Potty Training Method

I hope you find this method useful and good luck!

Potty Training Method: At What Age Should I Start Potty Training? One of the biggest mistakes a parent can make in potty training is waiting too long to start. Virtually all children can be potty trained at the age of 22 months and can be trained in as few as three days.

Many mums and dads that say that their child doesn't talk well or they don't understand everything that is said to them. Your child does not need to know how to talk well. He or she does not need to be able to say "Mummy, I need to go to the bathroom because I need to use the potty." Baby talk and non-verbal communication work just as well.

Your child must not be going to bed with a bottle or cup. This is very Important, otherwise it’s impossible for your child to wake up dry. For those parents that would like to potty training their child under the age of 22 months there is a test you can do to check to see if your child is ready. This test only needs to be done if your child is under the age of 22 months old.

Pre 22 month test: - • Stop giving your child liquids about 2 hours before bedtime. • Put a clean nappy on your child just before putting them down for bed. • In the morning, just before your child wakes up, check the nappy. If your child’s nappy is dry then your child is ready to potty train.

Potty Training Method: Are you ready? It may sound like a funny question to be asking because it’s the child that’s being potty trained. The reason I ask this question is because many parents will jump into this without fully giving it their all or being truly prepared. You must be willing to follow it completely and to be mentally prepared for what will come. You must mentally and emotionally be prepared to have an ugly mess on your hands - changing potty nappies is much easier than changing potty underwear. Potty training is going to be one of the most emotional, stressful, frustrating and difficult things you will do in a very long time.

If you’re a working mum (or Dad), you will need to take time off from work. You will need around three days to work with your child. It’s important that you focus on the one child being potty trained and not get distracted with any other children. This isn’t always possible but it does help. You really do need to give your child 100% of your attention. Please do not start this method until you are completely prepared for this. Starting this method and then giving up in the middle of it will send mixed signals to your child. When you start, you must not quit.

Potty Training Method: Pre-Training Prep Work There are a few very important things you will need to do to make sure you have potty training success:-

1. You will need to pick the week when you know you will have no interruptions. You will need at least three days to dedicate to this so arrange with your spouse or other family members to take over the other household duties. so you can focus on purely potty training. 2. A week or two before you start this potty training method you should start to appear disgusted out when you change your child’s nappy. Say things like yuck, ewgh, sticky and make funny faces like you can’t stand the smell. Don’t laugh about it even if your child does. It’s supposed to be disgusting. 3. If you have used other methods and have not had success and are now trying this method you will need to give the potty training a break first. Stop talking about the potty and using the potty. Only let them use it if they ask. Just give it a break. Start fresh with this method after a couple of weeks. 4. Again, be mentally and emotionally prepared for this. Be ready to be consistent. Potty training requires a good deal of patience, consistency and encouragement.

Potty Training Method: Items Needed Before Starting You might already have these items in your home. If you do, that is super. If you don’t have these items you can easily find them at your local discount store. Potty Chair – some kids like a potty chair but most of my kids have preferred the big toilet. You can also try a potty seat to put on the big toilet.

Training pants - You probably need more underwear than what you think. You will need at least 20 pair. Do not purchase Pull-Ups as these are a waste of money and will confuse your child. If you’re going to use this method you can not use Pull-Ups. You also need to make sure you buy regular underwear, not the padded kind. Training pants will also confuse your child so please do not purchase these. You don’t need to buy all the same size underwear. You can purchase some that are a size or two bigger then what they need. After you are finished potty training you can put the bigger ones away until they grow into them. You shouldn’t be going anywhere during the three days of training and after the three days, there won’t be a need for anything like pull ups or rubber/waterproof unaware.

Wet Wipes - These are not a must but they do make clean up much easier. You don’t want to use or bring up the word “baby wipes” as you are training your child to be a “Big Kid”. You can buy these wipes and have them in the bathroom for a couple of days so your child knows those are big people wipes.

Liquids - Lots of liquids will be needed. Make sure to have plenty of your child’s favorite drinks on hand. You want to keep them drinking throughout the training. Water is always best and some parents worry about lots of sugar. If you are worried about the sugar then try sugar-free items. You child shouldn’t be drinking lots of milk during the process but if you can’t get your child to drink anything else then fair enough.

