At Your Wits End With Potty Training? 7 Tips To Try Today!
Every new parent gets to the potty training stage, and it feels like a big moment, right? So big, in fact, you think you ought to get some help from someone? Family? Daycare? Someone, ANYONE?!
Well, if you've been left wondering what to do when daycare is not helping with potty training, and if you've thought 'I'm at my wits end with potty training, diapers forever can't be so bad?' then you've come to the right place, and just in time too!
These 7 potty training tips will make the whole potty training stage much more manageable, helping your little one get trained quicker, all while keeping parents calm.
Sound like bliss? Then read on to find out more!
1. Breathe - Now Might Not Be The Right Time
Not the tip you want to hear, we know, but it's certainly the one you need to hear. Take a moment, and just realize that there is absolutely no pressure for your child to be using the potty right now - whatever their age.
Sure, it's a good idea to encourage your little one at around 2 and a half years old if they have shown no interest in potty training before then (what with pre-school coming up and all) but that's sort of the key point - interest.
If your child isn't showing interest at 1, 1 and a half, 2... then just wait. Your child won't appreciate potty training if they aren't interested in it.
They'll become interested in their own time, because watching all the grown-ups use the toilet will naturally make them want to as well. As soon as they've shown interest, then you can move on, and everything will be much easier!
2. Put The Potty In Their Hands (Not Literally)
This is the key to getting your child interested if they haven't shown interest yet, and also the key to holding their interest in potty training too.
Their potty is, well, their potty, so they should have a say in what it looks like. The best thing you can do at the start of the potty training phase is take your little one shopping for their potty. Let them pick it out (even if that means yet another thing in your house with Peppa Pig's face on it) because it'll keep your child interested in going.
When the potty belongs to them, they want to use it more. And if they ever look like they're losing interest in potty training, remind them of the amazing potty they picked out, and how grown up they're being by seeing their potty training through until the end.
3. Choose 'Big Kid' Underwear For When They're Done
Another shopping trip for you now, but something you can do at the same time as picking out the potty. Get your child to go shopping for some 'big kid' underwear with you.
Let them pick them out, but make it clear to them you're getting these for when they have finished their potty training so they can move on to wearing their big kid underwear.
This gives your child an incentive to keep progressing with their potty training. Whether it's an awesome pair of Spiderman underwear or a cool pair of Cinderella ones, it doesn't matter. So long as your kid picks them out, then they'll be excited for the day they get to wear them, making them want to learn how to go potty like a big kid right away!
4. Start A Potty Routine
The secret to any parent's success while potty training is always this: a routine.
It doesn't matter when yours is, so long as it's something you can stick to, because this teaches children that going potty is a routine, it's something they need to do regularly, and it's something they need to get used to.
It helps them to understand that it isn't a big deal, because it's an everyday thing.
Some top tips are to always include just before going to sleep and just after waking up as part of your routine. Whether it's going to sleep for the night or just a nap in the day, encouraging them to go before and after reminds them they're trying to avoid accidents when they can.
Some other great times include after eating, before leaving the house to go somewhere, or even before their favorite TV show comes on. Pick a routine that works for you, and your kid will run with it!
5. Prepare Yourself For The Song Phase
OK. Maybe your kid is still struggling by this stage, so it's time to bring out the big guns. If they're still struggling now, it's probably because going potty feels like a big, scary thing for them to be doing.
And the best way to fight fear is with fun! Be warned, the 'song phase' of potty training requires your parents to throw caution to the wind and create some seriously silly songs.
Thinking of words that rhyme with 'poop' for your song can feel a little strange at first, but by the time you've got your masterpiece together and you and your little one are performing it multiple times a day, you'll have gotten used to it.
These silly songs remind your kids that going potty isn't a big deal, and they can relax and have fun with it. If you're struggling to find inspiration for potty songs yourself, you can always search online too! Trust us, potty songs work wonders at calming your kid down about using the potty.
6. Get A Chart
This helps even if they're acing it at this stage! A rewards chart reminds your kid of the progress they're making, and it gives you the opportunity to spoil them with a treat for working so hard and doing so well. Put a sticker on the rewards chart whenever they've successfully used the potty, and have treats to suit the rewards they've earned.
For example, when they're just starting out, successfully using the potty twice a day might be enough for a small reward, an extra 5 minutes' play before bed, or something like that. But as they get better, you can increase the amount they need to do, but give them a bigger reward.
Maybe using the potty successfully for 5 full days out of the week will earn them a trip to somewhere of their choosing. The rewards and expectations don't matter, so long as you make them reasonable so your kid knows what they need to do to get a treat.
7. Have A Beloved Toy Teach Them
Finally, if the music and the chart and the routine just aren't working, then it's time to polish off those old acting skills of yours from high school!
That's right, you'll need to take a beloved toy of theirs - a teddy bear, a character doll, that sort of thing - and have them act out going potty. This does two things.
First, it shows your kid that anybody can do it. And second, it makes them feel a little competitive against their beloved teddy. If they can do it, your kid can too, right? And that's exactly what your kid will think too!
To Finish
The above 7 tips are tried and tested ways of making your kids' potty training phase easier for them, and easier for you. But if they don't work, then try other things too! Every child is different, so every child will respond to different things.
But most important of all, try to remain calm. It's frustrating when other people's kids seem to get it faster than yours, but they'll catch up, and potty training isn't a race. They'll get there when they get there, and until then, you'll just have to learn to have fun while singing about poop...