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How to start potty training the confident way.
Are you wondering what to do first when it comes to potty training? I have potty trained four of my own children, both boys and girls and I am glad to share with you some simple steps to toilet train your toddler with confidence.
How to start potty training - Step 1.
- Your toddler's potty readiness.
You must check for potty training readiness signs or you will not even know if your child is ready, physically or emotionally, to toilet train. Click here for a potty training readiness log.
In general, toddlers in the western world have a potty training age of around 2-3 years. You will need to take note of your own child's readiness clues, over several weeks, to determine if now is the right time to train.
Once you decide your child exhibits many or most of the potty training readiness signs, then it's time to gear up for the process.
I say process because while you can certainly potty train your child in a day or in 3 days or whatever, that is usually just the beginning of cementing these important new bathroom habits in a child's mind.
The first rule of how to start potty training is to remember that this is a lifetime habit you are teaching; it makes sense it will take several weeks or months to get the habit to the point of being second nature.
My youngest daughter took a long time to potty train and was quite resistant about it. I just asked her the other day (she is now 10 years old) if she remembers being potty trained and she said no. Wasn't she always trained?
Your precious child will get there, too.
How to start potty training - Step 2.
- Check your own readiness signs.
What do I mean by that? Simply that your toddler will take nearly all her cues from you, Mom or Dad. If you are negative or frustrated, hurried, impatient, unfocused or just plain grumpy concerning how to start potty training, chances are you'll see those same attitudes from your child, sooner or later.
Check your schedule, too. For the initial stages of toilet training, you'll want to focus in depth on teaching your child. That means taking at least one day and often several days, if possible, of scheduling regular trips to the potty seat, say every one half hour to hour at first.
Keep lots of water going in your toddler at this stage of potty training. Cups of water, milk, or popsicles are good. That will help your child need to pee often and eventually this will happen on the potty chair. Yah!!
If this still seems confusing or if you like a step-by-step guide you can follow that will also address many common but frustrating potty training issues, I recommend you take a look at this potty training guide.
It will keep you moving confidently in the right direction during the ups and downs of potty training.
How to start potty training - Step 3.
- Gather your toilet training materials.
How to start potty training? First, plan this out. You'll need some or all of the following, depending upon your own teaching style and the personality of your toddler.
Many of these types of things you might already have around your home if you think creatively. Some you might be able to borrow from friends already past this stage of toilet training. Certainly you can purchase the toilet training aids that you think will help your child the most.
I would suggest that you don't go out and purchase everything upfront, however. Decide on two or three training aids and most importantly - decide how you're going to use them effectively with your particular child.
Always have two or three ways of using each training aid. Keeps the interest up for your child and the frustration down for you!
And remember, this is a process not an event. What interests your child the first week of potty training may look very different than what will interest him in 6 months when he hits a rough spot. That's fine. Plan for it!
Once you get a good idea of how to start potty training for your own particular child and situation, your confidence will soar and, by extension, so will your child's.
Enjoy the potty training process with your child. It's only the first of many teaching times you'll have together.
Popular potty training topics.
Potty Training Child
A list of all of our articles to help you while potty training your child.
Toilet Training Tips
Many times just one new piece of toilet training advice that I hadn't considered before was just the help I needed to help my child over a potty training hump.
Potty Training Boy
Additional tips to help if you are potty training a boy (I've trained two boys myself).
Potty Training Girls
Specific tips to help potty training for girls move smoothly (I've trained two girls myself).
Colleen Langenfeld is a mother with over 29 years of parenting experience and helps other busy moms around the globe at www.paintedgold.com.
Note from Colleen: Remember, I earn my living making excellent recommendations to you, Mom, so when you choose to click any of the links on this website and make a purchase, I may earn a commission.
Naturally, that means I care about what you think! If you try a product or service I recommend, I'd love to hear from you. How else can I keep my recommendations top notch for all my visitors?
And thank you, for stopping by.
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