Treats - You will need to get snacks/treats. A salty snack sometimes help them drink more so you can also use bread sticks, crackers or celery filled with cream cheese.

Potty Training Method: Getting Started - Daytime Training Iiiitttttssss.... Potty Training Day!!!!

You must have no distractions and you have prepared yourself and your child. Potty Training is a lot of work but if you are dedicated and consistent the training process will go very fast.

To start you will need to make sure that everything is in order.

• Have your potty chair set up in your bathroom. Place the potty chair in the living room or kitchen. The child needs to learn to go to the bathroom. That’s where we need to teach them to do their thing. • Both you and your child should eat breakfast. Make sure to offer plenty of liquid to your child while he/she is eating. • Personally be ready for the day – Showered, teeth brushed, gone to the bathroom. You don’t want anything pulling you away from training once you’ve started. • Your child is only in a t-shirt and his/her nappy. Don’t have trousers or a dress on the child. It’s harder to see the accidents when they have them on.

Once these things are done you’re ready to start the potty training. Put the underwear on the child and tell them that they are “Big Boy/Girl Pants”. Make sure you call them that. Be sure to tell the child how big they look and how proud you are of them for being so big. They like being called big so remember to call your child a big boy or big girl often. Tell your child that they must keep their underwear dry. Now you will need to take your child and have them throw away all the unused nappies. There is no going back now. Tell your child that they don’t need those yucky baby nappies anymore. They’re big and all grown up! If at any time your child says he wants the nappy tell him that they are all gone. Make sure you stick to this. They might ask or even cry for them because of the comfort they have with them. After all, they’ve been wearing them for almost 2 years.

Bring your child into the bathroom with you and get down to his/her level. Explain to your child the purpose of the potty chair. Tell your child that it’s used to put wee and poo in and if he needs to go wee or poo that it needs to go in the potty and not in is new underwear. There is not need for a power struggle here. If your child cries at this point and says no, do not react just take them out of the bathroom and go to the next step. Talk with your child about being wet and dry. Do not ask your child if he’s wet, as you have already told your child that he must stay dry. The focus will be on the child staying dry not wet.

Remember to have the child check frequently. Each time your child checks their underwear and they are dry, really praise them. Make sure your child knows how proud you are of him/her for keeping the underwear “dry”. Tell your child to “tell mummy/daddy when you have to go to wee because you’re a big boy/girl.” make sure not to just “ask” the child if they need to go because you will probably always get the answer “no”. Instead try saying something like “You’re such a big girl. Mummy/Daddy is so proud of you. Be sure to tell mum/dad when you have to go, OK?” This will make the child think he has the control but it’s really you asking him if he needs to go.

Also remember to have your child check for dryness. You should be having the child check for dryness and telling them to tell you if they need to go every couple of minutes. You want to keep this in their mind at all times. Start offering your child their favorite drinks. Have them drink all day. If they seem tired of one kind of drink, try another. The more they drink the more they will need to go to the bathroom, which means more opportunities to train. Spend your day with the child. Get on the floor and play games, sit with your child to watch their favorite program on TV.

If the weather is good you can play in the backyard (as long as bathroom isn’t a mile away). Color with the child, clean the toy box with the child. Anything goes as long as you are right by the child’s side. You must not leave the child’s side. Staying with the child is the key to this program. It’s so important to catch them in the act of going pee or pooping each and every time. The more you catch your child in the act the faster the training will go. If your child is willing you can do role playing on what to do when they need to go wee or poo. Some kids like this and others do not.

When you see your child weeing or pooing in their pants, pick your child up in the middle of them going and run them to the bathroom and sit them on the toilet as fast as you can. Have them finish on the toilet. When you are picking them up don’t yell or call them bad. Just say “Yuck, your underwear is wet and that’s horrible. You’re a big boy/girl; you’re supposed to go wee/poo in the big boy/girl potty and keep your underwear dry.” If the child finishes in the toilet say “Good boy/girl, I knew you could do it!” Now give them a snack. Don’t say the snack is for going pee or pooping in the toilet.

