Search:

Toilet Training for Your Toddler

By: Dr. Noel Swanson Often, parents are seen to be anxious about toilet training. Some of them see it as some sort of competition as though toilet training proves the intelligence of their child or how good they are as parents. It’s all nonsense of course! On the contrary, if you try to potty train your child before he or she is ready, you will be frustrated and you will traumatize the child unnecessarily.

There is a time for everything in nature. The less you tamper with it the better it is for you and your child. Your child will be ready for it one day and then the whole process will be more natural, much easier, and less stressful. Don’t compare your child with the neighbor’s child. It proves nothing.

Every child is different, and that’s the beauty. Learn to cherish it. Most toddlers are not genuinely toilet trained before the age of two or three years though there are exceptions that may be toilet trained at 20 months. Moreover, as a rule, boys take longer to be potty trained than girls. Almost all children are toilet trained by the age of 4, though bedwetting continues till the age of 5 in about 10% kids. There is no need to be in haste. If you do that, you might have to face problems, such as soiling, that can last much longer.

Here are some tips to prepare your child for the toilet training and how to know when he or she is ready to start.

1. Make sure that she is familiar with her body, it's functions, and the names you as a family will use. It doesn't matter what names you use - wee, pee, tinkle, number 1 - as long as everyone knows what they mean. The same applies to body parts.

2. Allow her to witness you or other family member (preferably same sex) using the toilet. No it won't traumatize her - unless you make a big thing of it. Just be natural and she will consider it natural as well. Talk about it as a grown-up thing to do - that one day, when she is ready, she too will be able to use a potty and then the big peoples toilet. This instills a sense of anticipation and desire as all toddlers want to do the things that grown-ups do. Letting her flush the toilet also gets her used to the whole process.

3. Fix a date for starting the toilet training. Bring the small potty out before that and leave it in a visible place. Talk to your child about what it is, and what it is for. Ask him when he would like to use it, but don’t start right away.

Look for the signs of approaching readiness:

1. In order to help your child tell you when he is wet or dirty, you can point at the potty immediately after he urinated or had a bowel movement. And, in order to reinforce the idea of cleanliness and dryness, make sure you change the diaper as soon as possible, regardless of whether you spot it, or he tells you. Also, praise your child profusely when he comes and tells you that he needs a diaper change.

2. Can she physically manage the potty? That is, can she pull off her own diaper (the elasticated pull-ons are great for this), can she sit on the potty without falling off? Can she walk/run quickly to the bathroom? At the beginning children don't get a lot of warning so problems with getting to the bathroom and getting clothes off may lead to more accidents and more frustration. Maybe better to wait another month or two.

3. Can she follow directions and instructions? Can she, for example, carry out an instruction to take a piece of tissue and throw it into the toilet? If not, or if she stubbornly refuses, then that probably needs to be addressed first.

4. Look out for signs of developing bowel and bladder control, such as clear patterns of bowel movements. If your child’s stools are firm and well formed, and he is able to stay dry for several hours at a time, he is ready for toilet training because he will be able to control himself long enough to get to the bathroom. However, don’t let the child strain to withhold; that can cause more serious problems. If your child experiences pain on passing a motion, you may have to change the diet to make the stool softer and easier to pass.

5. Above all, give a positive feeling about toilet to your child. He should look forward to the day when he can use a toilet like a grown up. It all depends on the preparatory work you have done. Some children have fears about flushing water etc, which will have to be addressed before starting the toilet training. You will need to make your child familiar with the toilet and let him practice sitting on the potty with clothes on. This will reassure him that he won't disappear and get flushed away like the potty does.

If you have done your preparatory work well, you will not have much difficulty in toilet training your little toddler. Remember to praise success, but there should be no punishments for failures.

Bon Voyage!

Article Source: http://www.lifeweightloss.com

Dr. Noel Swanson's website provides free expert parenting tips and advice - you will also find a free chapter to his highly acclaimed book, the GOOD CHILD Guide. You can also meet with other parents on a parenting forum.
Visit our parenting article directory for a completely unique version of this article.

Please Rate this Article

Not yet Rated