Introduction 3
Is Your Child Ready? 4
Helping Your Child Get Ready 6
Videos and Books Can Help 9
Videos 9
Books 10
Finding the Right Potty Seat 11
Toilet Adapter Seats 14
Direct Toilet Use 16
The Right Time to Start 17
Bladder Control 19
Bowel Control 20
Diet Alterations for Bowel Control 24
Staying Dry in the Daytime 25
Giving Rewards 27
Giving Praise 29
Good Hygiene 30
Night-time Training 32
Training on the Road 34
Helping the Child Who Really Resists 36
Physical Complications 38
Regression 40
Potty Training the Special Needs Child 44
Training for Multiples 46
Tips for the Boys 48
In General 50
Advice from Others 54
Conclusion 58
Do you want the straight “poop” on potty training? This book isn’t just a
bunch of “dookie”. You won’t be “peeing” away your time reading it. OK, now that
I’ve got the cute euphemisms out of the way, let me start out by saying that for
parents, potty training is very serious business.
It’s a time in your child’s life when they transition between baby and land
firmly into toddler-hood. They start to realize that there’s something important
about this bowl-thing that swirls water down a hold when you push a lever.
Some parents don’t like to think about this phase in their child’s life. They’re
growing up and that’s a difficult thing to swallow sometimes. But potty training
is only the beginning, so if you’re one of those parents, let go of those
thoughts.
Kids have all kinds of firsts in their lives – even when they’re adults, and
potty training will start the process of discovery off in a great and healthy
way. Often, it’s difficult for them to start. They may have difficulty
understanding their body’s feelings and might not realize fully what is supposed
to be happening.
Classically, this process has been a source of headache and frustration for
parents and caregivers. Accidents happen all the time, and when you’ve cleaned
up your third pair of soiled pants in the course of a day, you might be
wondering whether or not you can even do this and not scar your child
emotionally for life.
We’re here to tell you that YES, IT IS POSSIBLE to potty train your child
without pulling your hair out. You can help your child cooperate with you and
make this a wonderful, easy experience that both of you can enjoy – that’s
right, we said ENJOY!
When you decide your child is ready to be potty trained, you’re bound to get all
sorts of advice from everyone – your parents, your siblings, friends,
co-workers, possibly even the postman. Some of what they have to say will be
good advice, and you will want to take some of it - but not all of it.
You see, potty training is a very personal experience and it’s not the same for
every child. When you can effectively read the signs and signals that your own
child exhibits, you will be well on your way to successful potty training.
That said, you may be wondering how we can give advice to you in this book.
Well, what we’ve done is bring together hundreds of tips, tricks, and pieces of
advice for you to read. You obviously won’t use all of them. What we hope,
though, is that you’ll find just the right pieces of advice for you and your
child.
Potty training can actually be fun, so read on and get started – TODAY!
This is perhaps the most hotly debated part of potty training. Over-anxious
parents who don’t want to deal with the bother of diapers anymore often try to
force their child into using the toilet before they are ready.
This can be highly detrimental to them, however, and you must wait until your
child shows signs of readiness before you begin. If you don’t, this will be a
very long process filled with frustration and headaches for both you and your
child.
There is no magic age when potty training should begin. As we’ve already said,
every child is different. With my own children, my daughter was going on the
toilet consistently and staying dry at night at 18 months. My son, however,
showed absolutely no signs of wanting to use the potty until well after he had
already turned three. My grandson also wasn’t interested at all until just
before his third birthday.
In general, most kids are ready around the age of two or two and a half and
girls tend to train before boys do. Boys are often able to gain control of urine
but have problems with bowel control. Here are some common signs that your child
might be ready to use the potty.
· Bowel movements occur at about the same time every day
· He or she can stay dry for a few hours at a time or wakes up from sleep dry
· Your child begins to talk about using the potty and knows when they have to go
to the bathroom.
· They are able to tell you when they have a soiled diaper.
· They can understand the association between dry pants and using the potty.
· He or she understand the terminology such as “poop”, “pee”, “dry”, “wet”,
“potty”, etc.
Independence is also an important aspect of being ready for the potty. If your
child can understand simple commands like “Let’s go to the potty”, then
readiness is also imminent. There are other things to watch for as well.
· Your child can pull his/her pants up and down.
· They begin to imitate other members of the family.
· He or she watches you on the toilet and asks questions.
· Your child wants to do things by herself/himself.
· He or she enjoys washing his/her hands.
· They get upset if their belongings are not in their proper place.
· Your child wants to please you.
Toddlers are classically fussy little people. At a certain point in their
upbringing, they will refuse to do absolutely anything for you when asked. When
they have progressed beyond this stage sufficiently enough to obey simple
commands, potty training can commence.
Now, don’t think that this whole process is completely in your child’s hands.
There are some steps you can take before the actual potty process begins to
prepare your child for potty training.
There is much to be said for setting the stage well before you begin toilet
training. Few children train themselves. They need to know what's expected of
them! They need and deserve your help and guidance.
