Challenge of Toilet Training Kids

Early Toilet Training

Toilet training is the method of training young kids to use the toilet for purpose of urination and defecation. Training usually starts with the use of a potty or a smaller toilet bowl-shaped instrument.

Old time parents have this belief that if you start early in training your child to use the toilet, he will become fully trained early as well. But child experts do not agree with this belief at all. A child starts to recognize his “need to go” only when he is at least a year old. However, he will still be too young to understand of having to sit still on a toilet bowl while he defecates or urinates when he can do so elsewhere and comfortably at that. Study also shows that even with early toilet training, a child will become relatively dry and clean only when he’s about two-and-a-half or three years of age. A child will only be responsive to the toilet training you are subjecting him to if he is at least 18 months old.

Futility of Early Toilet Training

If, at first, your baby will tolerate your sitting him on a potty chair every time he passes bowel movement, don’t take it to mean that you have successfully started him on early toilet training. Since this is the stage when he learns to crawl, he will resent being made to sit on a pot for any longer than he wants to. In a few weeks’ time, he will refuse to sit on a pot at all. If you insist, he will put up a struggle against it.

That means that though you catch a bigger part of your baby’s movement in the pot, his diapers will still get soiled. Changing his soiled diapers is easier than potting him, for potting means undressing your baby, struggling to keep him still while seated on the pot, cleaning and dressing him up again. Later, cleaning the pot and throwing away the dirty diapers. And what do you gain? Nothing. Not only does the little one learn nothing from the training. He also develops an intense dislike for it, and this can even delay his real toilet training later on.

On Potting

Toilet training is a misnomer at this stage because no training actually goes into process but only a whole lot of catching action. During the latter part of your baby’s first year of life, he would have learned to sit up by himself and his bowel movements would more or less be predictable. If by this time you decide to start him on toilet training, chances are that you’ll have a pot ready every time you expect him to pass bowel movement.

The moment he looks ready to do so, you strip him off his diapers and sit him on the pot. Your objective: To catch his movement straight into the pot and prevent his diapers from getting soiled. Do you think he will understand what you’re trying to do and let you do your thing in peace without any protest from him?

How Do You Prepare Your Child For Toilet Training?

• Bring your child with you when you go to the bathroom and make him feel comfortable inside. Make him see urine and bowel movements in the toilet bowl while he enjoys flushing it.

• To make your child familiar with the potty, it is best that you put a potty chair in your kid's playing area. By allowing him to closely observe, play and touch it, he will eventually be familiar with it.

• Never force your child to sit on the potty chair and spend time on it. Instead, tell your kid that it is his own chair. While fully clothed, let him sit on it and leave anytime he wants to as if it were a regular chair.

• After being familiar with the potty chair and regularly sits on it while fully clothed, you can now try having him sit on it, only this time with no pants and a diaper. Have him do so until he become comfortable.

• By this time, you can now show your child how the potty chair is used. Place a stool from a dirty diaper into the potty chair. Then have your child observe the transfer of the bowel movement from the potty chair into the toilet. Allow your child to flush the toilet and watch the bowel movement disappear down the toilet.

Teaching Your Child to Use the Toilet

Now that your kid is familiar with sitting on the potty chair and is comfortable flushing the toilet, you may begin to teach him on how to go to the bathroom. Be sure that he is wearing loose and easily removable pants.

Usually, when your child feels the need to urinate or have bowel movement, you will notice changes on his facial expression or will stop on any activity that he is doing. These are clear signals that he needs to go to the bathroom. You may then place him on a potty chair.

Take note that most children have bowel movement once a day. This comes usually within an hour after eating. While most children urinate within an hour after taking a large drink.

Aside from watching for those tell tale signs that your child needs to go to the toilet, place your child on the potty at regular intervals. This can be as often as every 1 and a half to 2 hours.

Always stay with your child when he is on the potty chair. Make him relax by reading or talking to him. Praising your child whenever he goes to the bathroom in the potty chair will be of big help. But never express disappointment if your child does otherwise. Just be patient with your kid. After all, he is still learning.

Your child can begin using an over-the-toilet seat and a step-up stool once he learned to use the potty chair.

These over-the-toilet seat and step-up stool will be for the next level part of toilet training your kid. Anyway, it will now be much easier for him to use these bathroom accessories since he already know how to use the potty chair.

Toilet training your child may take as long as 6 to 8 months at daytime. It may take longer during night time when his or her bladder control is reduced. If your child still resists or is having difficulties with toilet training after several months, it is best that you talk to your family doctor. Chances are your child is not yet ready for toilet training.

So there. I hope you have learned a lot reading this post challenge of toilet training kids.