Potty Training 101

Potty Training can be easy then it can be tricky, its one of those things that take real parenting and you simply can’t faf around with it, this really is it! The first question I usually get about potty training is when do you start? Is it at 9 months or when he/she is one or what. To this I will say the following, I know a couple who started potty training their child since she was 2 weeks or so, I consider this child abuse. I am a big fan of letting babies be babies, they have the rest of their lives to grow up and realise that being a grown up isn’t that big a deal and can be really depressing and you need lots of wine and in my case ice-cream to stay sane.

For this reason alone you should probably wait till your child is 18-24 months, when they can walk and they have a fair idea of what it is you are asking them to do. I started with Kunmi when he was about 19/20 months.

During this potty training period you as the adult need to be very very very intact extremely patient and understanding. With Kunmi I bought 2 potty’s one for home and one for school and there were nice potty’s. They have really exciting ones nowadays , some that talk and sing and look like toilets, the more fun the potty the better.

Kunmi was very into Elmo at the time so I bought a lot of bath time and potty time Elmo dvd’s and that is all he watched so as well as mummy teaching him how to potty, he also had the whole of sesame street on his side. I went a step further to buy a potty time Elmo that had a potty as well, he will say when he wants to go potty and Kunmi has to take him. All the books he had at the time where also about potty time so i was silently hammering it into his head.

I do realise not everyone can do this so here are the basic things you need to do when you start potty training.

.1. Make it special : Your toddler needs to think this is a big deal and getting this right is some type of superpower, they will take it seriously.

.2. Rewards: When they get it right, please reward them, it could be with high fives, sweets or gold stickers.

.3. Potty Location: Make sure the potty is in a central location, where your toddler can get to easily when they need to go potty.

.4. Baby Toilet Seat: A big part of potty training is getting your child to let you know when they need to go, when they do its easier for them to sit on the toilet seat if they are not falling in so get a baby toilet seat.

.5. Training pants/Pull ups: You will need to switch from diapers to training pants so its easier for them to take it off to use the potty and put it back on

.6. Take it easy: Be easy with them, don’t shout when they have an accident and you don’t need to force boys to pee while standing they will adjust to that when they grow older.

.7. Toilet etiquette: Teach them to wash their hand and flush after using the potty. Flushable wipes are also great to have at this time, they work better than tissue to get the bum clean.

.8. Do it too: Show them that mummy goes to potty too

Do you have any tips? what age did you start potty training your child comment below and if you want to talk to me about anything email me Temilola@ftmbaby.com

*Images culled from Google Images and parenting squad.com