Potty Training Tips for Parents: 10 Things That Make It Easier

For potty training session to be more fun, the parents have to be involved in so many ways. It is also a good time for parents to interact with their children and this creates a special bond between the two. Parents can partake in this process in many fun ways too in which they too can enjoy.

Listed below are some of the ways in which the parents can get involved in this process.

Sing a song 

It is advisable for the parents to come up with a made up song which you can be singing for the toddler when they sit on the potty. The main aim for this to keep the young one entertained and also to ensure that he or she connects with you during the potty training. You can come up with a silly dance move and do it every time he goes to potty. Do not worry if at first if the kid is bored eventually he will start singing along.

Use musical chairs.

In case you are self conscious or shy you can purchase a musical potty chair that will be doing the singing on your behalf. This will make the kid more comfortable and you might even see them giggling with silliness every time the potty sings.

 Go commando (or free-balling for boys and free-buffing for girls).

Take off the toddlers diaper or the training pants. This can be very funny for some toddlers who enjoy freedom. This is good because it will result in less laundry. It is worth noting that this will only take place in the comfort of the home or a secluded area where no people are watching the baby, some toddlers may feel uncomfortable with this idea. 

 Start using rewards 

Whenever your kid correctly uses her potty it is always good to reward them for their efforts. Cookies or candy will work perfectly well. However it is essential to ensure that these treats are not a choking hazard. Stickers can also be used as an alternative to these. You can have a potty reward chart in the bathroom for your toddlers or even let them stick the stickers on the potty. There are other kinds of rewards that may include coloring books, pencils or even fun shaped erasers. You may also opt to stamp his hands or the forehead.

Read some books. 

Reading books for your toddler is not only during the potty time, but you can also do this during free time and you can engage your toddler too. There being so many books for toddlers on potty training, you could never miss some that will interest both you and your toddler. Examples of these books are:

·                     Potty" by Leslie Patricelli he potty

·                     A Potty for Me" by Karen Katz,

·                     Big girl Panties" by Fran Manushkin

·                     And one of my favourite being Everybody Poops" by Taro Gomi

Sit back and watch a movie

 

There are so many potty moments DVD that are cartoon designed to keep you and your kid mesmerized. Don’t be amazed when you see your kid running off to go use the potty just like he has seen in the movies or the cartoons. Kid’s most favourite moves include, Elmo's Potty Time, Go Potty Go, Potty Power- for Boys and Girls and Potty with Bear.

Trick kids with Cheerios

This may sound a bit silly, but trust you me, it really works. Take the potty that your toddler is using and put some cheerios, now tell your kid to try and ping the cheerios when standing up and directly aim and pee to sink them. This will not only encourage them to use the potty but also help them to learn aim properly.

Bribing

Every child likes being bribed. You can purchase a small box and fill it with different toys, snacks or stickers. Every time your kid uses the potty let him choose something from the box. He will love this idea because he is getting something new every time he goes pee pee or poop. There is also the candy trick, after every successful go, give them a candy bar. 

Punishment

Lastly every parent has their own point of view on punishment. Personally, I would not use spanking as a form of punishing them. The easiest and best way to go about it is, whenever your kid has soiled or wet his diaper; if he has a potty training chart with sticker, pluck one off the chart. If he has a chart with stars, go on and do the same thing. There is also another form of punishment, where you make him sit on the chair for some minutes and if he continues doing the same mistakes put him there another minute longer than the last time and so on.

Potty Training Girls: Common Problems & How to Solve Them

It come a time when potty training your girl child can be quite a headache. But this should not be a cause of alarm for the parents. These problems can be easily solved if both the parents and the girl child can all cooperate and work together.

There is a book called “the Guide for parents; Toilet training resistance”. This book provides detailed information and instructions on how to get the defiant child back on track. The step by step instructions if followed to the core will surely help the parents in towing the child back on track.

Below are some of the steps to inspire the resistant child back on track.

Reassign all responsibility to the child.

 

Let the defiant child know that this is her body and all those pee and poop belong to her. It also good to let her know that she doesn’t need the help of anyone anymore in aiding her in her bowel movement session or even when peeing.

As the parents you need to  discontinue all reminders on potty use

Constant reminders are what keep the girls into getting more defiant and they will want to keep the power struggle going on. If your girl is over 3 years it is recommended that you should never keep reminding them on how to use the potty but instead let them use whenever they feel like.  Let the girl child think that going to the potty is an idea she came up with on her own. 

Brainstorm incentive.

