MY TOP 10 TIPS FOR SUCCESS IN POTTY TRAINING:
- Shadow your child, without expecting her to produce on the potty, for two weeks. Write down every time she pees or poops, but don’t make a big deal about it in front of her.
- Once you’ve completed the shadow chart, start doing practice sits with her clothes on, and then later, off, to acclimate her to the potty.
- Get rid of diapers. Use pull-ups or underwear only, or if you don’t want to deal with a messy floor, put the pull-up over the underwear.
- Start desensitizing her to the potty by letting her watch potty videos, allowing her to go with Mommy and/or Daddy, and reading books about going to the potty.
- Start working with her on self-care habits – washing her hands, putting on and taking off her own clothes. Try to keep her in as little clothing as possible during the training process, especially during warm months.
- Continue to give her plenty of water during the day, to encourage more trips to the potty – more opportunities for success.
- Set a timer/ringtone on your phone to remind her of when it’s time to go, rather than a verbal reminder from you.
- Place child on the potty for two to four minutes to see if she produces. If she does, reward her and bring her back about forty-five minutes to one hour later. If she doesn’t, bring her back in about thirty minutes. Follow this schedule and you will start seeing results within the first three days.
- For the first two weeks of actual training, try to stay home or near a familiar bathroom for your child.
- Stay calm and positive. Reward success and make “failure” (or, I’d rather call it “lack of success”) a nonchalant thing. No big deal. “We’ll try again later.”
Remember that there is no failing at potty training. There is only a delay in success. Your child WILL eventually learn this very important life skill.
Discover more resources to help with potty training here:
https://tracisanders.com/potty-training/
