Potty Training
Thinking about potty training?
Need some potty training advice?
It’s never too early to introduce your baby to a potty or the idea of going to the toilet. Here at Screaming Green we don’t believe you can potty train a toddler overnight or in seven days! It’s an ongoing process and the culmination of lots of new skills and experiences. Most importantly, your child and your instincts will tell you when they are ready. Good signs to look out for are, an interest in the toilet, letting you know when they have pooped or if you are lucky when they are going to poo, and the ability to take down and pull up their own trousers and pants. You don’t need to wait for all these signs to have a go.
If you’re able to ask grandparents; ask them at what age they potty trained your parents. The answer we usually hear is from around six months. Now, we are not suggesting babies can be fully potty trained at six months but you shouldn’t be frightened to start early. The trend for potty training is getting later and later and as a society we seem to be losing our confidence when it comes to being in tune with our babies. We are constantly being bombarded with adverts for disposable trainer pants and disposable bed wetter pants, all in bigger and bigger sizes. All children are different. We often hear that boys potty train at a later age than girls. There is also a lot to be said for potty training children before they get too independent and stubborn! You and your baby can do it and you will know when you are ready to start.
Here are our top tips to help you build up to potty training:-
Don’t be shy. Let them see you use the loo and answer any questions they ask.Teach them the difference between wet and dry using one wet flannel and one dry flannel. Let your toddler sit on the potty with clothes on and then nappy off. Start using the potty before bath time. If they are in a routine pop them on the potty when you think they are most likely to have a poo or if they have just had a big drink.
Set aside a couple of days where you can be at home or at relaxed friends and family and make the brave step to pants or washable trainer pants. Offer the potty every 20 minutes. Running round with nothing on the bottom half (the toddler not you, although you may want to take spare pairs of bottoms out with you) helps your toddler get to the potty with as little fuss as possible. Keeping the potty in eyesight is always a good idea too.
Reusable trainer pants are great for popping to the shops or going to someone else’s house. The pants will get soaked and you may need to change your Childs clothes but as a rule of thumb they hold one good wee. They prevent a massive puddle on the floor or a nice sofa. No one needs to know about the accident keeping you and your toddler relaxed. We love Imse Vimse potty training pants as they are super soft and have funky patterns. There is no crinkly waterproof outers so you shouldn‘t face any resistance from your little one. They are just like extra thick pants.
You don’t need to feel trapped at home when potty training. Trainer pants are great for unexpected accidents but there will be lots of times when your child will give you notice that they want to go to the toilet. If you are going to friends give them a heads up before you arrive. When going shopping have a think about toilets before you leave. Most supermarkets have toilets and there are lots of café and fast food outlets on the high street. We find dashing in with a toddler usually gets you off the hook using facilities without buying food! It sometimes gets you to the front of a queue too! Using potty in a side street or at the side of the road is also completely acceptable. Carry a spare nappy sack round with you if you need to dispose of any solids. Liquids can easily go down the drain or under a bush. We also recommend carrying a hand sanitizer and some extra tissues or wipes.
If you use childcare get them on board with your potty training. We have found nursery invaluable for help and advice. We have found that once Lucy and Peter were potty trained they still had the odd accident at nursery. We put this down to having to shout a bit louder if they need to go and too many fun things going on.
Stickers can work well. Popping them on the potty works as a great visual reward every time they go or set up a reward chart. Don’t go overboard though. They aren’t performing seals. Wee notion heat sensitive stickers in the bottom of the potty are great fun. A trip to the library to pick up some potty story books or a trip to town to pick some big boy/girl pants is a fun idea too.
Keep calm. Even if you think they have got the hang of it they will still keep having accidents. Potty training regression isn’t unusual but don’t give up or be tempted to go back to nappies once your child has shown they can potty train. We found our children regressed when we all got a bit too blasé about the whole thing and kept forgetting to remind them to go.
Give them plenty of time. We are always in a rush but one of the worst thing you can do is rush your child when they are at the toilet. You will have to go with your instincts on this one though as smart toddlers can start to use potty training as a delay tactic, particularly at bedtime. To avoid spending hours sitting with them on the loo we recommend the Tots Bots 3in1 potty. For toddlers who are happy to sit in front of the TV this is a comfy big potty and for those who like to sit on the loo there is a non slip toilet seat.
Bedtime. We didn’t do anything special to get our children out of nappies at night. Once they had been consecutively dry for a number of nights we popped them into trainer pants and had a potty in the bedroom. When the trainer pants weren’t getting wet, we went pant free. We got the odd accident but we expect this to continue on and offer for a good number of years but in fact within a couple of months they were reliably dry. It is not unusual for older children to start wetting the bed after being dry for a number of years and you have to wash the bed sheets some time! Some parents choose to “lift” their children before they go to bed themselves. This involves lift you child out of bed and popping them on the potty while they are still half asleep in the hope they will then go straight back to bed. Heather tried this a couple of times and it did work but didn’t like to risk keeping Lucy up when she was ready for bed herself.
Most importantly, don’t feel rushed but have confidence in your baby’s ability and go with the flow (pardon the pun)!
Do post your own tips on our facebook page or email us with your own stories.
Good luck!