Potty Training

     It is physically impossible for one human being to force another human being to eat, fall asleep or go to the bathroom. That is why we parents are in trouble when we tell our children to do one of these things - because we can’t make them do it and they will prove that to us.

     Although potty training often creates a great amount of parental concern, it really doesn’t need to. It is more comfortable and convenient to use toilets than to sit around in a soiled diaper. Sooner or later, every child will realize that. No one goes to Senior Prom in diapers.

     Training is education. A young child learns by observing and imitating his parents. He learns that Mommies and Daddies pee and poop in the toilet by watching – just try to go to the bathroom without your 2 year-old following you. The most important incentive for a child is his parent’s encouragement and approval, so forget charts, stars and (even worse) treats. Children soon get bored with artificial rewards. The next most important way to help mold behavior is to act as if you expect the child to behave properly – don’t nag, argue or act like there is any option. Once your toddler understands what toilets are for, gentle encouragement with appropriate praise will usually do the rest. Don’t fight, force him to sit on the toilet, punish him for not using the toilet or create any kind of negative experience.  Without any big announcements, start using pull-ups as diapers. The good thing about pull-ups is that you can pull them down and back up again. It gives the child more control of the situation. The parent can say, “Do you need any help?” (Even if they say “no”, keep the door open – at first, they’ll need help and you don’t want them getting frustrated with the process.) As the pull-ups stay dry longer and longer, the parent can start the day by asking “Is today a pull-up day or a underpants day?” If the child chooses underpants and then soils them, the parent says (without anger), “ We made a mistake – it was a pull-up day” and puts the child in pull-ups for the rest of the day.  Don’t follow your toddler around the house changing soiled underpants because “he doesn’t like pull-ups”. Use pull-ups during the night even when days are dry.

     You can improve your success rate by eliminating the milk and juice between meals and before bed. This gives parents one more reason to have the “One glass of milk with meals and only water between meals” rule. Your child will eat better at meals, have less risk for obesity, have healthier teeth AND potty train more easily.