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Tips For Potty Training
by Jennifer Ellis
There are many milestones in your child's early years. Some leave you
feeling triumphant and some cause you pain. Potty training is definitely
one of those events that will wear you out but will result in a feeling
of accomplishment for both you and your child.
In potty training, timing is everything. Every child is different and
develops at different rates.
The key to successful potty training is to make your child want to use
the toilet and not see it as just having to do it because "mom wants me
to". Some children simply need praise and become internally motivated.
They desperately want you to be pleased with them. Others need an
external motivation, such as a small treat or rewards.
I used M&Ms. I gave the trainee 3 M&Ms and I also gave 3 M&Ms to the
siblings. This helped keep the whole family motivated in reminding the
trainee to go and made the world seem fair in the siblings' eyes. For
poop, I gave out a mini peanut butter cup. Just keep in simple, because
your child will figure out that if she increases the fluid intake she
can attempt to go more.
To get her used to the idea, begin with a "talk". Tell her she's not a
baby anymore and is getting too big to wear diapers. Everyone must learn
to use the potty and everyone has accidents, even mommy and daddy did.
No one likes to take time out to go to the potty, not even when you grow
up but it has to be done.
I like the "point of no return" approach. Tell her you are not going to
buy anymore diapers and that it is now up to her to choose either to go
in the potty or to have it drip down her leg and get her clothes all
wet. Tell her you will help her to remember and that there will be
accidents but that that is okay because she is learning.
I recommend skipping the Pull Ups for day usage and move straight from
diapers to real panties or underwear. Modern day diaper technology is
great for babies to stay dry but slows down the training process for
children since the child is never forced to feel the wetness. The
advertisements suggest that children will want to put them on earlier
because they look like real underwear but they soon discover that they
too are really just cool looking diapers. This makes it possible for the
child to decide not to take the time to go to the potty and just keep on
playing with no real discomfort.
If your child is reluctant or refuses to use the potty then let it go
and try again in a few weeks. The harder you push, the more she may
resist.
Never flush the potty while your child is sitting on it. She may feel
that she might be accidentally flushed away and become scared of the
potty.
The first couple of days, fix your child's favorite drink and let her
have lots of it so she will have lots of opportunities to practice
feeling the urge to "go" coming and what happens when she doesn't catch
it in time. She will need to feel it dripping down her leg
and decide she doesn't want that to happen.
Try to stay unemotional when you clean up each accident. Just say
something like "oops! It looks like you were just a little too busy
playing to remember to go to the potty. Let's clean it up and try to
remember the next time". When she has success in the potty, there should
lots of hugs, kisses and praise of what a big girl she's becoming.
In addition to extra fluids, make sure your child eats lots of fruits
and vegetables maybe even prune juice to keep the bowel movements coming
easily. It takes only one painful bowel movement while sitting on the
potty to make your child scared to try to poop in the
potty again.
Two hours before bedtime, try to limit fluids. Set her on the potty
right before bed time. Layer the bed sheets. Put on a sheet set and then
top it with a plastic sheet or puddle pad. Place another sheet set on
top of this so if the first set is wet then you just have to remove it
and another set will be there ready and waiting for you.
Additional ideas to make using the toilet fun: Fruit loops or goldfish
crackers floating in the toilet bowl for aiming practice, shaving cream
squirts in the bowl to rain upon, a
little dish soap in the bowl will make bubbles, a drop or two of food
coloring in the bowl to watch the color change when she goes. You can
also purchase floating bulls eye squares and floating fish for aiming
practice.
A sticker accomplishment chart and activity book can be found at
www.PottyWorks.com
. A free potty training kit can be found at
www.charmin.com and
every type of potty chair imaginable can be found at
www.pottytrainingsolutions.com.
Helpful Hints:
Spring and Summer are the best times to potty train because of the
freedom from clothing.
Dress your child in easy to take off clothes.
Buy lots of underwear
Slightly squash the toilet paper roll so that it won't unroll so easily
Keep a pump bottle of antibacterial gel by the toilet for easier hand
washing for little ones
About the author
Jennifer Ellis is a former elementary teacher and is now a stay-at-home
mom. You can view other ideas on her website
http://www.freckledfish.com
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