whenever possible, like when visiting family or understanding friends.
Try to keep your child in loose, easy-to-remove clothing.
Avoid resistance. You may choose to encourage your child to sit on the potty chair in clothes to start out. You might demonstrate the purpose of the potty or toilet by dumping the contents of a dirty diaper into the bowl. Then, sing a good-bye song or wave bye-bye as your child flushes the contents away. The loud sound of a flushing toilet can be disturbing to little ones.
Choose your words wisely. Decide how you are going to describe the potty process, including your child's bodily fluids. Avoid negative words, such as dirty or smelly. Use terms like clean up, feel good, and sweet to talk about the result of using the toilet.
Schedule potty breaks. Every two hours , beginning the first thing in the morning ,as well as right after naps, place your child sitting on the potty chair/toilet without a diaper for a few minutes. (My experience is that with boys it is most practical to first master urination sitting down, and then move to standing up after bowel training is complete.) If the effort is successful, celebrate! If not, congratulate the child for a good try, and try again later.
Stay with your child to offer comfort and support in a new situation. Read a favorite book together, sing a silly potty song (This is the way we make a pee…sssss), play together with a favorite toy while he or she sits. In the beginning, let your child to get up. If your child just sits there without…production, offer praise for trying. Just say that he or she can try again later.
Don’t hesitate. If your child shows those signs all parents look for, squatting, squirming, hiding behind the sofa. he/she might need to use the toilet .Act quickly., but without alarm. Help your child identify the signals from his/her own body. (“Do you need to go potty? Let’s see.”). Stop what you are doing and head to the toilet. Be sure to praise your child for telling you when he or she has to go.
Teaching good hygiene. Sorry to be a bit graphic, but for girls this means to spread their legs and wipe carefully from front to back to prevent bringing germs from the rectum to the vagina or bladder. For boys it is proper wiping of the rectum until the toilet tissue is clean. For both genders it means to make sure they wash their hands afterward, palms, back of hand and between fingers, for 20 seconds. A currently popular way to keep time is to sing the Happy Birthday song twice, My kids sang “Bye bye, bye bye little pee” to the tune of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, making up their own silly words to the song. The sillier the better,
Finally, ditch the diapers. After a couple of weeks of successful potty breaks and remaining dry during the day, your child might be ready to move on up to training pants or big boy/big girl underwear. Celebrate the transition. Let your child choose underpants or pull-ups from a wide variety of available designs based on super heroes, sports, colors , cartoon characters or anything else that strikes their fancy. You might even decide to get plain old white and have some fun coloring your own designs together with fabric paints.
If your child resists using the potty chair or toilet or isn't getting the hang of it within a few weeks, take a break. Chances are he or she isn't ready yet. Pushing your child when he or she isn't ready can lead to a frustrating power struggle. Monitor the ready signs (above) and try again in a few weeks.
Let your child return to diapers if he or she is unable to remain dry, but don’t make a big deal out of it. Shame is not a teaching tool. Consider using a sticker or star chart for positive reinforcement.
Now for the fun part.
These games and others can be found on parenting.firstcry.com/, but I found these same games described on various other sites and parenting blogs. A good idea is a good idea., so keep an open mind and use what works for your family.
Magic Potty
I must admit, this is my all time favorite. This game is a terrific opportunity to teach color words and concepts like color blending, mixing and change. Just be sure to have a toilet cleaner handy to prevent stains to the porcelain.
Add a bit of blue food coloring to the water in your potty, Use a magic word like Abracadabra and watch for the surprise when the water turns green after some yellow pee is added to it. You can go all out and decorate the bathroom with a color wheel to predict what the result will be with red food coloring, or yellow.
Ready…Aim…Pee!
This is one of the best potty training games for boys, but girls like it too!. Toss a few Cheerioes into the potty and then have your little one aim for them as they float around. To get more language growth along with the potty training, use a colored cereal like Fruit Loops. Then he/she can aim for the red ones, yellow ones, etc…
If you use a potty, rather than a toilet you can get potty training stickers with images of a butterflies, trains, flowers, and other high interest objects that appear only when wet. Place them in the dry potty bowl so your child can “wet them”. These make for some exciting games that will keep your little one interested in using the potty and grow language at the same time.
Blowing Bubbles
Keep some bubble blowing equipment near the potty. Not only is blowing bubbles good fun while waiting for the process to be completed, it also activates the abdominal muscles that encourage a good result.
The Scent of Potty Time
This is a good way to encourage hand washing after the potty is used. Most kids are fascinated by scented soaps . Maybe a boy wants to smell like his father’s after shave, or a girl wants to smell like her mother’s perfume. Boys or girls miight choose the aroma of their favorite flower. There are also many scented soaps out there that look like or contain toy cars, dinosaurs or other kid friendly fascinations. Let them choose the soap. Then Tell your child that he/she can use the fancy soap to wash their hands after using the toilet correctly. A special soap for a job well done.
Decorate the Potty Chair
Choose stickers that show objects like cars, toys, flowers, animals, or anything that your child is most interested in. Have some fun as you and your child decorate the potty chair with as many stickers as you can fit. (If you are using a regular toilet, you may choose to use removable stickers) It will give your child a sense of pride and excitement every time they see it. He /She will feel more interested and special when he/she needs to go potty.
It will also give you something to talk about together as you wait for the potty process to culminate. Always look for a way to use everyday activities to grow language.
I hope this information and ideas help you and your child achieve an important milestone of early childhood. Please share any ideas or games that worked for your child.
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