Potty Training Strategies: The Parent’s Guide
Your once tiny newborn has blossomed into a hilarious, independent toddler. With the newfound skills and development, it's almost time to start potty training. After thousands of diaper changers, you’re almost there!
But before you begin the brave task of potty training your child, you want to be sure that they are ready. If they aren’t ready to be potty trained, whatever you do won’t stick. While they are painfully independent at this age, they are also stubborn!
Is Your Child Ready For Potty Training?
You want your child to be on your side when it comes to potty training. It’s a lot easier to go with the grain than it is against it! Here are some signs that your kiddo might be ready to start using the potty:
Expresses interest in the potty
Can pull down pants, wash hands, etc.
Has the desire to please and imitate adults
Shows increased independence
Can follow multiple-step directions
If your little one displays a few of these signs, they may be ready to learn how to use the potty! Continue reading to learn some helpful potty training strategies.
Child-Oriented Potty Training
This potty training strategy is mostly for parents who want their kids to take the lead (this is the one that I am utilizing currently!). Child-oriented potty training allows the child to take the wheel, so to speak. This usually occurs between ages 2 and 3 but tends to happen closer to 3.
At this time, the child will alert the parent when they want to use the restroom. It can be beneficial as there is nearly zero resistance as the child is initiating, but it is not a fast process and can result in prolonged diaper buying.
3-Day Potty Training
If your toddler is showing interest in potty training and you want to get it done quickly, this is the method to use! The only thing to keep in mind is that there will be many, many accidents with this method and that you must use a lot of praise.
The idea is that on day one, you have your child throw out all of their diapers and then dress them in big kid underwear. Each time they begin to have an accident, you will rush them to the toilet to finish on the potty. Once they finish, you shower them with praise! This is an effective way to quickly potty training, but it requires patience from the parents.
Parent-Led Potty Training
This method isn’t necessarily for the parents- it’s for anyone who works closely with your child! This can be daycare, grandparents, and older siblings. Parent-led potty training is when you take your child to the bathroom when they’re exhibiting signs of having to use the potty or scheduled throughout the day. This could be every 2-3 hours or scheduled, such as after waking up, after breakfast, before lunch, before nap, etc.
Using parent-led potty training will be helpful if the child is with multiple people throughout the day, as it is easy to remember when to lead them to the bathroom. The tricky part of this one, though, is that the child may not recognize their own body cues quickly as the adult is leading their potty time.
Infant Potty Training
This is a little different approach and is when you “potty train” your baby between 1-4 months of age. This is widely popular in Asia and Africa. This doesn’t mean that you expect your baby to get up and walk to the toilet, but rather avoid the use of diapers.
This method is great if you don’t want your little one sitting in a wet diaper, but it takes a great deal of focus and attention on the parent’s end. Because your baby cannot talk, you will have to watch closely for any signs that your baby may pee or poop, such as sounds, faces, or their schedule (before/after meals).
Many parents have reported that they felt they gained a stronger connection with their children while undergoing infant potty training.
What Do You Do If These Methods Don’t Work?
Okay, so your little one shows signs of readiness, and you’ve tried every method under the sun. Now what? Try using some of these tips to encourage your child to use the potty:
Buy fun underwear. If your kid has a favorite show, buy them themed underwear! It will excite them to wear it and hopefully encourage them to use the potty.
Put potties in convenient spots. If your toddler is busy, they don’t want to stop to use the bathroom. Consider putting a potty in places they will be in frequently, such as the living room and the bedroom.
Use a sticker chart. What kid doesn’t love stickers? Each time they use the potty, place a sticker on a chart just for them. Once they reach a certain amount of stickers, they get a prize! (Don’t make it too many, though, they will get frustrated if it takes days to reach a prize.)
Act it out. If your child has a favorite doll, try acting out a bathroom scene with them. This might help them realize that going to the potty is a natural thing and nothing to be afraid of.
Remember, regression happens. You finally potty trained your toddler just for them to have an accident a few days later. Don’t stress it – you probably didn’t get this right first time either! Your kid is busy learning this new skill and will need some time to perfect it. Let them know that accidents happen, and do a little potty refresher!
Keep Track of Your Toddler’s Potty Training with Baby Connect
Your toddler is showing more and more independence, and potty training is the perfect way to continue encouraging that independence. It allows them to feel confident and in control of their own body. They also will feel clean and happy to ditch the diapers!
But, with anything, potty training is a process regardless of what method you use. This is why keeping track of what methods you try and how they react is crucial to help you and your toddler during this time. The Baby Connect app gives you the freedom to track important information such as potty training, meal plans, to-do lists, and more – try it for free today!