A child who has become familiar with bathroom procedures and equipment is more
likely to become trained quickly and easily than one who has not. How can you
best do this?
First, take your child into the bathroom with you. It's especially helpful if
fathers and brothers set the example for boys, and mothers and sisters set the
example for girls. Brothers or sisters are often pleased to act as role models.
Some adults have a real problem with people being in the bathroom with them –
even if it is your own child or grandchild. My husband is like this. When my
daughter began to potty train our grandson, it was very important to him that he
see Grandpa going potty. The bottom line is that he basically “got over it” and
let Conner in with him.
Of course, there are always other children who would like to show off their
potty skills to your child. If your child is in day care, they can watch how
their peers use the potty and will most likely imitate them. In fact, this can
actually speed up the process significantly.
Try to help your child recognize the sensations of "being wet," "wetting now,"
and "about to be wet." Encourage your child to talk about these sensations --
especially "about to be..." sensations -- without pressing your child to be
toilet trained.
Comment on signs you notice, such as the child's pausing in play or walking as
if he or she is uncomfortable after elimination. Use statements such as, "You
are going poop," rather than asking the general question, "What are you doing?"
Asking your child to let you know when the diaper is wet or messy is another way
of increasing awareness.
Let your child go nude in appropriate settings to help the child "see" what he
or she is doing, and to help make the mental connection between the words and
what they refer to.
This was especially helpful with Conner. Potty training started in the summer
when we were outside a lot. He took great joy in “peeing on a tree” and off the
back deck. We live in the country, so we didn’t have to worry about
inappropriateness.
We let him run nude in the house as well which was alright because it was hot
outside and being naked gave him the freedom to use the potty without worrying
about soiling his pants. Of course, there were accidents, and I invested in a
cheap carpet cleaner to take care of that!
Changing a diaper in the bathroom will also associate the process with the
place. Children over age 2 should be off the changing table for exactly this
reason.
Although much ado has been made about using the proper terminology for body
parts and functions, you should use the words that come most easily to you and
your child. "Peeing," for example, may be more effective than the term
"urinating" if the latter is a forced term.
However, you SHOULD use specific terms. "Going to the bathroom" is too vague.
“Go pee on the potty” is not.
Try not to use words that will make your child think of his or her bodily
functions as being dirty or disgusting. Avoid saying things like "dirty,"
"stinky," "yucky," etc.
Help your child learn the meaning of the terms "before" and " after" by using
them yourself in other contexts such as, "After I eat dinner, I’ve got to clean
up the dishes."
Talk about the advantages of being potty trained: no more diaper rash, no more
interruptions for diaper changing, and the pleasure of being clean and dry.
Discuss training as an important stage of growing up. If your child is truly
ready to use the potty, he or she will be able to understand you.
Let your child practice lowering and raising training pants sometimes, or
putting them on and taking them off. Pull-ups are great for teaching them this
concept.
You will want to consider buying “big boy britches” for boys or “pretty panties”
for girls before starting the process. By this, we mean actual underwear with a
favorite character on them or frilly, lacy panties that can make your girl or
boy feel special. Using this tactic also helps them embrace the desire not to
soil their special pants.
Have a potty chair handy on which the child may sit even with clothes on perhaps
while you are in the bathroom yourself, but only if he or she wants to. The
intent is not to get results, but to provide familiarity with the equipment.
Some children won’t use a potty chair at all, but having one available is a good
idea anyway. There are all sorts of fun potty chairs on the market today, so
find one that your child can be proud of and identify with.
The idea is to have your child sit on the potty chair and become comfortable
with being on their own little throne. If they want to haul it into the living
room and sit there while watching TV, let them. Don’t get all caught up in
appropriateness when potty training. You have to relax just a little bit and let
your child lead the way – at least for a little bit!
Let your child flush the toilet for you to help him or her get used to the noise
it makes and avoid possible fear later on. We found it helpful to “wave bye bye”
to the pee or poop as it drained out. This made it fun for him!
Explain the way things should be to your child. At the start, explain to your
child that it's time to put her "pee-pee" and "poo" in the potty. Tell your
child that when s/he feels the need to go she should hold it in just long enough
to walk to the potty, sit down, and let it go.
Talk to your child about the advantages of being trained: no more diaper rash,
no more interruptions for diaper changing, and the pleasure of being clean and
dry. Discuss training as an important stage of growing up.
Sit your child's favourite doll or action figure on a pretend toilet, explaining
"the baby is going pee-pee in the potty." Put diapers on his favourite stuffed
bear. Then graduate the bear to underwear.
Make a big deal about throwing away your child’s diapers. Tell your child that
they won’t need the diapers anymore because they will be big kids now. You can
even have your child throw their own diapers in the trash can and commemorate
the event with a special crown or treat!
You can start reading "potty" books to your child or watching potty videos. In
fact, books and videos can really make the whole potty process a lot easier!
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