Potty Training and your Child

A lot of Parents believe that 3 years old is a good year to start potty training. That is not always the case. Studies have shown that the "right" age could range from as early as 6 months to 3 years old.

It is important to look for signs of readiness before you begin potty training, including:

* staying dry for at least 2 hours at a time
* having regular bowel movements
* being able to follow simple instructions
* being uncomfortable with dirty diapers and wanting them to be changed
* asking to use the potty chair
* asking to wear regular underwear.

You should also be able to tell when your child is about to urinate or have a bowel movement by his facial expressions, posture or by what he says. If your child has begun to tell you about having a dirty diaper you should praise him for telling you and encourage him to tell you in advance next time.

Even if your child isn't totally ready to begin potty training, you can still get him a potty chair and have him decorate it with stickers and sit on it with his clothes on to watch TV, etc. to help him get used to it. Whenever your child shows signs of needing to urinate or have a bowel movement you should ask him if he wants to use the potty or take him to the chair and explain to him what you want him to do.

Only keep him seated for a few minutes at a time, don't insist and prepared to delay training if he shows resistance. Until he is going in the potty, you can try to empty his dirty diapers into his potty chair to help demonstrate what you want him to do.

Remember, the worst thing that you could do is chastise your child for making a mistake. You do not want your child afraid to go potty. As with all parenting trials BE PATIENT.


You thought training one child was tough.......







Thanks youtube.com and about.com.