Potty training is one step forward for kids, as it helps them develop and have a sense of independence.
However, the smooth transition, often relies on how well parents understood the process.
Indeed, it requires patience and timing, with the necessary kits needed for the transition.
The first thing you need before you begin potty training is a better understanding of why you do it.
Potty training is not something you do because you want to save the money spent on diapers.
If you have that mentality you will force the child into it even before the child is ready. It is about helping the child develop and be independent.
As stated earlier, timing and patience are necessary to achieve a lot in a short time.
Timing In Potty Training
As a parent, you should give attention to the child to ascertain readiness.
A 2008 study on potty training for kids highlighted that “on average, neuromuscular development of bowel and bladder control is present by 18 months of age”.
However, it stated that other factors amenable to potty training, such as, communication and gross motor skills, and temperament, may not yet be appropriately developed at the age.
This means that some children may not be ready at 18 months.
Furthermore, the research says the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Canadian Paediatric Society suggest that potty training may commence between 18 and 24 months of age.
But parents should be informed that this training is a complex skill integrating physiological and behavioural processes.
Interestingly, girls are successfully trained approximately three months earlier than boys.
Both sexes achieving success by approximately three years of age.
That said, parents should pay attention to timing, as not starting at the right time could make the process longer.
A longer period of potty training could create parental anxiety and frustration.
When To Begin Potty Training
To make a child learn how to use the toilet all alone, experts recommend that you answer these questions
- Can your child walk to and sit on a toilet?
- Is the child able to pull down his or her pants and pull them up again?
- Can your child stay dry for up to two hours?
- Does the understand and follow basic directions?
- Can your child communicate when it is time to poo?
- Does your child seem interested in using the toilet or wearing “big-kid” underwear?
If your answer to these questions are more NO than YES, you should give the child a little more time.
Patience And How To Begin
First, you must understand that children are also emotional. As a result, the words you use while potty training them must be well chosen. Always remember that children are also emotional.
There are two basic potty training methods that the study recommends for parents. We looked at these methods in this article.
Choosing A Potty
One thing to give attention to is the kind of potty you get for your child. Ensure that the pot is removeable and that it is also easy to do. preferably it should be removed from the upper part.
The child should be able to remove the pot and empty it.
Get a doll that you could use to teach the child, guiding the child on how to remove the doll’s shots and sit the doll on the potty.
However, to make the process fast, researches recommend two methods.
Child-Oriented Toilet Training Method
Here, the objective is to prevent problems when a child is learning bowel and bladder control.
Basically, parents must be patient while they train the child.
Training proceeds slowly and allows for periods of child disinterest or negativity that can be common in this age group.
The method suggests that when there is a breakdown at any time during training, parents should stop training and reassure the child that it is not their fault and they will learn when ready.
Parents are also required to pay attention to the child’s gross motor (walking and sitting) and language skills, and psychological readiness.
These will determine if the child is ready.
“The child should desire autonomy and self-mastery, be secure with parents and wish to please them, and wish to identify with and imitate important people in their life. In addition, the parents must be ready to toilet train.”
Also, parents are advised to begin with emptying the diaper each time the child poos into the potty while explaining to the child that bowel movements belong in the potty.
Foxx and Azrin’s Method Of Toilet Training In Less Than One Day
For parents who want their child to grab potty training in a day, this is the method to try.
Here, the objective is to teach the child to go to the toilet without reminders or assistance.
According to the study, the training begins at approximately 20 months of age.
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“A child is ready to begin training when they have achieved bladder control, are aware when they are about to urinate, possess physical dexterity to complete toilet training-related tasks and can follow instructions.”
This is the method that involves the use of dolls to intimate toileting and specific actions.
Also, this method recommends pretraining exercises.
You can teach the child to assist in dressing and undressing, allowing the child to watch others toilet and explain the steps (use of doll), and teaching them toileting words and how to follow instructions.
When the child is capable of following an instruction but chooses not to, the parent must make the child follow the instruction without temper tantrums that may discourage progress.
Stimulate Frequency In Use Of Toilet
If you are adopting this method, ensure that training is conducted in a room. The room should contain minimal distractions and have a potty that has an easily removable pot.
A doll that wets can demonstrate the urination process.
We all love it when we get a pat on the back. Parents should also “provide immediate and varied positive reinforcement (eg, comments, hugs and stickers) for every instance of a correct toileting skill and does not reinforce nontoileting acts”.
“When an accident occurs, the parent delivers a verbal reprimand, omits reinforcement, makes the child change their wet pants and conducts 10 rapid ‘positive practice’ sessions.”
There is also need to stimulate a frequent desire to urinate by giving the child more liquid. Parent will observe the frequency and also instruct the child to use the potty.
Making Potty Training Fun
To make potty training fun, study and understand their sequence of elimination – when they wake up and after food.
Make the potty time a singing time, by creating a song around the process or the activity.
Also, parents are encouraged to appreciate the child when they achieve a milestone – like agreeing to sit on the potty.
Ensure that the potty is at a specific location of interest to the child. You can make them use their favourite toys when they sit on the potty.
Finally, ensure that the potty you are using is as attractive as possible. This makes Potty training easy, as it attracts the child’s attention.
Kindly share this article with your friends and loved ones to help parents or parents-to-be know how best to potty train a child.