Tips for potty training your children and making the adjustment from diapers to pants.
No other milestone in a young child's life is as dreaded by parents as potty training. Because parents feel so much pressure to potty train their child at two years of age, they tend to force the issue on their child, which only leads to more stress and anxiety.
The key to potty training is relaxation: let nature take its course, but push it along a little bit. Every child is different and matures and learns at a different pace. Only you are best to judge when your child is ready for potty training. Also, training methods can be different for boys and girls. If you feel that they are ready at the age of two, here are a few tips to help nature run its course.
First, become familiar with your child's schedule. Know when he or she wets or soils their diaper. Before actually introducing them to the potty, let them become familiar and unashamed with using it. Explain how mommy and daddy use the toilet "because they are big people" and ask if they want to be "a big person, too." They key here is to ask - don't tell. If they so no, they don't want to be a big person, tell them that's okay, too, but keep talking about the potty without forcing it. If they warm up to the idea, take their diaper off completely and let them have their breakfast while sitting on the potty watching "Barney" or Sesame Street". If they go in the potty, it is probably by pure coincidence, but be sure to praise them and make a big deal out of this "big person." If your child is comfortable not wearing a diaper or pants, let him. It's much easier to catch them and put them on the potty and it also makes them aware of what they are doing.
The new variety of pull-up diapers should be used if you are going out or at bedtime, but try using regular "training pants" if you are staying inside for the day. Take your child on a shopping trip and let him/her choose her favorite pants, maybe with their favorite cartoon character. When you put the training pants on your child, tell them to make sure to use the potty because they don't want to get "Spiderman" all wet. There are bound to be accidents, but do not scold your child or make him feel bad as this will only make him want to go back to wearing diapers.
If your child is still taking a bottle, it will be harder to gauge his potty-habits, so breaking him of the bottle should come before potty training. Do not do both at once as this will be far too traumatic for your child.
Potty training can take anywhere from two weeks to a year depending on you and your child. You play as important a role as your child does in this process. Do not let your life and your child's life revolve around the potty. Treating potty training very casually and matter-of-factly usually yields better results than constant nagging and threats. Be patient - as they say, no child has gone to school wearing diapers!
