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Basics of Potty Training a Child

Potty training a child is one of parents’ toughest experiences with children, demanding much patience. However, the job is nicely carried out if parents understand the needs of children and respond to them properly. Children are not always ready to be potty trained and they cannot speak much even when they do get ready. The parents need to understand when the child is ready for the training to begin and how to best proceed with the matter.

Before Getting Started

Before you start potty training a child, observe the child’s behavior and expressions to ascertain that he/she is ready for the training. Most children are ready for potty training by the age of two years but for some, especially boys, this might be three years. The following observations indicate that a child can be potty trained.

• The child expresses interest in going to the potty, either verbally or through body movements.

• The child is ill at ease in wet diapers.

• The child is able to sit on a potty by him/herself and stand back again.

• He/she does not wet the diapers for at least two hours.

• He/she tries to copy the behavior of adults, like trying to walk in the shoes of a grown up or interest in bigger underwear etc.

How to Proceed in Potty Training a Child

The recommended way of getting into your child’s head the idea of using potty is seeing together an illustrated book or watching a video on potty training. Further motivation comes to the child if he/she watches a parent or older sibling go to the bathroom. In case the child is in day care, the motivation is stronger since he/she sees other children of the same age (or older) using the potty. The daycare provider should be trained in potty training a child. It is important to use the same method(s) by both the parent and daycare provider so as to avoid confusing the child.

Drop the wet diapers into the potty before the child’s eyes in order to associate the process of defecation with potty. Also, the child can use the latter once he/she is freed from the diaper.

It is extremely important not to vent anger on the child or punish in other forms if he/she fails to use the potty or shows reluctance in using it. Let the child try again. When he/she succeeds, reward him with a hug and smile and leave the stool for some time in the potty. This reinforces the young one’s motivation.

Wearing pull-ups is comfortable for children during the potty training period. If the child is crying over the potty, he/she need not be disobeying the instructor. Many a time, it is the child’s stool gone hard. Seek the counsel of a pediatrician. Again, always be patient and considerate while potty training a child.