How to Make and Personalize Your Own Potty Training Chart

The best method for motivating a child, is to provide positive reinforcement. This is true when it comes to doing good deeds and being successful in school and sports. Potty training is also an area where positive reinforcement can lead to success. Toddlers deserve the verbal praise during various stages of potty training but they also need the visual reward as well. Some parents may promise a toddler one piece of candy for going "tee-tee" and two pieces of candy for going "poo-poo." That immediate reward is great initially but could get old after a while. If that is the case you may consider using a potty training chart. Potty training charts can be made and personalized very easily.

Make a Potty Training Chart on the Computer

A potty training chart can easily be made on the computer by using a word processing program such as Microsoft Word. To do this open a Word document and go to "Insert Table." You can then decide on the size of your chart. The maximum that is allowed in this function is a 4 x 5 chart. If you want to represent a month you can choose a 4 x 5, then click on the "Table and Borders" button and use the "Pencil" to draw in two vertical lines to make it a 4 x 7 chart. You will then want to resize the cells. Move the cursor over the vertical lines until two arrows appear, you can then move the vertical lines left to right. You may also whish to make each cell larger. This can be done by clicking inside of one cell on each row and hitting enter until the cell is the size you desire.

Now it's time to personalize the potty training chart. Go to "Insert" and then click on "Text Box" and click above the chart you created. Move your cursor over the little boxes until you get an up and down arrow or a left to right arrow and use this to resize the text box. You can then click inside of the text box to add a title to the chart including the child's name in whatever font and color you like. It would look nicer to center the text in this box. Left click on the border of the text box until it is surrounded by a dotted border then right click and choose "Format Textbox." Left click on "Format Textbox" and you can now change the appearance of the text box. You may want to incorporate the child's favorite colors.

Search for images online that can be downloaded or copy and pasted onto the potty training chart. These images can be potty related such as a toilet, toilet paper, and a sink or they can be images of a character the child enjoys such as Elmo or Thomas the Train. If the child is working towards earning a big reward when a certain number of expected behaviors are displayed then you may include an image of that big reward.

How to Use the Potty Training Chart

Before implementing the use of the potty training chart decide what the goal is. Are you at the beginning stages of potty training and just want the child to get used to sitting on the potty? Is your goal to get the child to use the potty? Are you toward the end of the potty training stages and want the child to remain dry all day or all night? You decide. You will also need to decide before implementation, on how many stars or stickers need to be earned to receive a reward. Is it three in a row, a complete week, or a month of stars? It is best to start low and set achievable goals that can be adjusted each time it is met.

Whatever the goal may be, it is a good idea to include details about how to earn stars or stickers at the bottom of the chart so the expectation is clear to the child and anyone else who might help the child with potty training. You will reward the child with a sticker or star in a cell each time the expected behavior is displayed. If using stickers, praise the child each time the expected behavior is performed and reward the sticker. This is the immediate reinforcer. Let the child delight in the achievement by having him or her place it on the potty training chart.

Us the potty training chart to celebrate every little step in what can be a challenging time.