Ask a seasoned parent about toilet training and you’re likely to be met with a grimace. With the obvious dislike most parents have when it comes to cleaning up after “accidents,” many parents can think of about a hundred different things they’d rather do. Then again, many parents followed (or tried to follow) the “old school” rules-primarily, that a child should begin training at the age of 2.
Nowadays, however, you may encounter more and more parents who are following a different training path. Instead of going by the calendar, these parents are letting their toddler lead the way…and finding surprising results. After getting over the initial fear that their child will go off to kindergarten in a diaper, many parents are happier using this child-led training method.
Watching your child’s signals and taking small steps toward the potty or toilet is still a controversial idea, despite the American Academy of Pediatrics’ (AAP) approval. But, as is the case with many other parenting issues that were once deemed “controversial,” old habits (and viewpoints) die hard. To make it easier, we are going to highlight ideas and suggestions laid out by the AAP in their toilet training guidelines for parents. While other methods may not stray too far from these guidelines, we’d like to stick to the core idea behind the process.
First, it is important to let go of the idea that children are potty trained at the age of 2. This is a vague statement, and it’s also not the norm. In truth, only four percent of 482 healthy toddlers studied in 1997 were trained by their second birthday, according to the AAP. Contrary to the popular misconception, most of these children did not train until they were between 3 and 3 ½ years old.
The AAP stresses looking for signs of readiness in your toddler before attempting to train. If you’d like to see where your little one stands, take our toilet training quiz to find out. After observing these signs, you can begin the process of introducing your child to the toilet.
Relax!
When you begin training, it is important not to put too much stress on your child -- or yourself! Don’t expect your toddler to learn everything in a day (although this can happen, but is more likely the product of weeks of silent learning) and don’t be hard on yourself if your efforts go unnoticed. The key here is to make toilet training enjoyable; don’t make it a chore.
When you begin training, it is important not to put too much stress on your child -- or yourself! Don’t expect your toddler to learn everything in a day (although this can happen, but is more likely the product of weeks of silent learning) and don’t be hard on yourself if your efforts go unnoticed. The key here is to make toilet training enjoyable; don’t make it a chore.
With this in mind, you might let other family members, friends and caregivers know that you are not punishing your child for failed attempts at using the potty; rather, you are praising his efforts and keeping the process simple and light. If everyone is consistent with this, your toddler will understand it better (and learn it faster!).
When you sit your child on the potty or toilet, be sure he wants to be there. If he asks to get down (or does get down), don’t make a big fuss about staying there. Instead, bring books or small toys with you and sit on the edge of the bathtub or on the floor, staying with your child until he is ready to leave.
If your child has a bladder or bowel movement on the potty or toilet, don’t go wild with excitement unless you always react this way to accomplishments. Sometimes it is hard to contain the thrill of seeing your child take the first step toward being diaper-free! But, this could confuse your child and encourage him to over-react (in both good and bad ways) to being on the potty. Similarly, don’t show major disappointment when your child has an accident away from the toilet.
Helping your child express the need to use the toilet or potty chair can be difficult. After all, he never had to tell you about his urges before -- he isn’t going to understand why he needs to tell you now, at first. In the beginning, most toddlers will tell their parents that they have already had a bladder or bowel movement. You should praise your child when he does this, and gently remind him that you need to know before he has to go. Just remember, talking about it at all is a big step in the right direction.
The Routine
Getting into the routine of sitting on the toilet or potty chair every day is a great idea. If your child has regular bowel movements every day, you can try to schedule time to sit on the potty. But, don’t be disappointed if your child doesn’t have a movement while sitting there. At first, the object of this routine is not to make your child urinate or defecate in the toilet, or even to “catch” him at the right time. Instead, you just want to get him used to sitting in the bathroom and thinking or talking about “going potty” every day.
Getting into the routine of sitting on the toilet or potty chair every day is a great idea. If your child has regular bowel movements every day, you can try to schedule time to sit on the potty. But, don’t be disappointed if your child doesn’t have a movement while sitting there. At first, the object of this routine is not to make your child urinate or defecate in the toilet, or even to “catch” him at the right time. Instead, you just want to get him used to sitting in the bathroom and thinking or talking about “going potty” every day.
Once you’ve had your toddler in the bathroom a lot, and he shows signs of wanting to actually use the potty or toilet, you may want to use training pants. Whether you use disposables or cloth, the point is to give your child some control over when he tries to use the toilet. Other ways to let your child feel in control are to allow him to rip toilet paper off the roll and flush the toilet himself.
Finally, remember that accidents are going to happen. Expect them. Your child may be embarrassed by such accidents, or become upset. Try to reassure your child that everyone has accidents when they learn something new, and that they are still doing a great job. Try not to associate diapers with babies and training pants with “big” kids and always give lots of hugs and praise for all efforts to train.
article and photo are taken from http://www.toddlerstoday.com/
article and photo are taken from http://www.toddlerstoday.com/
