Fun Potty Training in 1 Week – Tips to Help You Toilet Train Your 2 Year Old. Having a child is the happiest as well as the busiest part of a person’s life. Parenting a newborn is extremely tedious, but it is even more rewarding and satisfying than the amount of effort it takes. One of the greatest challenges parents face when babies begin growing up is to get a grip on how to potty train a 2-3 year old in a quick and efficient manner. Here are a few tips to help you on the way to potty training your kids!
In this article:
Tips for Potty Training your Toddler
Prepare Your Child for Potty Training
It’s important for your child to be mentally prepared and in a position where he or she understands that they’re going to learn a new good habit. It may feel like they’re too young for it to matter, but you’ll do much better if they’re ready to expect some kind of change. A great idea is to involve them in preparing the house for toilet training. Let them choose their own little potty and toilet seat, get them to choose the new underwear they’ll be using instead of diapers, and let them know you won’t be using diapers during daytime anymore.
Stock Up On Things They Love
You’re going to have to motivate your little one a lot when it comes to using the toilet instead of going pee-pee or poo-poo in their diapers. Teaching your toddler to use the toilet requires them to come out of their comfort zone (diapers) and use the toilet in spite of the discomfort they’ll feel due to the transition. They will not do it simply because it is the right thing to do – they’re too young for non-physical concepts to be enough motivation for a change that big. Allow them to have a lot of their favourite things on the condition that they learn to use the toilet instead of going on the spot. If you manage to make using the toilet a fun thing to do, it works like magic!
Make a Potty Schedule
The most important part of potty training is to get your kid to become familiar with toilets and how they work. They won’t need to go every 20 minutes, but you should get them used to sitting on the toilet anyway. So, set a timer to go off every 20 minutes and make your toddler sit on the toilet even if they don’t need to go pee or poo. You can sing made-up potty songs, read to them while they sit on the toilet, or even play games they’re only supposed to play while they’re on the potty. The idea is to overcome the instinctive impatience toddlers tend to have, so that they will learn to sit on the potty for long enough to go No.2, too. Eventually, this will make them feel comfortable enough to actually use the toilet when they need to.
Praise Successful Potty Use But Within Reason
Every time your son or daughter successfully uses the toilet, praise them for a job well done. Don’t make too big a deal out of it, that may signal to them that this is more valuable to you than it is to them, and children can be expert manipulators if you’re not careful. Praise them enough to let them know that this is appropriate and expected behaviour, but be careful not to make it out to be a big achievement or something.
Post-Use Hygiene
From the very beginning, teach your kid to wash and wipe himself or herself after using the potty. Kids love soap bubbles and water, so you could even use the mandatory hand-wash afterwards as one of the ways to make potty training fun for your toddler. Bring home a tiny step-ladder or a small stool to help them reach the washbasin and watch the fun as they scramble to splash around right after getting off the potty!
Dealing With Accidents
There’s virtually no chance that your kid will learn to use the toilet in one single shot. There will be times when they will forget to control themselves, they may even be unable to hold back till they get to their potty seat. Make sure you discuss it with them because they should know where pee and poo should be done. Getting angry or punishing them for it will not help, in fact, it might only worsen the situation if they get rebellious. Just ensure they understand that it should not be done.
Practise, Practise, Practise!
The essence of potty training is to get your child accustomed to using the toilet instead of the diapers they’ve been used to so far. If at first you don’t succeed, don’t let the frustration or anxiety take over. Keep trying, and remember to train your toddler to use toilets wherever you go – friends or relatives’ houses, restaurants, other public places and wherever else you get the opportunity.
Remember that your child won’t immediately learn overnight bladder or bowel control. Initially, it is advisable to continue using diapers during nap time and through the night till you’re entirely certain they can control themselves overnight. Overall, it shouldn’t take much longer than a week for you to potty train your child completely, except the occasional ‘accidents’. Good luck and happy training!
