Potty Training Made Simple

The first trick to successful potty training is knowing when your child is ready. Signs of readiness may appear as early as 18 months or earlier but that may not mean your child is ready to be potty trained at that age. A child must be ready physically and mentally. Some common signs that your child is physically ready include dry diapers for several hours, the ability to undress, and the vocabulary to express his or her need to use the toilet. The mental readiness signs may include a desire to be changed immediately, an interest in watching others use the toilet, and an understanding of what his or her body is doing. Once these and possibly other signs are present, the actual training may begin. This may happen as early as 18 months or may not happen until closer to the child's third birthday. Regardless of the age, potty training does not have to be intense and stressful.

Probably one of the easiest methods I've used was to simply allow the child to be bare bottomed while at home for several days. This may not work well if you have carpeting but generally the child does not like the feel of urine running down their legs and has a desire to have clothing on instead. If you explain to the child they can wear pants once they use the potty, many quickly comply. If bare bottomed is not an option, you may want to try pants only without a diaper or underwear. It has a similar effect of being bare bottomed without the nudity. Be prepared, however, for the child to hide during a bowel movement. It may take a few tries for them to know what to do during a bowel movement. If your child has an bowel movement on the floor, you may wish to have them watch you deposit it into the toilet while you explain that it belongs in there. Using this method rarely takes very long. It can be messy while it lasts but is the most simple method, requiring no out of pocket expense.

Another popular method is similar to the bare bottomed method with just one variation. Instead of having your child run around the house bare bottomed, you may chose to have them wear new underwear. This is especially helpful if you allow your child to pick out his or her underwear. Character underwear works very well if you tell your child that their favorite character doesn't want to get wet or dirty. At this age favorite characters are like best friends to a child so they are likely to want their friends to stay dry and clean. The added benefit of this method is the built in reward of new underwear. Using this method can also get messy and you'll want to have a large stash of underwear available. You will most likely be washing on a daily basis for the first few days. A bonus tip for parents using this method, no matter how tempting it is, do not wash the underwear with bleach. As parents who have used cloth diapers will already know, washing soiled underwear with bleach can create a really bad odor. It's best to just rinse them out and wash with hot water and regular detergent (a no bleach added type). Line drying in the sun is best but not always practical so using a dryer is fine. There is the expense of buying the underwear but that is a necessary expense you would have had no matter what method you chose to use.

The third method I would recommend is a mix of the other two with the addition of a reward system. Most people prefer a simple sticker chart where the child earns a sticker for each successful trip to the potty with a larger prize after a set amount of stickers. I do like this method, however, I have discovered one flaw. Some children are not as easy to train and the training period may last for longer than expected with few successes and many accidents. It may be possible that a child will master urination very quickly but struggle with bowel movements. When a basic sticker chart is used in these cases, it is possible for the child to earn the reward before being successfully trained. At that point, the whole reason for the reward system will be defeated and it will be even harder to get the child completely trained. I prefer a variation of the simple sticker chart which allows for a mark, a sad faced sticker, or an empty space to be be left for every accident. With this variation, instead of earning the reward after a set number of positive stickers, the child would earn the reward after a set number of days with all positive stickers, perhaps seven, ten or fourteen days. This method will have all the messes as the other two methods and the added expense of the stickers and reward but is much more fun for the child. The sticker chart will show the positive progress of the training which will be more uplifting to the parent than the pile of laundry detailing the not so positive aspects.

The final method I have used with my own children with a certain degree of success was what I called "Big Kid day". Once my child showed the signs of being ready, we would set aside one day to completely focus on them. Starting the day before the "big day" we would talk to the child about how they were going to be a big kid now and big kids used the potty not diapers. Then with the child's help we would plan out a full day of activities based on the child's likes. Starting first thing in the morning on the big day we would ceremoniously rid the house of all and any diapers or pull ups belonging to that child (with the exception of a secret stash we kept in case night time dryness still seemed to be an issue). Throughout the day the child would be taken to the bathroom frequently and each success was rewarded with a new game or activity. In a sense it was like having a carnival at home with a successful potty trip as admission for the various venues. Even though it seems completely contrary to common sense, you may wish to allow your child to eat salty foods and drink sugary drinks. This will increase the opportunities for them to need the bathroom, which can mean that by the end of the day, bathroom trips will seem routine which is the main goal of potty training. To be honest, I have yet to have a child actually become fully trained by the end of this one day, however, they were much more likely to be fully trained within less than a week of this one day experience. The trick here is to give them the one big day and then follow up with smaller excitement during the subsequent days. Perhaps ont he "big day" you may have an all out dress-up and modeling session in your living room after a successful potty trip, on the second day you may scale that back to a 5 minute puppet show. On the first day you may decorate your entire bathroom with party decor, on the second day you may just leave up a few strands of streamers. This method is incredibly fun for the child.. As wth the other methods, it can be messy at first but due to the quick training, the mess does not typically last for long. This is possibly one of the more expensive methods depending on just how big you wish to make the "big day" but it doesn't have to cost very much. Most of the games and activities are things you already have around the house. The party supplies can be kept as simple as balloons and streamers enabling you tyo buy a large quantity for a low cost. Dollar type stores often have these types of theings.

And finally, the best trick or tip I can share is kindness and patience. A child will learn to use the potty much more easily in a calm environment. This is not a time to discipline the child for accidents. Give your child tons of praise and reassurance throughout the training and you will have a diaper free child in no time!