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Potty Training Tips

There are as many tricks and tips to potty training a child as there are parents (and non-parents who seem to love to offer unsolicited advice).  The reality to potty training is that it’s a little different for each child and things that worked for one of your kids might not for another.  There are a few general guidelines that *usually* help along the way.

1)      Your child shows interest – If they start asking questions as they follow you into the bathroom, that’s a good indicator that               they are ready to at least start the process.

2)      Showing signs of discomfort in a wet or dirty diaper – If you notice that they start to tug at a diaper or walk differently when           it’s wet or dirty, that’s another good indicator they are ready to start.

3)      Bribery – Sometimes it takes a while to find what will work for your child, but nearly anything can.  Reward them stickers, M           & Ms, change in a piggy bank that’s kept in the bathroom or some other special reward.

4)      Watch them like a hawk – If you can, usually you can tell when a child is getting ready to make a mess in a diaper and if you             can hustle them into the bathroom before they are done they get the idea pretty quickly, especially if you combine it with                 bribes.  This also works well if your child is very regular.

5)      Make a game of it – With boys, a lot of people swear by putting something that floats and can be safely flushed in the toilet               and have Dad show them to make a game of it by peeing on whatever is floating in there.  Sometimes you have a bit of a                     mess to clean up, but frankly, that never really changes, even grown men have trouble with aim sometimes.

6)      Switch to regular underwear – Devote a weekend to just going cold turkey.  Put them in regular underwear and a t-shirt with           no pants and be prepared to wash and change them a few times till they start to realize what is going on.  Having a parent                 dressed the same way makes it fun and helps them get the idea more quickly.

Whatever it takes to get it done, just be sure to not pressure your child too much or too early – that can set the process back.  Most children are ready between 2 and 2 ½, but as the saying goes, no one graduates high school still in diapers.  When the time is right, it will happen.

Photo credit: Phillip Martin .info