Posts filed under 'Potty Training'
It seems like only yesterday that you gave birth to your first child. You never liked changing diapers, and now the time has come to be done with them. However, your child is stubborn, and not quite ready to be done with diapers for good. So, you need some advice when it comes to toilet training.
Toilet Training: Everyone’s Been Through it
You probably do not remember your own toilet training experiences, but you certainly cannot imagine what it was like to be in diapers. Now it is your child’s turn to get used to the idea of toilet training, and it is going to be a learning experience for both of you.
Begin by placing the training toilet in an easily accessible area. You want your child to casually go over to it, and see what it is about. This releases the pressure of forcing the toilet on the child. Once the toilet has become a more common fixture around the child, move the toilet into the bathroom alongside the main toilet, and begin the toilet training.
The child has, over the past two or so years of their life, gotten used to the idea of just being able to rely on their diaper to hold their mess. However, now they must be taught this new responsibility that they will need to use for the rest of their life. After all, no child likes to sit in a dirty diaper and get diaper rash!
Unfortunately, many parents become frustrated, because it takes several weeks, if not months, for a child to get used to the idea of using the toilet. Some children are actually afraid of the toilet because of the loud flushing noise. So, what you need to do is make sure that the child is relaxed at all times.
Something that you should not do is bribe the child to use the toilet. This is teaching the child to manipulate the situation. Instead, give the child a small treat here and there, and keep it random, so the child will never be completely sure when a treat is coming. This way, the child will start looking for the toilet naturally.
In the old days, getting a child used to the idea of using a toilet was much harder than it is now. However, one thing that will never change is the patience that you need to be able to properly teach your child this very important step in their life.
July 23rd, 2008
You are the proud parent of a toddler. You find that you are really enjoying this point in your child’s life. However, the time has come when you need to start the toddler potty training process, and you need to be able to do it efficiently.
Toddler Potty Training is a Process
As a parent, you have had the patience so far to raise your child and see your child grow into a precocious toddle. Thus, the toddler potty training process should only be thought of not as a barrier, but as a transitioning period for both you and your child.
You have your child a part of a play group at your local playground. While there, you have noticed that some of the toddlers have already been through the toddler potty training process. You cannot help but wince as you hear these toddlers ask their mothers to use the potty.
The truth is, these children might look like the model toddler potty training graduates, but they will still wet the bed from time to time! Thus, rather than view the mothers who have put their children successfully through the toddler potty training process with jealousy, just view them as fellow comrades.
In fact, you can take this a step further by asking the other mothers what they did to get their child interested in the potty training experience. You might get some tried and true techniques that you would not have thought of otherwise.
Also, your child might become interested in potty training after watching how the others proudly ask to use the potty. Indeed, for these children, potty training is a rite of passage; the next one is getting their driver’s license!
Something else that you will need to keep in mind is you child’s gender. Girls are naturally predisposed to potty train faster than boys. Boys are more of the processing kind, so if you have a make toddler, be sure to have some extra patience.
Many parents wonder how long it will take to potty train their child. The truth is that there is no definitive answer. It all has to do with how old the child is, how willing the child is, and the training techniques that are used. If you find the training process especially hard, ask family to help you. The potty training process is one that millions of parents have done, so remember that you will be successful too!
July 21st, 2008
One thing that anyone that is engaged in puppy potty training must understand at the very beginning is that in order to succeed at housebreaking your pet, you must be dedicated, knowledgeable as well as has a lot of patience. It may not exactly be rocket science, but at the same time you will also need to be understands that there are many benefits to learning how to not make common mistakes and also be aware of how to avoid common pitfalls.
Wait at Least Until Your Puppy is Eight Weeks Old
The first thing that you will have to understand in this regard is that a puppy that is not yet eight weeks old will be too young to be started with puppy potty training. However, you should also not wait for too long after that before you get started with his housebreaking routines as the longer you wait the harder it will become to teach your puppy the right way to eliminate.
Proper puppy potty training also requires ensuring feeding your puppy regularly and in addition, there must also be a schedule for his walking exercises because these two elements will together help to greatly simplify the puppy potty training process. It is also recommended that you should walk your puppy every couple of hours and at least once after each meal.
Be prepared to put up with accidents and it would be wrong to expect that your puppy won’t end up messing your home before the puppy potty training has been completed successfully. Also, you should only correct your puppy’s wrong behavior if you catch him in the act because five seconds after having committed a wrong act, he will forget about it and thus would not understand what you are reprimanding him for.