Once the girl has calm down and power struggle is easing up, you as the parent need to come up with the right rewards for her frequent achievements. Most parents at times feel like they have been rewarding their child for so long and it is now becoming monotonous. This kind of attitude should change once and for all and parents need to come up with new ideas on what kind of incentives they should offer their children.

rules on how to make incentives powerful:

An incentive is amazing thing that the child stalwartly desires. Ask for the child’s contribution and ask them "What would help you remember to look after your poop?"

A good  incentive;

·  It is given instantly after the child releases urine or stool into the toilet.

·  The child is given entrée to the incentive for 30 to 60 minutes.

·  The parent continues to own and control the incentive.

·  The last requirement is essential. Access to a bike, costume, videotape, remote-control car, paint set, or whatever, is time-limited. In essence, the child earns a privilege, not another possession. That's the only way to maintain the value of the incentive. 

Express most of your comments to the child.

 By talking with the child about her crisis, the parent makes it clear who is responsible for progress If the child doesn't converse, sit close to her, set up eye contact, and make some proposal. At the end of day, ask her again "Now tell me again, what is your job?" and the child to answer, "to get the poop into the toilet" or " run to the restroom if the poop starts to come out."

Chart for recording progress.

 Parents ought to know that stars or special stickers should be placed on the chart for every passage of urine or stool into the toilet. Split charts for pee and poop have a propensity to work best. Once the child becomes to some extent bladder trained, the pee sticker can be given for staying dry all day.

Recheck on reminders.

 Many parents prolong giving reminders long after they have given their word to discard them. As long as reminders carry on, the power battle will rage on. It is worth noting that reminders come across as irritating and will not suddenly become useful.

Early childhood development

It is during the early stages of  a child’s growth that the children learn of the toilet training skill that gives them more liberty than any other skill will ever do. potty training also known as toilet training is a self care skill that most parents or guardians yearn for, as this renders to give them a huge sigh of relief with the fact that no more diapers or soiled nappies will be hanging in the  house no more.

Recent studies show that most parents and caregivers think that toilet training helps in instilling independence in the early stages of physical development of a toddler. Although toilet training has been considered a controversial topic since time in memorial, it is worth saying stating that this type of self care skill helps the children in learning how to use the toilet themselves.

Most recent research shows that, at the age of two years is when caregivers and parents should start potty training their children. It is at this age that most babies can distinguish the urge to either urinate or poo poo and at this age they can also control the muscles that facilitate waste removal. In other words we can say that young toddlers can’t really tell when they have to “go” and they are also unable to control whether or not to “go”.

At around 24 months, it is the most appropriate age that a toddler has developed the motor ability to walk to and from the rest room. It is also at this time that they develop the motor ability to undress and dress themselves without the aid of their caregivers or parents. It is evident to say that each child develops at its own pace. Many at times one might find a child wanting to watch what their parents do in the toilet and it is this kind of anxiety that prompts a toddler to either want to pull down their diaper and use the toilet seat more often which can very injurious and therefore the need to potty train.

It is extremely important to note that potty training or toilet training is a phase that should not be rushed. Children may be physically ready to toilet train but this does not necessarily mean that they are mentally or emotionally ready. 

Patience is one of the vital virtues that most caregivers and parents should observe. It is also important to note that each child will learn these toilet training skills at their own pace, and it is the parent’s obligation to offer guidance in a calm manner and be consistent in encouraging their children and eventually nature will take its course. 

Some parents can begin to potty train their children at the age of two. Others can wait until they are five or older but it is important for the parents to remember that is child develops differently and special care and time should be given to child. It also imperative for parents not to put their children under too much pressure since the potty training session can be a really long, tiresome and stressful experience. Parents should also observe an attitude of patience, acceptance, love, and respect. 

When a child is ready for this life changing experience they will start showing the following signs like, imitating their parents toileting practices while showing interest in the potty. At the same time the child can be able to pull of clothes and at times let you know that they have soiled their under wear. Some children may seclude themselves and go to quiet places and start squatting.

Lastly it is worth noting that no child should be punished for not knowing how to use the potty on time. The child should be rewarded with incentives from time to time whenever they use the potty.

Potty Training Boys: Tips for Parents (2024 Guide)

The long awaited time is finally here; you are getting ready and preparing yourself for the start date of your son’s potty training.  Potty training lessons for your boys can be quite overwhelming since there is so much to remember and learn. The information is so much, the time is elapsing quickly and you want your son to have a successful potty training transition.

 Strange and weird counsels have been streaming from different people on what to do and that you have to potty your son other ways for this process to be a success. There are so many potty training myths and they could easily mislead one if they were to be taken serious.

With the new technology came different tools to make potty training for your son easier and fun too. With the internet came rich information on potty training for boys and the different ways to go about it. As a parent, you will want to get to know all the tips, read articles on potty training and there you will have all your questions answered. 