You will repeat this over and over with each accident. Accidents are part of the training. Accidents help the training process succeed faster because it gives you the chance to show your child what to do and what not to do. Don’t ever make the child just sit on the toilet. This is a mistake a lot of parents make. They get so discouraged about the child weeing in their pants that they place them on the toilet and say that they are staying there until they go. Please do not do this. This causes the child to be scared of using the toilet and view the toilet as a punishment. If you make them just sit on the potty it will make the training harder and take longer.

You will probably need to do washing if you don’t have enough underwear. It’s OK and doesn’t mean that your child isn’t getting it. It will “click” for your child if you stay positive and stay consistent. When your child does tell you that he/she needs to go wee or poo, run with your child to the toilet and let them go. When they go, you need to go “crazy”.

Jump up and down and tell them how big they are and how proud you are of them. Tell them that they are so grown up. Keep clapping your hands and really make them feel good about themselves. Once they are done going you need to tell them “let’s call daddy at work” or “let’s call Aunty Jane”. Call anyone that will praise your child for being so big. The child needs to see and feel how great of an act it was for them to go in the potty. You should always act with great joy each and every time they go wee or poo in the toilet.

Some kids like sitting backwards on the toilet because they don’t feel as if they are going to fall in. This works well for both boys and girls.

Nap time - Yes it’s OK to put your child down for a nap during training. I personally have found that most kids will not have an accident if you have them go wee before the nap and then just as they wake up.

Potty Training Method: Getting Started - Nighttime Training About 2 - 3 hours before bedtime you will want to limit liquids or stop them completely. Have your child go to wee on the potty chair before going to bed for the night. You might have a little wait on your hands and some “role playing” before they go but once they go you can put them in bed then follow these steps:

• 30 minutes after your child has gone to sleep wake him/her and have them go wee and put them back to bed. • Just before you go to bed, wake the child again and have them go wee again and put them back down. • 30 minutes before your child usually wakes up in the morning, wake him and have him go wee in the toilet.

What these steps do is train your child to wake and go wee when he has the urge. You do not need to do these steps if your child usually wakes up dry anyway. If the child does have an accident in the middle of the night, get up and change the sheets making sure to say ewgh! And tell the child to tell you when he needs to go wee. Put the child back down for the night.

Potty Training Method: What about Pooing? Potty training for “pee” and “poo” should happen simultaneously as they will be taught the same way and at the same time. However, some children have a hard time with going to “poo” on the potty when they are first potty trained.

If the regular method doesn’t work for the pooing part, try the following: Sit down with your child and have him help you make a chart. Tell him that you will give him a star for each time he goes poo in the potty. Let him know that after he gets 10 stars he will get a “….” (Make it something he really wants.) Stay consistent, give a high fiber diet to help keep things from getting “tight” and to catch them in the act each and every time.

With any and all “pooing” accidents you should really overreact to the mess. Overreact more then you do about the wee messes. Make sure to keep reacting to the mess the whole time you are cleaning it up. Don’t make them think you are upset with him, but that you are disappointed about having to clean up all that mess.

Potty training for poo should be easier than potty training for wee once your toddler gets the idea and you should have less "didn't get to the potty in time accidents", hopefully.

Potty Training Method: Consistency Consistency is the reason why some parents can potty train faster then others. Consistency is crucial to your child’s potty training success. If you truly want potty training to be successful and quick then you as the parent must be willing to be consistent and follow through.

Children pick up on things faster when conditions remain consistent. When you are not consistent with your child, he or she will get the idea that it’s ok to do things wrong. If you always remain consistent then your child will understand what is expected of them and they will potty train much faster. If you can’t be consistent with your child you will find that following this or any other method will simply be unsuccessful.

Constancy applies to not only potty training but bringing up children in general - try to be consistent with your kids whenever you can.

Potty Training Method: Relapses Some kids lose interest in the potty, some kids use the potty as a way to get attention, some kids will even use it to compete with something like a new baby or moving to a new house.

Listed below are some possible relapses your child could face and how to deal with them. Keep in mind that slightly damp underwear are not and should not be considered a relapse. Damp underwear just show that your child is controlling the urge to wee. He is showing control which is a good thing.