However, should your puppy do the right thing, you should also immediately praise him and even give him a treat to reinforce proper puppy potty training because if they notice that they are being rewarded for a certain act, it would help motivate them to repeat that act and thus you will be able to succeed in your puppy potty training efforts.
The best way to cut down the time it takes to complete puppy potty training is by using a crate and in addition, you should also ensure never to overfeed your pup and in any case, never feed him before he is going to go to sleep at night. Also, paper training is not recommended for puppy potty training because it will make your puppy believe that it is OK to eliminate within the home which is certainly not the intention of true puppy potty training.
Finally, if you are in the habit of leaving your puppy by himself for long periods of time, your puppy potty training methods should include teaching him how to use litter boxes, which in any case is a lot more effective than paper training, and thus will prove to be more effective and useful.
July 19th, 2008
Are you tired of diapers? Ready to start going to events without worrying about that telltale diaper bag? Well, you may have been ready months ago, but as always the question in potty training is: is your child? Remember, this is a collaborative effort. Introducing potty training underwear at the right time can be a key step to completing the journey from diapers to adult underwear.
Step By Step
Keeping a cool head when it comes to beginning potty training is essential. Underwear may be in your child’s near future, but instituting adult underwear too early will result in nothing but tears for them and lots and lots of laundry for you. Instead, be informed about the variety of options available to you and your child and be able to use them effectively. These days, there is no reason that potty training needs to be too stressful.
Keep Them Involved
Remember, ultimately, the decision to use underwear in potty training needs to be your child’s. This is, after all, is an issue that ultimately affects their life just as much as yours. Don’t take it too personally if your child decides he isn’t ready for potty training underwear quite yet. Most of the time, the motivation to be a big kid will be enough to get them excited about becoming diaper free, but it’s better for all parties if the idea of underwear has as little anxiety attached to it as possible!
Your Options
Kids in some countries simply wear pants with an opening to go whenever and whenever they need, then simply start wearing adult underwear from there. If you live in the U.S., you’re probably aware, however, of the variety of potty training underwear available. There are pull-ups, made for kids making first steps away from diapers. These wick moisture away from the child’s skin and feature a large elastic waistband that’s easy to grasp when the time comes.
The disadvantage of pull-ups is of course that sometimes they can function too much like diapers, nipping up moisture before the child feels it. As training progresses, the wetness felt as a consequence of accidents can be a powerful tool in steering kids towards more responsibility in their habits. One possibility is to use them in nighttime training while the child develops involuntary bladder control, with adult-style underwear during the day.
There is also potty training underwear available with sewn-in layers of plastic. These are designed to integrate the design of adult underwear with some of the protective qualities of diapers and pull-ups. The layer of plastic protects clothing and surfaces while the cloth retains moisture and indicates to the child that an accident has occurred. These often come in character designs to add to the child’s sense of involvement. Do your research and consult your child to see where his or her needs are right now in potty training underwear.
July 17th, 2008
Potty training any child can be difficult and frustrating. Potty training twins is double all the hurdles of potty training just one child. Break the process down and you will find it gets easier. Approach potty training twins the way you would approach anything else with twins.
Understand that potty training twins comes with the added problem of the bond that twins share with each other. This means you can never hope to have both children on a schedule when you are potty training. Before you start make sure to stock up on patience because you’re going to need it.
Equipment
When you start on your journey of potty training twins you will have to invest in two potty chairs. This will help you side step accidents and you may actually help to improve your children’s progress. Get ready to carry those potty chairs around with you everywhere the kids go because getting children to the bathroom on time can be almost impossible.
Before you decide to skip this step and decide it’s economically more sound to let two children share one potty chair remember that small children are not great at ‘holding’ any bodily functions. Trying to make your twins learn to share the potty will only make things that much more complicated.
Schedules
Conventional potty training advocates that you get your child on a schedule when it comes to potty training. Potty training twins can be tough when you try and get two children into the bathroom at the same time. For this to work you have to make potty training fun. Your bathroom is about to have a makeover, make it look as inviting as possible.
Books, toys and stickers are a must. Keep your children entertained with some activity so that they will both want to be in the bathroom. It doesn’t matter how long your children are going to spend in the bathroom, whether just a few minutes or longer you need to associate the bathroom with fun and pleasant things for them.
Potty training twins can sometimes be frustrating as one progresses the other may start to regress. Don’t be discouraged, this is perfectly normal. Be patient and avoid using competition between your children. Twins are competitive about everything and adding competition to potty training will create unnecessary tension. You should also not worry that your children are not potty trained by the time they hit three. Twins generally start to potty train around three.
