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Potty/Toilet Training Guide for Parents

***As a parent, we've been through the challenge of training our child to use the potty. There is no right or wrong way of training but choosing the right time and knowing that they are ready makes it easier for us to train them. There is no specific age to tell you that they are ready. Every child is different so it's just right not to compare them with others.*** When the children are physically ready, they can control their bowels and bladder and when they want to be dry and clean. Take note that most children can control their bowels before their bladder. *By age 1*, most babies have stopped pooping at night *By age 2*, some children are dry during the day, but this is still quite early *By age 3*, they are dry most days - even then, all children have odd "accident" when they're excited or upset for example. *By age 4,* children are reliably dry during the day Staying dry throughout the night takes time for children to learn and sometimes, they still wet the bed at the age of 5. When should you start? Keep in mind that you cannot force your child to use a potty. It's a new skill for our child to use it. Learning them takes patience and we as a parent must take it slowly and go with our child's pace. Most of the children become potty trained between the ages of 2 and 3. Some are ready before they are 2 and others are not ready until after they are 3 years. *Our children are ready for potty training when these happen:* ****THEIR BODY IS READY**** If our child can control his bladder and bowel, he is ready. As children develop at different rates, it is easier to train them when they have control over their bowel and bladder actions. ****THEIR MIND IS READY**** This is when our child knows when they've wet or soiled. Usually, the child is ready when he tugs or takes off a wet or dirty nappy. When they get to know when they're peeing and may also tell you that he needs changing. Sometimes they go hide somewhere to pee. Common problems during potty/toilet training Some children are easily trained and some are very challenging. Here are some common problems: **The child won't use the potty.** If you started potty train your child too early, this will usually happen. If the child won't use the potty, the best thing to do is to stop the training for a month or two. The child will be more likely to use it if you don't force him to sit on it. **The child was potty trained but has started wetting/soiling again.** This is a common problem as I had this with my daughter. She was potty trained before she was 2 and easily learned it. But when she's 3, she started wetting herself again. And from time to time have little "accidents". ****Remember****: Don't get upset with your child when they wet/soiled themselves even if it seems like they're doing it on purpose. We can be angry but never try to show these feelings to your child. Praise your child or give them a reward for any dry times even he is wet the rest of the day especially when he does use the potty or toilet. **The child is constipated.** Children vary a lot in how often they pass bowel movements. Some children go more than once a day, some go once a day, and some go once every two or three days. All these are quite normal. If your child passes hard bowel movements once a week or less, it is likely that he is constipated. He may not want to use the potty or toilet, in case it hurts him. Make sure that he drinks a lot and eats high fibre foods such as whole-grain cereals, wholemeal bread, brown rice, beans and peas. If the problem carries on, talk to your family doctor.

*I have no problem with potty training my daughters as she learned it herself. We just bought her a potty! The key in her potty training is we bought her a baby alive potty training doll that she played with. She learns to feed it and sit the doll on the potty to pee. And when she able to control her bladder, she goes to the potty and does exactly the same thing.* *But when she's 3, she started wetting herself again because she waited too long to go to the toilet. At night we have to put pull-ups on her so she doesn't wet the bed. And I'm glad she stopped it herself and don't want to wear a nappy any more.* **How about you, what's your potty training experience? Do you have any tips to share with other parents? Please comment down below.** THANK YOU FOR READING.

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