• After being potty trained for a little while some kids realize that taking time to go “wee” or “poo” is an interruption to their play time or will procrastinate until it’s too late and will just wee or poo their underwear instead of taking the time out to go to the potty chair. • This type of relapse can be avoided by occasionally telling the child that you are proud of them for being a big boy/girl and that you appreciate them not messing in their underwear. If these accidents continue you will need to look at these as behavior problems and quickly put a stop to them with disciplinary action. Use the same type of disciplinary action you would normally use for bad behaviour. Be firm, be consistent. If the bad behavior continues you will need to increase the punishment until he/she recognizes that it’s not worth it. Here are some steps that have helped cure the bad behaviour or messing their underwear:- • At the beginning of the day sit her down and tell your child that if he poops his pants he will have time out. Don't say anything else but that. When he has an accident, don't react. Get a clean pair of underwear for him and tell him to clean himself up. Don't react! Have him clean himself up. When he's done, take his hand and put him on a chair facing the corner. Put a timer on and make him sit for 6 minutes. After 6 minutes, tell him that she must keep his underwear clean. Just keep repeating this. Without you reacting....he will stop. • Some children are simply looking for attention. They will mess themselves not because they were playing, not because they were procrastinating, just outright doing it for attention. • This type of relapse can be easily fixed. Make sure the child knows that you are displeased with their actions but then afterwards spend some time with your child. Children need the love and attention from their parents. As parents we all so often get distracted that we don’t always remember to take the time out for one on one with our children.

The sweet joys of a new baby. Everyone is so excited and mummy is busy with the new baby. People come in and out of the house and all want to see the baby. What about the “big boy/girl”? Yup that “big boy/girl” could have a little jealousy problem with the new baby and will have accidents to get some attention. This type of relapse can be avoided all together. By talking to your child before the baby comes about the baby and about how the baby will be wearing diapers because he can’t walk and go to the potty chair will help your child. Talk to your child about helping you with the new baby. Call them your “helper”. Make them know that they will be part of this. If they still have accidents for attention follow the steps above.

Potty Training Method: Older Children Children older then about 2 ½ years old are a little harder to potty train. They are resistant to change and are getting set in their ways. They have a “habit” of using a nappy to go pee or poo in. Stopping to go wee or poo in the toilet hasn’t gotten in the way of playing and they don’t want it to either.

The same method of training a younger child is the same for an older child but consistency is even more important. When you start this method you must not stop. Be consistent and positive and make sure to always catch them in the middle of their accidents. Older children can understand reasoning a little better so you can explain more and expect more from them.

Potty Training Method: Nursery/Kindergarten If your child is at nursery be sure to discuss with them your plan. Explain to them that when your child returns to daycare that they’re not to put a pull-up or nappy on the child.

If your nursery provider is not on board with you then you might have a set back or two. There are many good nursery providers out there and they are willing to work with the parents but there are some that want nothing to do with helping the parents out. They want the child in a pull-up or nappy until they leave for school. If your nursery provider is one that isn’t willing to support you during this training you might need to spend an extra day or two at home to make sure that there are no more accidents and that the child is confident in his new skill.

Potty Training Method: Tips If your spouse wants to help or you want your spouse to help during the three days of training, please make sure you are both on the same page and both understand the method. Consistency is important, regardless if it’s with mum or dad and the child needs to see and understand that.

As noted earlier, if you have tried any other methods or have used pull-ups in the past, you should take a break from potty training. Give it a couple of weeks without pressure and then start fresh. You can let the child use the potty only if they ask while you are waiting to start. Again it’s so important to stay close to the child through the whole potty training process. You must catch the child in the act of going every single time. The more you catch the child the faster the training will go. Some parents are worried that they aren’t seeing in progress during the first or second day. That’s ok, but still remember to stay consistent. It will click in a few days.

Don’t let your child run around naked during potty training. It doesn’t help and it’s teaching a bad habit.

------About the Author---- Tim Jackson is a Dad of two. He created and perfected this method on his two sons. You can find a huge wealth of potty training information on his Potty Training Website here: -
http://pottytrainingmethod.blogspot.com