July 15th, 2008
One of the most important milestones in a child’s life as well as in the life of their parents is when the child becomes capable of independently using the toilet. What’s more, there are certainly very few parents on this planet that will relish the idea of having to spend their time changing diapers, especially after their child has gone past their second birthday. Nevertheless, children will respond differently to potty training. Some factors that influence how well they respond include their own aptitude, ability to grasp new concepts as well as the potty training techniques used to teach them to potty unaided.
Your Child Must Be Ready To Learn
Perhaps the first potty training tip worth following is to ensure that your child is ready to learn how to potty. In fact, it is also a good idea to teach them the advantages of staying clean by telling them that it would mean saying bye-bye to diaper rash and not needing to be interrupted just because the nappies need to be changed.
A second worthwhile potty training tip worth following is to ensure that you teach him how to potty in a fun and stress-free manner. A good way to ensure that his potty training is fun and free from stress is to make the potty training process a game that can be played with the child.
In a similar vein, another potty training tip worth considering is that you could turn the potty training exercise into a ritual that can be repeated. This in turn should result in making the child learn just what is expected of them and so he will make an effort to get used to the routine of using the potty whenever it becomes necessary to eliminate or relieve him or herself.
You can also take advantage of other useful potty training tips including making use of props in order to teach your child the right way to potty and in this regard you can use toys, books, videos and even music which can help in creating a conducive atmosphere in which to learn how to potty.
You should also try and repeat the whole teaching process as often as possible including even every two to four minutes. If you time these lessons to coincide with the time when the child usually needs to use the toilet you can achieve better results. Also, whenever your child does the right thing and goes to the toilet instead of soiling his clothes, you must praise him and even giving a small reward with which to buttress your efforts is recommended.
The last, though by no means the most insignificant potty training tip is showing your child how to clean themselves up after using the potty. If you also ensure being patient as well as persevere in your efforts, you will find that by using these potty training tips, your efforts will soon be rewarded and your child will become potty trained.
July 13th, 2008
Every mother and parent becomes aware of the fact that potty training is something that is sure to be a big challenge that must be faced head-on. No time is it more challenging than when your child approaches the age of two. What’s more, being able to succeed in teaching your child the right way to potty is essential to the proper development of your young one and so the aim of a parent must be to make the lessons fun as well as interesting.
Potty Training Dolls
Thus, learning the best potty training techniques can help parents achieve their goals without needing to become overly stressed and at the same time they can draw satisfaction from seeing their little one using to the toilet unaided. One of the simplest tools that should form a major part of good potty training techniques is using a potty training doll, which can help children to not feel fear when it is time for them to use the toilet.
Another useful potty training technique worth using is to try and make the whole potty training process a game that the toddler can play. If it can also be made fun to do, you will find that results will be forthcoming sooner rather than later. Another useful potty training technique is using potty training charts and accompanying them with stickers which will help motivate the child and also help to perk up their interest in learning to use the toilet instead of creating a mess in their pants.
Still another useful potty training techniques worth using are giving your child DVDs and videos related to learning how to potty. If these DVDs and videos also contain cartoon characters so much the better.
In any case, it is always a good idea for you to think in terms of using other possible potty training techniques that can be experimented with in order to check whether the child responds to them or not. If you can find a way to potty train your child in a fun as well as stress-free manner, and by using tried and tested potty training techniques, you will be on the right path to teaching your child the proper way to use the potty.
Even sending your child to daycare can be thought of as another suitable potty training technique and once he or she gets into the habit of staying dry as well as clean, he will soon become used to using the toilet whenever the need arises. You will also then notice that the instances of accidents will have become fewer and farther between and soon your child will have become well trained with regard to handling their potty needs.
July 11th, 2008
One thing that parents will always have to grapple with is taking a call on how to potty train their toddler and decide as to the best time when to begin the potty training exercise. The problem can be even more demanding on the parents in case it is their first child that needs to be potty trained. If you are interested in learning more about the best means to potty train your child, and then read on.
If you are wondering how to deal with potty training problems, how to potty train your child and whether to use a potty training seat or not, you need not worry too much. There is plenty of information on all of these topics available in print, and also over the Internet.
Just Like Normal Toilet Seats
Essentially, a potty training seat feels and looks just like a normal toilet though it is also not the same as a potty chair. The advantage of choosing a potty training seat is that it helps your child associate it with needing to poop or pee; though, before buying a potty training seat for your child’s use, be sure that it is one that suits the personality of the toddler because a properly chosen seat will help motivate the child to use the seat without much problem.
