We begin part two of Answering Your Top 5 Questions About Potty Training by stressing that a child doesn’t actually need to be ‘trained’ but GUIDED. We don’t expect our babies to be able to do a perfect pirouette from the first ballet class.
A child will not do anything unless they feel like it.
4. How do I start?
With baby steps, of course.
Let your child sit fully-clothed on the potty so he or she will get familiar with it.
Set tiny goals, like using the potty first thing in the morning and after meals.
Five minutes each time is usually enough.
Give him or her lots of fluids with meals and avoid eating/drinking right before bed.
Make it part of their bedtime routine.
Take your daughter to the toilet with you when you feel that you have to go. Let Daddy or an older brother show your son.
Make a song out of it. Wash, dry, dress, flush and wash your hands! Set the tune to a song the child already knows and likes. (You can, of course, use any language you want.)
Praise and reward him or her if they use the potty. But avoid criticizing them if they don’t.
5. After successfully learning to use the bathroom, my child suddenly relapsed back to wetting him or herself. What happened? And how can I deal?
Children have their own logic. A huge change in their lives could be a move to a new house or starting daycare, and change adds stress to an already difficult process.
Try to grasp if there’s a problem you can solve. Some children may be embarrassed or scared to use the toilet. Some may find it disgusting to share the toilet with other kids at school or even with other family members. Some may be worried about independence from Mommy. Some may want to feel in control. To some it simply makes no sense why graduating from diapers to the potty is such a big deal!
All these scenarios can be managed with patience.
The important thing is to PRAISE and ENCOURAGE. “Thank you for telling me when you wanted to go pee pee. So what if you couldn’t hold it till the bathroom? I’m proud of you, you’re a big boy now. Let’s add a sticker to the Potty Chart.”
Avoid FORCING, SHAMING or PUNISHING your child. Don’t let them feel your disappointment if they have an accident. Recruit your daycare teachers to your side and let them know what ways you’re using to potty train your baby.
Expect accidents. They’re not failures but mere setbacks. No one learns from the very first time.
Telling them they’re yucky or smelly will only hurt their self-esteem.
Forcing them can make them scared of wetting themselves. This can lead to constipation and encourage urinary tract infections.
Refusing to speak to them because of an accident can and will create a gap in your mother-son or mother-daughter relationship. Find the best way to make your baby WANT to graduate from diapers to the toilet seat.
Did we forget something? Which answer did you find most helpful to you? Do you have more questions? Would you like to read more on the subject? Let us know and we’ll post it on Champ’s Nursery Facebook page.