Potty Training

The first step in potty training is to be sure your child is physically ready. If you attempt to potty train your child and it just doesn’t work, your little one is not ready. Don’t rush potty training – it will only frustrate you and your child. Let it go and try again in a few more weeks (or months).

Once you have determined your child is ready for potty training, make it fun! Always use praise, and consider small rewards if your child is motivated by those. Take your child to the potty every hour (or even less) to “try.” Be sure to visit the potty as soon as your child finishes a snack or meal, since eating tends to make nature take its course.

Consider letting your child pick out a special potty chair from the store to make things seem exciting. Then, every time your child uses the potty, offer a small treat or sticker. Some parents have been known to promise the “Potty Dance” – a homemade silly dance the parent performs when the child goes. Some children will do anything to see their parents act silly!

Have a boy? Cut out little rectangles of paper and draw pictures of ships or sea creatues on them. Place three in the big potty and ask your little boy if he can sink them!

Have a girl? Find a day you can stay with her all day. Give her a beautiful dress and don’t put undies on her. This helps your girl to realize when she has to go that she needs to go to the potty. If she has undies on, she may feel like they are diapers and wet them. Of course, some girls are highly motivated by beautiful, frilly “girly” panties. They will wear them with pride and will probably remember to use the potty most of the time.