Thinking about Potty Training? Time really does fly when you have children! One minute you’re arriving home from hospital with a tiny newborn all wrapped up in a baby swaddle blanket, the next minute you’re thinking about potty training!
Potty Training can be a bit of a minefield but not if you go about it properly. There’s so much advice out there and yes it is worth reading a bit about the subject. However, you know your child better than anyone and if you don’t think your little one is ready then the chances are they aren’t.
Yes most children are kind of ready to start potty training between two and three, but some children can be dry at two whereas others may still be having frequent accidents at three and a half to four. And just because one of your children sailed through potty training, it doesn’t mean to say the others will.
One thing is definite though, you can’t force your child to use a potty or toilet. If they’re not ready then they’re not ready. At the end of the day most children are well and truly toilet-trained by the time they go to school so don’t stress too much about the timing.
Personally I tried to make sure I timed potty training to coincide with the summer months. This makes it easier because you can let your little one run around outside without any bottoms on so they get used
to the feeling of weeing and its consequences without wetting numerous pairs of pants! They feel the wee on their legs and pretty soon (if they’re ready) they’ll start to recognise the feeling before the wee comes. So when you see them start to wee, you pop them on the potty, show them what they’ve done and praise them. Before long they’re running to the potty of their own accord.
Yes some children take longer than others to get there but it is not a competition. Just ignore those boastful Mums in Mother & Baby Groups who rave about how easy potty training was for them and just concentrate on your little one.
Prepare by going shopping with your child to buy a new potty. Tell them it’s because they are now a ‘big girl’ or ‘big boy’. Buy a couple of packs of cotton pants and stock up with disinfectant and other bits and bobs so mopping up accidents is nice and easy. Put away the playsuits for now as the poppers are awkward to undo quickly. If they’re in the house, let them run around with just a little organic cotton tshirt on and no pants.
I can remember walking to the local shops, a potty in the basket under the buggy and my daughter wearing a cute organic cotton t-shirt dress but no knickers. As soon as she displayed a need to ‘go’, I whipped out the potty and plonked her on it. I couldn’t put her potty training on hold just because I had to take my new baby to get weighed so I just went with it...She was dry by day before two but still wetting the bed at five! Silly me assumed she’d be just as easy to ‘train’ for the night. My other children were completely different. Kids are totally unpredictable, they really are. Potty Training Tips coming soon...
Call: 020 7193 6913 Email: arendthompson@tillyandjasper.com
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