Helpful Hints for Potty Training

So your child was showing all the signs of being ready to potty train but now, you started and hit a roadblock.

Explaining to your toddler that going potty is a normal process of life and everyone does it, even animals is not the answer but it is a start. However, kiddos don’t always learn by rational talk –some times they have to see it with you or perhaps other kids. Find some educational and entertaining videos of their favorite characters learning to go potty like Elmo uses the Potty. Be sure to involve other family members in the process and emphasize the importance of consistency during this process – it really does take a village. If you are comfortable let your kid see you use the bathroom and flush explaining the process as you go (it can be embarrassing but if it works – who cares?).

Make a special trip to the store and purchase new underwear with your toddler. Let them have a voice in what you get. The underwear will have much more significance if your toddler helped choose them.

Overalls, pants with lots of buttons, snaps or zips, tight or restrictive clothing and oversized shirts will all be an obstacle to your child during this process. Put these kinds of clothes away for the time being. Better yet let your child run around naked or at least pantless (weather permitting of course).

Try a strategy like using pull up and if it doesn’t work after a month it may be time to try something else. For my son it was better to not use pull ups because they were just like diapers, we let him go commando – worked like a charm (only pee at first we will talk poop later – that was a challenge all on its own). For our neighbor she found some “special” thicker underwear specifically for potty training online that worked really well. Remember, to be flexible and don’t be afraid to back off if your kiddo gets obstinate about going to the potty.

Remember all kids are different and not all of them will respond to the same thing. To get my son to poop in the potty it took a full year (and a lot of different approaches) after he could pee in the potty on his own. At this age kids have unrational fears that no matter what rational explanation you give they will hold on to it. Be patient and creative. To finally get my son to poop in the potty we cut a hole in the diaper for 5 days and each time the hole got bigger and soon enough he stopped asking for a diaper. It was something about the security of having a diaper on while sitting on the potty.

Praise your child for each successful trip to the potty for my son it was high fives and kisses, and comfort them when accidents happen and try to remain patient and calm when they do have accidents. Just keep trying and be creative.

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