 One of the most intriguing questions asked by many parents is that they wants to know whether to potty train their sons to pee when standing up or sitting down. It is however without a doubt that there is no recommended way that a boy toddler should be potty trained, but the most recommended way to potty train your son is they should start by urinating when sitted down. 

            The chief reason for this recommendation is to ensure that things are kept simple and the boys learn how to both urinate and control bowel movements. Also this method was recommended so as to train the boys on how to aim properly. Later on when the boy is a bit mature you can train them how to urinate when standing.

            Many parents believe that potty training their toddler sons includes not only how training them how to urinate in the potty or the toilet but also making bowel movements in the same. Your toddler will have to learn the potty when sitting because it’s the only way for them pass poop.

Most parents would agree that potty training your toddler son includes not only teaching him to urinate in a potty or toilet, but also to make bowel movements in the potty or toilet. And for bowel movement training, you will have to teach your toddler son to sit down on a potty or the toilet.

Potty training for boys is a simple process which starts when the boys have felt body awareness and an ability to connect with a feeling of fullness and the need to pass a poop or to urinate. This kind of awareness can be felt from a tender age of as early as age 1, when your son has this feeling, he simply poops on his diaper and pants. It is at this juncture that you as the parent want him to learn that he has to stop this and start using the potty or the toilet. This is where again you train him how to remove his clothes and sit or stand on the potty depending on what he is feeling at that particular moment.

During the training period, you will need a potty chair, a urinal or potty seat. You will want to know why you need all these equipment for just one boy. Well the answer is quite simple, when using the potty; it will probably be too low to the ground to use for urinating when the boy is standing. A urinal is more suitable for boys who would want to pee when standing and potty seat is for the bowel movement. A step stool will only be required if you and your boy decide to use the toilet for both urinating and bowel movement. Here you as the parent will have to teach your boy how to remove and lift the toilet seat.

Having said all this, by the age of two to three, children become will become interested in the notion of gender and boys will begin to emulate their fathers or older brothers. Do not be shocked to find that your child wants to be like daddy or like his older brother and when he  persists that he has urinate while standing and not sitting. If this should happen, then let him stand. It is not worth a power struggle. Work on teaching him to urinate first and then work on bowel movements.

Last, but not least, if your child is in day care, then make sure that you teach him at home the same way they are doing it in school. Some day care insists on teaching the boys to pee when standing and thus the same protocol should be followed at home

Potty Training Tips for Boys and Girls: What Actually Works

Potty training tips girls  

Every parent and caregiver only wish is  that one day their toddler will learn how to use the potty seat and stop soiling his diapers and clothes. Friends and relatives come up every day with new tactics and methods on how to potty train your daughter, some methods may seem crude, tiresome and even confusing to you and your daughter. In your mind, thoughts keep rushing is she ready for this transition? What should I do and what mustn’t I do?  what will be her reaction the first time she sees the potty seat? Relax because potty training for girls is as easy as ABC.

 As soon as you introduce the potty training session to your daughter, she might get excited or even get scared but it all depends on how well you as the parent is prepared for this journey. Some girls who wish for independence will be extremely excited and can’t wait to start this fun filled experience.

First of all, your girl is now learning how to control her own body and is ready to become a big girl. Secondly, she is learning to have some kind of control over the world around her and she is trying to identify who they really are and what is required of them. Potty training her will be a fun time experience for both you and her although at the same time stressful. Finally since there is so much to learn and remember it’s best to support each other throughout this process.

When the time comes for potty training for girls, it all depends on what really works for your daughter as well as the other family members too. Some steps however have to be taken so as to make the potty training sessions easier for both you and your daughter. Aside from just being fun and exciting the potty training process can be an exciting time in the whole family’s life
.
Preceding the actual date set for the potty training, you will have to sit with daughter and discuss in lengths on the new life skills she is about to learn. Letting your daughter in the know of the transition from diapers to potty training will make her feel at ease and the process will be exciting for her. Consequently you as the parent might consider buying your daughter a potty patty training doll to be her companion and mentor throughout this process.  To create some kind of bond, If you have video and book on potty training it is advisable to start watching these videos and reading the books together. Most of the times, the potty training dolls come with potty seats which will come in handy for you while still potty training her.

Once you have collected all the materials needed for the potty training process and your daughter is ready for the transition, start monitoring how often she pees and poops. This help you in knowing her bowel movement routines.

At first you can start by taking her to the bathroom and helping her to pee or poop. Later on as she becomes more comfy, you can let her go in her own. However she still needs you to help her wipe and clean up since she is still new to this process. 

You might consider buying some potty stickers and putting them on the potty, this will make potty using more fun. The potty stickers with music or those with smileys are the most preferable here. Reward your daughter every time she uses the potty and this will encourage her to go more often.