It’s one of the times most dreaded by parents of toddlers
and small children, but it comes to us all and can’t be avoided forever
(although in fairness, my husband has done his best to try to). It’s the time
you’ll need nerves of steel, the patience of a saint and shares in a kitchen
roll company. It’s potty training time! Potty training is a wee and poo fest
that the whole family can get involved in, so don’t let anyone off the hook! Here’s
my 10 steps to help you with the task in hand and hopefully take some of the
stress out of it.
1. Firstly choose a time to start when you can be
at home a little bit more. If you have
to run in and out on numerous occasions be it for school or activity
collections, you’re going to make life more difficult for yourself. Plan in
advance and discourage visitors if at all possible. Distractions are not great at this time.
2. Try to involve your child in the choosing of
his/her potty and within reason go along with their choice. My two year old son is the proud owner of a
Princess Peppa Pig potty. It has served
us well! Also involve them in the purchase of big boy/big girl pants all the
while reminding them of how grown up they’re becoming now that they won’t be
wearing nappies anymore
3. Allow your child to go without a nappy or pants
on the first day you start. They’ll be
very aware of the absence of a nappy if they’re wearing nothing. The presence
of pants however, can confuse them and make them forget they’re not wearing a
nappy. Make sure the potty is always
visible and offer drinks frequently. If
possible let them watch a little programme that they really enjoy while sitting
on the potty. The idea here is to
“catch†a wee in the potty by chance. This can take longer than you might
originally anticipate because the security of the nappy is gone. Don’t be afraid to use a little bribery here
to encourage your toddler to stay seated on the potty. You won’t have to do it all the time but for
the first few times it might help. (Is that the mammy police I hear banging
down my door??!!) . When your toddler does produce something, and if you have
managed to keep him/her seated there for a while, it will most likely be just
by chance. This is when it’s time to
make an enormous fuss. Involve any other
family members that are around, in the praise giving. Your little one at least now has an idea as
to what he/she is expected to do in the potty other than wear it on his/her
head!
4. Prepare to shadow your child everywhere, literally
everywhere. Small children get pretty
bored with the whole potty thing very quickly and are quite likely to run off
and pee somewhere else. Move the potty
from room to room. If there are older
siblings in the house ask them to help with the shadowing. If your child starts to wee while not on the
potty, just quickly lift them up and place them on the potty. Anything in there is better than nothing and
it reinforces that wees should be done in the potty.
5. Throughout the day, keep saying to your toddler
“Where do we do wees and poos?….In the potty†Any success should be heavily
praised and misses met with a reminder that wees and poos are done in the
potty.
6. When going to bed place a pull up style nappy on
your child but don’t refer to them as a nappy, just a variation on big boy
pants. No one is expecting this to be dry in the morning, but it’s good to make
the distinction between this and a nappy and it prepares the way for pulling up
and down pants which will be introduced over the coming days.
7. Start day two the same way. Remove the pull up. Leave the child without nappy or pants and
keep the potty close at hand. Day two
can be met with more resistance but praise, gentle insistence and bribery
should help. Today your child might be
aware after they have produced a wee and may well jump up to show you (or not,
which is no problem either). Again today
shadowing is very important so as not to miss an opportunity.
8. Later in day two (or day three if you feel your
child is not ready) introduce the big boy/big girl pants. You will be pretty much guaranteed an
accident early on but that’s ok because the wet sensation will remind your
little one of what happens if they don’t make it to the potty on time. Make
sure someone is on hand at all times to help pulling up and down pants throughout
the day and any success here should be met with a huge fuss. This time your child has most likely been
aware of what they were doing and has deliberately used the potty.
9. Day three
continues much the same as the previous day with hopefully a little more
success. No doubt however, you will have
encountered resistance to pooing in the potty.
It’s important to make sure your little one doesn’t become constipated or
holds on to their poo. If your child suggests that they need to poo, remove
their pants again so that they can easily get to the potty at the very last
minute. Again consider allowing your child to watch a favourite programme and
encourage them to sit on the potty while they do. Hopefully they’ll get so caught up in what
they’re watching that they will produce! Leave the child without pants for a
while to see if this helps. If your
little one becomes very distressed and still refuses to go, put a pull up style
nappy on them (still referring to them as big boy or girl pants). Continue to
encourage them to poo in the potty but don’t worry if they go in the pull up
nappy instead. Poo-ing in the potty
always takes a little longer to master.
10. By day four you should have proper idea as to
how your child is getting on. If they’re
having less than a 50-60% success rate they’re probably not quite ready yet and
you might be better off just leaving it for a few more weeks (even just 3 weeks
can make an enormous difference). Don’t
worry that all your hard work will be wasted, it won’t. Starting again a few weeks later should be
easier, as your child will know what you and he/she are aiming for. Progress
can often be much faster then.
Plenty of praise and encouragement are essential when potty
training, as are constant reminders throughout the day and reaffirmations that
big boys and girls do their wees and poos in the potty. If things are going well, keep an eye on the
night time pull ups. Some children, day
and night train at the same time. If you’re
one of the lucky parents whose child appears to be dry at night also, remove
the pull up after about a week into potty training. Remember to make sure your little one goes to
the toilet before bed and don’t offer drinks too late in the evening. If your
child however, is not dry in the morning when they wake, don’t worry, one step
at a time. Night time dryness can be tackled later!
