7 Sure-Fire Tips For Potty Training Toddlers
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Penny_Crane]Penny Crane

There seems to be a widely held impression, past down from generation to generation, that potty training toddlers is arduous.

Follow this practical plan and you will be able to go from all those diapers to dry in days. But only if you are prepared not to be side-tracked by other distractions during this period and able to give your focus to toilet training.

1. Evaluating Your Child's Readiness

Does your toddler have the required verbal understanding? This includes being able to understand and carry out simple instructions.

Does your toddler show signs of wanting to do more things for themselves such as pulling up their own pants?

Is your child's bladder and bowel control adequately developed? For instance, can he or she go for two or three hours before wetting their diaper?

You really must not go on to item 2 until you are confident your toddler can handle being toilet trained.

2. Let's Go Shopping

You want to make this trip to the shops as much fun as possible for your toddler. So what's on that shopping list?

You should get:


An anatomically correct doll (a boy doll if you have a son, a girl doll if you have a daughter);
Potties (yes it's best to have two or three around the home so there is always one close at hand when it's wanted);
Underpants, preferably vibrantly colored. It's even better if there's a picture of one of their favorite cartoon characters on them. Diaper or training underpants can be a practical solution for any trips out but make sure you treat them as real pants not diapers;
a wall chart and stickers.

Remember to let your toddler have a say in the purchase choice.

3. Toilet Train The Doll

Silly as it may seem, you potty train the doll. The doll is a great teaching tool, it should not be seen as a toy. You will be using the doll to model correct behavior.

4. Celebrate The Doll's Success

Each time the doll correctly uses the potty it is praised and a sticker is placed on the wall chart that records the doll's progress. And when the doll has been potty trained it gets a party.
You want your toddler to realize that being potty trained is a happy, fun experience.

5. It's Farewell to Diapers

Put your toddler in pants. There's no retreating back to diapers even if there are two or three accidents along the way.

6. Give Your Toddler Plenty Of Fluids

The more your toddler drinks the more they will need to urinate. So they should get plenty of practice in using a potty.

7. Ask Your Toddler If They Need the Potty

If they say no that's fine. With all those drinks they'll soon need to go. Quiz them again a little later.

If they have a little accident you must not let your child see you are angry or disappointed. Just tell them they'll do better next time. Take them to the potty and have them sit on it for two or three minutes. Give them fresh pants to put on. At short intervals take them back to the potty for a total of ten times. This will help to build muscle memory. Very soon they will urinate in the potty.

A little food for thought. It is not just what you say, it's how you say it. This is certainly true when it comes to teaching a toddler new skills.

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Just one of those things

We seem to be suffering a bit of a relapse. Two of the last three days, our son has dirtied his pants. He's four years old and this proves that we still have a bit of work to do.

I would never tell him this but it is just a matter of laziness. He is very content just playing with his cars and cannot be bothered going upstairs. The biggest challenge for me keeping my emotions in check occurs when he denies having gone in his pants. When I ask him if he is dirty and he tells me no, but then I check and the answer should have been yes, that is when I have to really practice everything I know about keeping the child on the right track to complete independence.

What is it that I know?

Remaining positive is the most important. You might think that you need to threaten or yell to make sure your child understands, but that will only be a disservice. Make sure the child knows that going in the toilet is preferable and that you are there to help. If the child denies having gone in his pants then that might be sign that he is afraid.

Use the carrot rather than the stick. And what is the carrot in this case? Positive reinforcement, maybe a treat, at the very least, just good feelings and happy "good boy" talk

Getting ready for school

Learn to Potty Train your Child in 1- 3 days!

Thats right, school. My kids started getting ready for school, still with potty problems. Both of the them did, our son and daughter started kindergarten with control issues. I always wanted to help them to understand that no matter what happened, it wasn't their fault. Even I had accidents well into grade one. I also let them know that. I think our major role as parents is not trying to teach our kids that we are flawless but that we are flawed, and thats okay.

It was a great day for us when our son came home in the same pants that he left for school in. He recieved so much positive attention and love that he smiled the rest of the day and, more importantly, he remembered the joy and the next day, again came home dry once again.

We were not completely out of the woods at that point but it was a very important step forward.

How We Did It

I wanted to take this opportunity to discuss potty training. Some people seem to have no problem with training their children. This wasn't us. I don't know if this is you.

Over the next little while, I want to talk about our potty training nightmares. The challenges we faced, how we overcame them and where we still have to go.

I hope you will go with us on the journey!

Learn to Potty Train your Child in 1- 3 days!