Moms and Dads, are you ready to say goodbye to wallet-draining, garbage-fillin’ diapers? Every child is different, so you first need to make sure that your little one is ready. If they resist sitting, it’s probably not time. You can usually tell when they’re ready to begin potty training with certain signs. If they can sit on the potty, tell you that they’ve done their business in their diaper, are able to pull their pants up or down, or complaining when they’re soiled, it may be potty time.
And because potty training can be stressful and messy for you, the parent, you need to make sure you are also mentally prepared to roll up your sleeves and get a little dirty. When you’re family is ready to take the proverbial plunge, put your big boy or big girl drawers on and just go for it.
Potty Training Tips from Hospitality Health ER Parents:
- 1. Do Prepare the Underwear: Make it an exciting experience for your child. Take them to buy their big boy/big girl underwear at the store. Let them choose their favorite character undies: Minions, Mickey Mouse, superheroes, whichever they like. That way, you can tell them, “Superman doesn’t like to get wet or dirty, so let’s try not to pee-pee or poo-poo on him.” As hard as it is, try your best to stick to underwear and not go back to pull-ups or diapers even at night—this may confuse your child and cause them to regress.
- 2. Do Make a Big Stink About Their Stink. Celebrate consistently and have a reward system in place for whenever your child ‘goes potty’ in the potty. Make it fun by creating a treasure box full of stickers and trinkets that they can choose from every time they put pee-pee or poo-poo in the potty.
But don’t stress over the mess! There’s no question that your child will have accidents, but stay positive and encouraging, so they don’t start to resent the experience.
- 3. Do Take Advantage of All the Poop Resources at Your Disposal. Use all the potty training literature and tools right at your fingertips.The great thing about being a parent of today’s generation is that are so many resources at your disposal—everything from children’s books about pottying to YouTube videos of real-life kids learning to use the potty. So before you start, you can read some books or watch videos together, so your child know what to expect.
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