Potty Training: The Transition to Being a Big Boy/Big Girl

Each child is unique when it comes to potty training, and determining if it is time for your little guy or gal to give up the diapers and start using the potty is challenging. Be forewarned, however; potty training (even though many parents claim it is easy) can become a huge undertaking. And don?t plan on junior giving up his Pampers cold turkey. Potty training takes time and patience.

No More Diapers!

Toddlers are an extremely stubborn lot, and this spills over to their toileting habits. There is no cure-all technique or fix-all method for potty training, but it is a mix of trial and error and elbow grease. Moving the child out of diapers is best accomplished when there is tangible motivation and rewards involved. Your reward will be not buying any more expensive diapers and not having to pull diaper duty.

When you get ready to begin potty training, make sure you and the child are ready because there really is no turning back. There is no specific age to begin toilet training, but anytime after 18 months is good. You will know when the time is right for your child; some parents start their child off on potty training even earlier than 18 months, while some may wait until the child is two years old or even three years old.

Training Pants & Potty Chairs

Once you have made the determination that your child is ready to give up his baby diaper for big boy pants, find some underwear style training pants for him to wear ? either the disposable kind like ?Pull-ups? or the reusable/washable variety.

You might even consider allowing the child to be present when you purchase the training pants and allow them to choose which they like best. Splurging a little bit on the purchase of some underwear that is emblazoned with the child?s favorite cartoon character is also a good idea; this adds more interest to the item from the child?s perspective. When you buy the training pants, don?t look back. Get rid of all the diapers in your home and make sure that the child sees you throw them in the trash.

Reverting back to diapers will only delay the potty training process and may reinforce any apprehension the child has with wearing training pants. You will also want to purchase a child size potty chair, or a special seat that fits on top of your toilet.

Getting Started

Once you have begun to put training pants on your child, it is important that you ask the child often throughout the day if he needs to go to the potty. Expect the child to forget the fact that you?re trying to potty train him; he needs to be prompted for the first few weeks (or months in some children) to go to the potty. He may not actually go each time, but when he does, be sure to pile on the praise and let him know what a ?big boy? he is becoming.

The goal at the end of the process is to have the child be able to potty independently without your assistance or prompting, but that can be a long road and patience will be needed to achieve it. On average, it takes around eight months to fully potty train a child ? and some may need a full year to achieve independent toileting patterns.

Tips to Remember

The following tips will help you as you work with your child to develop appropriate toileting skills:

? Let the child feel as in control of the process as possible; this means not dressing them in clothing that is difficult to get off or that has multiple buttons and snaps. Elasticized pants that are easy to pull up and down are ideal.

? Place the potty chair next to the toilet, and have a potty chair for each bathroom in the home that the child might use.

? Consider a potty chair that changes colors in the bottom when the child urinates; kids love to see that happen and will sometimes go to the potty just for that reason.

? Purchase some children?s books on potty training and read them to your child to reinforce the skills you are working on together.

? Create a reward chart and give the child a special sticker to place on the chart when he uses the potty; place the chart down low on the refrigerator so that he can get to it easily.

? Never scold the child when he has an accident; potty training has a learning curve and he will eventually get it right!

Carol has been advising mums on the very best New baby pushchairs to buy for over 30 years. She welcomes all questions on what to buy and why. So if you want to buy Travel Systems please feel free to ask

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