Potty training is often considered by parents as one landmark event in the process of rearing their child. Once accomplished to a considerable extent, they can finally heave a breath of relief, since it indicates the end of nappy changing. Often due to certain reasons, parents cannot impart proper potty training to their kids. While a few kids pick it up within a few days, a few might take several weeks. Let’s have a look at some of the steps, parents can follow for an effective potty training.
Evaluate your child’s preparedness
Instead of anticipating kids to learn fast, you should evaluate the intensity of your child’s preparedness. Observe him closely, if he is able to pull his pants down, copies other’s bathroom habits, makes a mock show through gestures when he feels movement in his bowels and most importantly, the feeling of getting wet or dirty in his nappy that does not go well with him. All this, gives a kind of clear indication of your child’s willingness to go for the training. Take the overall process very slowly and avoid rushing in. Putting pressure might scare him and make the entire process vigorous.
Purchasing the correct equipment
Get a comfortable potty for your child. You can get started by picking a mini sized potty or a small seat that can have a grip around your toilet. Kids generally find the height of a regular toilet seat intimidating and that keeps them away from acquiring a proper training. Usually potties are designed to seat the child with his feet touching ground. You can even place a stool near the potty, making it easier for him to reach. If his foot touches ground or even stool, he would be able to balance himself making the overall process easier.
Start discarding the nappy
Slowly but gradually, make him get rid of his habit of wearing nappies. Particularly, when your child starts getting familiar to potty, remove his nappy and let things follow accordingly. Make him realize that he is growing up and ‘big kids’ don’t wear nappies and use a potty. Cite him your own example or his elder siblings that they don’t wear nappies anymore and use toilet. This will make him more interested and consistent in sticking on to the habit of peeing and pooping on potties.
Try out a few training pants
It’s recommended not to hurry up the process of making your child shift from nappies to underwear. To strike a balance and initiate a feeling of easiness in him, buy training pants for him. Children usually respond well against these, since these appear to them as a different type of nappy and they wear it gleefully. Rushing a kid to wear underwear can make him feel uncomfortable. Being a rookie to potty, you can’t expect him to speed up and remove his pants, every time he feels the urge of passing stool or urine.
Tackle initial setbacks calmly
No kid will get used to potty within a few days. It might take weeks and even months. If s/he ends up soiling the potty and nappies, take it sportingly. Don’t scold or punish. Its believed that muscles take time to develop fully in order to enable one to have momentary control in holding back. It takes time for kids to have their bowel muscles fully evolved. In case there is an accident, clean up the mess calmly without making much fuss about it.
Generate interest in your child
This might sound a bit wayward, but it actually works. Show her where stools go after she is done. So the next time if she passes out in her nappy, simply make her sit on the potty and discard the nappy beneath her in the bowl. Once you are done with emptying the potty in toilet, ask her to flush it off if she wants to see where it disappears. And yes, make sure the sound of flush does not scare her or else, she might take time to move on to toilet from potty.
Train during night
You can’t actually prevent your kid from having wet nights. Even cutting down fluid intake would not help much. Therefore, try placing a potty near his bed during night and tell him beforehand to inform you, if he gets up at night. Eventually, he will learn to use the potty on his own with the due course of time. But yes, do keep him all wrapped in nappies. Don’t send him off to sleep without nappies only because he is getting used to potty.
Encourage to move independently
Cultivate the habit in him to use her potty whenever she feels like passing out. At the same time, make sure, she informs you so that you can take her to the toilet. Another way is to make her hang around with nothing below the waist. Place the potty near her and ask her to use it, if she feels the urge to release.
Draw out a routine
It’s very important to create a regular routine for an effective training. Opt for a time of the day when she is more likely to pass stool like post breakfast, before or after bath and do stick to that routine consistently. Kids usually show preference to consistency, so if you carry out the act regularly, chances are there she would eventually take this as a part of her routine. But don’t tell her as why she needs to sit there, simply make her habituated to sit on the potty for few hours daily.
Appreciate and buy gifts
Praise him every time, he uses his potty. Buy gifts and chocolates for him, don’t forget kids love to get pampered and appreciated. Treating this entire process as something great, would make him learn faster and smoother. As soon as he picks up the habit, you can also phase out the habit of gifting him chocolates. Also, ignore those tiny winy bloopers and tell him that he is doing quite good.
