Potty training can be intimidating, especially if you’re working on it with your first child. While we work on teaching your children to use the Big Kid potty, we thought it might be helpful to offer a few tips for training at home.
Tip 1. Is your toddler ready to learn?
Most toddlers are ready for potty training around 22-24 months of age. However, it is common for a toddler to remain in diapers until 3 ½ years of age. Here are some signs that your child may be ready:
· your toddler complains when wet or dirty
· your toddler can “hold it” or remain dry for up to 2 hours
· your toddler can follow basic instructions
· your toddler is able to pull their pants down and up again
Tip 2. Lead by example.
It may feel silly, but make a big deal out of the fact that you have to go to the bathroom, and then let your toddler observe you. It’s important for your toddler to feel comfortable in the bathroom. Let your toddler play with flushing the toilet so they can become used to it.
Tip 3. Give them their own potty chair.
Tell your toddler that this is their chair and allow them to become comfortable sitting on it. It is important not to force the child, as this could repel them from the potty altogether. When your toddler is dirty, empty the diaper into the potty chair and show them, letting them flush it away. Doing this will help your toddler associate the need to potty with the potty chair.
Tip 4. Take them to the potty… often.
Take your child to the potty chair every hour or so, if possible, or if you notice the child exhibiting signs of needing to go. Examples of such signs are pauses in play, or a grunting face. Seat them on the potty chair and tell them it’s “pee-pee or poo-poo time.” If they don’t go after about 5 minutes, tell them, “good try!” and treat every attempt in a positive way.
Tip 5. Offer Encouragement… and show disappointment
Make a big fuss when your toddler successfully uses their potty chair. Offer them lots of praise and reward their accomplishment, every time. Positive reinforcement is crucial. However, feel free to show a little disappointment when your child wets their diaper. Good phrases to use are “oh no, an accident!” and “aw, poo-poo in your diaper, yucky!” The idea here isn’t to shame the child, but to communicate that big people do not pee-pee or poo-poo in their pants.
Tip 6. Keep at it!
Potty training a toddler can be a frustrating experience, and can take up to 8 months to complete. It’s important to try and remain patient with your toddler, and to keep training them. It can be confusing for children to go back to diapers once training has begun, so you may have to deal with quite a few accidents at first. But if you follow these steps, you toddler is sure to become a Big Kid in a few short weeks.
Good Luck!
