Potty Seat Training
- A vital part of the process of potty seat training is figuring out when your child is ready. In general, the earlier parents start, the longer the process takes. Readiness can begin at 18 months, but sometimes children aren't ready until 3 years. Many parents start training their children with a potty seat around the age of two and a half years.
In order to determine if your own child is ready, look for signs such as if he's able to follow simple directions and if he can stay in a seated position. Also, don't rush your child, and avoid starting her on a potty seat if she's already experiencing other major changes in her life such as a new daycare or a new sibling in the home. - It's a good idea to purchase a potty seat that attaches to the top of the grown-up toilet. An adapter seat should be comfortable and should fit securely to the toilet. For a boy, find a potty seat without a urine guard or with one that can be removed, as this can cause discomfort for boy.
A stool is a good idea, too, so your child can use it for getting onto and off of his potty seat, and it can be used by your child to brace himself when having bowel movements. - By regularly having your child sit on his potty seat, during the time of day when he has a bowel movement, full-clothed, he'll get comfortable with the seat, and then you can have your child sit with his pants pulled down with his bottom directly touching the seat. Don't push your child to do anything she isn't comfortable with. Little by little, she'll grow accustomed to using her potty seat.
- Teach your child, boy or girl, to sit down and use the potty seat by showing how you use the potty yourself, explaining what you're doing as you go along. Later on, boys can watch Daddy or older brothers pee standing up and follow this example.
You can also empty a dirty diaper into the toilet and have your child flush the toilet or watch you flush the toilet if she's scared of the flushing sound, so that she can see how poop goes down the toilet. There are some books, such as Uh Oh! Gotta Go!, that can demonstrate the use of a potty, too. - Almost every child is likely to have many accidents before he finally masters the potty seat. Dress him in clothes that are easy for him to take off in order to prevent accidents, and when accidents happen, stay calm and encouraging about your child using the potty seat next time.
- After a while into the process of potty seat training, introduce training pants, so your toddler can pull down like a pair of underwear on his own, fostering his potty independence. Some parents recommend cloth training pants because a toddler can feel more easily when he goes to the bathroom in them.
- When your toddler is able to stay dry during the night for five nights in a row, it's probably an appropriate time begin nighttime potty seat training. You can put a plastic sheet on the mattress under your child's sheets and put him in underwear or nothing at all and see what happens. You can reduce liquid intake before bed to help out, but usually it is just a matter of time. If it isn't going well, go back to nighttime diapers for a while longer and then try again later.