Also, a potty training seat is normally quite small in size and it also normally comes with cushioning that also fits easily on the ring of a normal toilet. Fortunately, these seats are available in numerous colors that can prove to be helpful in motivating your child into using the seat, especially when it is of a color that they are partial to. In fact, such potty training seats also are available with characters from Sesame Street, Dora the Explorer and other children’s favorite programs that help in getting the child to use the toilet easily.
However, a very compelling reason why you should opt to use a potty training seat is that it does not take up much space. You can easily store the seat in a convenient place. In fact, it is easy to store the potty training seat beneath the toilet sink and even on the floor in a convenient place.
Still, there is a downside to using a potty training seat and that is that they can be a bit inaccessible to the child since it will have to be placed on the toilet and thus can be too high for them to reach. In addition, you also will have to position the seat in place and there is always the risk that you are not able to position the seat properly and thus the seat can become unsafe for the child’s use.
All in all, using a potty training seat is sure to prove to be a success. If you take precautions, you will find it to be very useful in getting your toddler to learn the basics of good hygiene.
July 9th, 2008
From the point of view of parents, nearly every child is prone to showing signs of potty training resistance and this will certainly make parents feel very frustrated and lead to their not being able to understand why their little ones fail to co-operate in the efforts to teach them how to use a toilet. However, if you try looking at the problem of potty training resistance from the point of view of a child, you may be able to understand the reasons for their resisting potty training and in the process also find a solution.
Depends On The Child’s Attitude
If a child is one that wants his parents to feel proud about them, then the problem of potty training resistance will not be as great as it would be in the case of children who are unconcerned about their parents’ feelings. However, the good news is that a majority of little ones do actually desire to impress their parents and thus will not be so prone to developing potty training resistance.
Thus, if you approach the problem of potty training resistance from the perspective of your child, you should be able to come up with solutions to the problem. And, the first thing that you will need to understand is that most children are unable to express themselves when it concerns their problems and thus it ends up taking the form of potty training resistance.
Still, as a concerned parent you will need to look for reasons for this. Among possible reasons that can help you understand why children develop potty training resistance are confusion, curiosity, fear or anxiety, independence and issues related to controlling them, excessive pressure exerted by parents and also using incorrect or inappropriate techniques in potty training.
Confusion about what is required in the entire potty training process is often a major reason why children develop potty training resistance as it leads them to be unsure about what they must do when feeling the urge to relieve themselves. Another reason is being curious about what would happen should they resist the potty training routine.
Also, fear and anxiety about needing to eliminate is a possible reason why children develop potty training resistance and so too is the need to be independent. In addition, when too much pressure is exerted when teaching them the right way to potty, children start to resist their parents and finally if the wrong potty training methods are used they will cause potty training resistance in children.
July 7th, 2008
Things can often change when it comes to a child learning about proper potty training, especially when after doing well for some time with regard to learning to potty in the proper place, the child suddenly goes back to soiling their pants and begins to cover up their wrongdoings as well as goes back to wanting to use diapers. This backward movement in a child’s potty training is known as potty training regression and though it can make parents feel very downhearted and discouraged, it will nevertheless pay for parents to keep their chins up and continue with the potty training.
Another Developmental Step
The best way of viewing potty training regression is to liken it to being just another step in the developmental process of potty training and thus it is a good idea to continue encouraging the little one to get back to proper ways of doing their potty. In fact, it would be quite useless to punish them when they have lapsed into a state of potty training regression because these will only exacerbate the situation rather than help it.
It is far better for parents to find out what the reasons for such potty training regression are and to also look beyond the obvious reasons that they may notice. If you have made changes to their routine such as changing their daycare center, or have recently given birth to another baby. Then these could be valid reasons for potty training regression in your child.
It is also a good idea to spend more time with your child and do things like read to them or play with them in order to find out from the child what has caused the potty training regression to have occurred. Furthermore, it is also in your best interests to encourage your child to get back to proper potty training and your attitude must always continue to remain positive and not forcing the issue is also recommended. In addition, you will need to be more patient because sooner rather than later you should see improvement in your child, especially if you give them enough encouragement and support.
The bottom line is that to overcome a child’s potty training regression, there is little sense in becoming frustrated or angry and more to be gained by remaining relaxed. You should also try not to let the child find out that their new attitude is causing you stress. If you just find out what the real reason is, you can easily find a solution and thus get your child to come out of the state of potty training regression.
July 5th, 2008
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