Once your child begins to exhibit signs of readiness for potty training, you should get the process started by buying some pull-up style diapers.
So, you think you're ready to get rid of diapers? Before you begin potty training your child, you should make sure that he or she is ready for this big step. If you start potty-training before you child is ready, it could become a very frustrating a humiliating process for your child, and it will be very hard on you as well. Every child is different and unique when it comes to potty-training readiness, but the average age is two years old. The average range is anywhere between eighteen months and three years. If your child is over three years old and has not yet exhibited readiness signs, you should consult your pediatrician.
There are several clues to look for in order to determine whether or not your son or daughter is ready to kick the diaper habit. For one, your child tells you know when he or she has wet the diaper or when he or she is about to do so. Other signs are that he or she wakes up from naps with a dry diaper or stays dry while you are on short outings. If your child is ready to be potty-trained, he or she knows the difference between a dirty diaper and a clean one, and he or she takes bowel movements at around the same time of day most days. It is likely that your child will express an interest in using the potty and may be very interested in what the rest of your family does when they are on the potty.
Once you have determined that your child is prepared to begin this potty-training process, the first thing that you should do is buy some pull-up diapers. Explain to your child that these are for "big boys" or "big girls." Tell your child that when he or she feels like going tinkle or poopy (or whatever your preferred excrement terminology is), to tell you, and the two of you will go to the toilet. Accidents happen, and you shouldn't yell at your child for the occasional slip-up, especially during the first few weeks of training. If your child goes to the potty during the day but has some accidents at nighttime, you are on the right track - that's why you're using pull-up diapers instead of real underwear at first, after all. Keep in mind that your child knows that there is the "security blanket" of the diaper even though he or she is supposed to use the potty - sometimes laziness wins out, and your child will neglect going to the potty.
Once your child has mastered the pull-ups during the day, you can move to real underwear. Continue putting a pull-up on your child for bedtime until he or she has dry nights with some consistency. The switch to cotton underwear during the day will be a huge confidence boost for your child. To make him or her feel even more proud of the accomplishment, you should allow your child to pick out the underwear him or herself at the store of your choice. Other ways to encourage your child through rewards are by putting a sticker on the calendar every day that there are no accidents.
If your child is not taking to potty training as positively as you would have wished or expected, there are several potty training aids on the market today. For example, there are many books and videos that turn potty training into an easy-for-a-child-to-understand story and lesson. "Once Upon a Potty" (made for him or her) is one of the best potty video collections out there. If you are really making no progress after several weeks of attempted training, you should definitely speak to your child's doctor in order to rule out any medical conditions that could be impeding your child's progress.
