Max Child Care

To make potty training as smooth a process as possible for you and your toddler, take a moment to learn what tends to work ­ and what doesn’t. What works:

  1. Waiting until your child is ready: There’s no magic age for being ready to start learning to use the potty. Most toddlers develop the necessary physical and mental skills between 18 and 24 months, while some kids aren’t there until closer to age 3 or even 4. Keep an eye out for physical, cognitive, and behavioral signs that your toddler might be ready to give it a try.

    If your toddler is facing changes such as a new school, a new sibling, or travel, you may want to wait till the seas are calmer before taking the plunge.

    Once you do start, if you’ve been trying for several weeks without success, that’s a sign your toddler’s not ready. Wait a few more weeks ­ or until you see signs that the time is right ­ and try again.

  2. Making a plan: Before you even buy your toddler a potty seat, it’s important to have a plan for the training process itself. Decide when and how you want to start, how to handle accidents, when to back off, and so on.

    At the same time, prepare to be flexible. There’s no way to know how your child will respond to potty training attempts or what techniques will work best. Keep in mind that as with most developmental milestones, success doesn’t necessarily happen in a linear fashion ­ your toddler may make initial progress only to regress at one or more points along the way.
    Discuss your plan with your nanny or Dm.

  3. Taking it slow: Mastering the various steps of potty training can take a long time. Yes, some children will have it nailed in just a few days, but most need weeks or even months, especially when they’re working on staying dry at night.

    Don’t push your toddler to get through potty training faster than he/she is ready to. Let him/her take their time and get used to this new, multipart process. He/she will move from one stage to the next at their own speed. Of course, it’s perfectly all right to try to motivate with gentle reminders and encouragement. If he/she balks, though, ease up.

  4. Praising your child: Throughout potty training, your toddler will respond to positive reinforcement. Whenever he moves on to a new step or tries to use his potty (even when he doesn’t quite succeed), tell him/her that he/she is doing well and that you’re proud of him/her. Compliment him/her now and then on his dry underpants or diaper.
    But be careful not to go overboard: Too much praise might make him/her nervous and afraid to fail, which can lead to more accidents and setbacks.

  5. Accepting that there will be accidents: It’s likely your toddler will have numerous accidents before being completely potty-trained. Don’t get angry or punish him/her. After all, it’s only recently that their nervous system has matured enough for them to perceive the sensation of a full bladder or rectum and that their muscles have developed sufficiently to allow them to hold in their urine and stool.

 

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