My mom always told me that she potty trained all five of her children with help from a popular book called Potty Training in Less than a Day. While she said potty training using the book’s method really took about a week, she still found the results impressive. So in later years when I was potty training my own boys, I made sure to pick up a copy of the book for myself. By combining some of its methods with a few tricks of my own, my boys were using the potty on their own in just a few days! Since June is Potty Training Month, I decided to share the four tips that I found most helpful during the process.
Make Using the Potty Easy
It goes without saying that dressing your child in overalls or a complicated jumper during potty training is a recipe for disaster but for the first few days, take things one step further and skip pants altogether. The goal is to teach children independence so making it easy for them to get their clothing off to use the potty just makes sense. Buy a few pairs of loose-fitting underwear and let your little ones wear just that while mastering the process of pulling down their underpants to sit on the potty. (Following this tip is why I also generally potty trained my boys during the summer!)
Reward with Drinks
Kids learn through repetition, so the more times your child successfully uses the potty in a day, the better. While you’re potty training, forget nutrition guidelines for a day or so and stock up on your child’s favourite drinks and a few salty snacks. Then use those treats as rewards during the process. Since drinking more will ensure more trips to the bathroom, your child will get plenty of chances to practice the process of pulling down their underwear, sitting on the potty, using it and wiping themselves after.
Teach Through Example
Kids love imitating others and what they consider a fun game is also a great teaching tool! Ideally, let your child see you using the bathroom so that they understand how the process works. You can even talk about the various basic steps as you do, so that a child understands the process and what it entails. If you’re not comfortable doing that, consider getting a toy doll that can “pee” when filled with water to illustrate the process of using a potty for your child.
Don’t Expect Perfection
Expecting your child to immediately master some of the trickier aspects of using the bathroom, like proper wiping or undoing buttons, is a sure-fire way to put yourself through unneeded stress and frustrate your child. Instead, assume that mastering some of the more complicated aspects of using the bathroom will take time. Proper wiping was one of the biggest challenges for my boys and for my youngest, it continues to be an issue. Kandoo products have been a dream come true for this. The Kandoo Flushable Wipes ensure that little ones do a more thorough job of cleaning themselves, without filling the potty with toilet paper! And the Kandoo Wash Your Hands Moisturizing Hand Wash makes it easy for kids to thoroughly wash up after, with the bonus of a fun fruity scent and brightly coloured foam!
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No matter what techniques you use when the time comes to potty train your child, remember to be patient and make the process as fun as possible for you and your little one. After all, it’s a big accomplishment so celebrate every little victory and enjoy knowing that the days of diapering are finally done!
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I’m getting ready to start w my Lil man and I’m a nervous wreck about it!!
Don’t try and rush this, take your time, explain to the child what you expect now that it’s a big child. The child might not be ready for this step, all children are potty trained at some stage. Some are dry during the day but wet the bed at night. Be patient.
Yes,patience is the number one thing.thanks so very much for sharing.
My best potty training tip is to put them on the potty after each meal and often, use consistency and rewards when they use it.
patience, patience, patience
My great-grandmother’s best tip: Start monitoring your child’s urination/BM schedule at an early age and when you know that the little one will be going put them over the toilet/potty. Do this regularly, to the point where the child will start asking to go on the potty prior to having to go. Funny, enough it worked well on all of us and my boys too. Everyone was trained before 2.
When I potty trained my first, I did it when I was ready, but when number two came along I was quite ready to wait and wait until she just did it on her own. Very easy the second time around.
Only start potty training when your child is ready!
Praise and patience are the key!
As with most things – have patience and be consistent!