Potty training is not an easy thing to teach. It is always a stress for the whole family. One of the great relief for both the mom and the child is when your kid goes potty already and doesn’t wear diapers anymore
It is more convenient, after all. So, if you decide to start potty training quite early, then here you will find some useful tips on how to teach a child under 2 to go potty.
Before you plan potty training, you should know the answers to the following questions:
1. What is the best time/age to start teaching the kid to go potty?
2. How do I know that my little one is ready for it? And isn’t it too early to potty train a child under 2?
3. Does it take long?
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The best time/age to start the path to the potty training
First of all, you should see that the child is ready for it. Then you have to get yourself ready as well. Think about what is waiting for you ahead.
Your task is to catch that perfect moment to start teaching your little one.
So here are a couple of the most common actions that you should accept as a sign to start potty training:
- the child is curious about the potty;
- this child shows a clear desire to sit on the potty;
- the child tries to put off/puts off a diaper by themselves after they get themselves wet;
- they ask you to change them after they pee in a diaper;
- now your kid becomes shy to do a poo in front of you, and they hide somewhere to get it done.
The child doesn’t need to show all these signs to you. It can be one or two signs or even none of them.
You will feel that it is high time to start. Just give it a try, and you will see if the child is ready.
If you know that they are not, it is better to postpone potty training a little bit. It is absolutely normal. Just choose another date to start.
Yes, my little one is ready for potty training!
There is no precise age/time when the child is ready because each child is different. You should choose the date of potty teaching individually for your child. Though, experience shows that it is much better to start the potty path before your kid is 2.
It is the age when some habits are forming. Of course, this is also the age of many changes like attending kindergarten, first words, new siblings, etc.
There might be too much stress during one period of time but try to do it step by step. The child of this age can adapt to new circumstances. It is not that difficult.
In fact, the child gains new and new experiences all the time. There is no clear line between periods of change. It is absolutely fine to start potty training when the child is 21 months.
If you teach your child now, you will avoid even more significant stress in the future because some new and even harder challenges are waiting for the kid.
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Duration of potty training?
Your main task is to catch that window when the child is ready for this change in their life. When you feel that it is high time to start, then go ahead and do it. You should teach your child to tell you when they want to pee or to do a poo.
It is not difficult to teach them a couple of words to share what they want to do. It will be easier to understand your kid, and actually, it is right when the child is telling you about it.
So, let’s have a plan on how to start!
- Set the date of the beginning of potty training. And get ready that it can take a couple of days or even weeks.
- Get the main thing – the potty. And hide diapers.
- Believe in your kid and your mutual success in potty training.
It would be best if you started from the day potty training first. When the child knows what it is and quickly goes potty during the day, you can get down to the night potty training. So, here are some general rules which will help you to start:
1. Ask them to sit on the potty when their bladder is full.
2. Let the child be without underwear. The child feels like they are wearing a diaper when they are in pants. And they will poop or pee in it.
Also, be ready that accidents can happen, at least, during the first couple of days, as the child does not fully understand what to do and can poop or pee not in the potty and not wearing anything.
3. The potty should be easily reachable. Have a small one in the baby’s room or in the place where they usually play. In case of emergency, you will always have a small potty at hand.
4. Observe your child. When the morning comes, the child does not usually wear a lot of clothes. So, you must catch some signs that they want to poop or pee.
It can be any sign: crossed legs, suspicious silence, groaning. Be ready that the child will not tell you what they want on the first day of potty training, and a couple of accidents can happen. Just be attentive to your toddler, and you will know when it is time to put them on the potty.
5. Before the daytime nap, ask your little one to sit on the potty and pee or poop. Then put a diaper on the child and get them off to sleep.
6. After the child wakes up, ask them to pee, and put them on the potty. Only then dress the child. Keep an eye on your toddler all the time again as you can catch the signs, which will show you that it is also the time for sitting on the potty.
7. When it is time for the night sleep, follow the same routine as usual. The child should brush their teeth, have a bath, and eat.
After that, ask them to sit on the potty again. Only after that dress the child in the night clothing and get them off to sleep.
Keep to these steps every day. The sign of success is more urine in the potty and less number of accidents.
Let the child walk and play half-naked from time to time at the beginning of potty training. When they go potty a little bit, you can dress them in pants as you will be more or less sure that no accident will happen.
How to be with trips?
It is better to avoid or postpone trips while you train your toddler to go potty. If you have to travel, try to make it short. Before you leave, double-check if the child does not want to poop or pee and ask them to sit on the potty.
Explain to them that it will be a trip, and it is better to pee now; on the road, the child can sleep or play, and nothing will bother them. Besides, put special waterproof clothing on the car seat in case an accident happens.
If the trip is quite short, before the departure and after the arrival, ask the toddler to go potty. Besides, try to guess when your kid understands what you say.
For example, some children clearly understand the phrase “you need to wait until we are back home” as not to pee or poop in their pants. Others can understand the phrase “hold on until we are back home” better. It is also individual for each child.
If the trip takes more time, it is still better to use diapers.
Check our The Ultimate Guide to Road Trips with Kids. We will discuss some of the ins and outs, tips and tricks for taking the ultimate road trip with your children.
You will face accidents.
1. The child cannot do a poo for a long time. It is expected, especially during the first period. The child will not wear diapers any longer, and it is an unusual condition for them.
That is why doing a poo won’t be easy for them. You will be able to define that it is high time to put the kid on the potty due to signs like child’s mimic, sounds; they can squat or cross their legs. Once you get the signal, grab the potty, and put it under the child’s bottom.
2. Be ready that the child will poop during sleep. Their little body is relaxed, and they are yet too small to control it at night.
It is also expected. So, you can use swaddling clothes at the beginning of the potty training.
3. Be ready for accidents. It is also normal. Do not react to it roughly.
You should explain to the child that it can happen from time to time. You should not shout at the child; otherwise, it can cause some psychological disorders. So, be careful.
Here we gathered 15 useful tips regarding easy potty training for your baby
1. When you are going to buy a potty, let your kid choose the one they like. The child will feel involved in this process and show a bigger desire to use the potty they decided to take.
2. If you have older children, it will help you a lot. When you buy underpants for your older child, show them to your toddler. The underwear has cool and colorful printing, with their favorite cartoon heroes.
Explain to your little one that once they start to go potty, you will buy them the same nice underpants with their favorite characters. During potty training, you can also dress the child in such underpants as an encouragement for them.
3. Choose the best place for the potty in the house. You can put it in the bathroom. Then the child will learn the logical connection between the potty and the flush toilet in your bathroom.
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You can also set the potty in the bedroom to use it before the child falls asleep or immediately after waking up. It is very convenient.
You can also put it in the play-room where the child spends a lot of time during the day. The potty will draw their attention and interest.
4. Create a schedule for going to the potty. It is beneficial to plan when you put the toddler on the potty, for example, right after eating or after having a walk. In such a way, the child will get used to going to the potty and will accept it as a usual action.
5. Create a dashboard with rewards. You can stick the board on the wall next to the potty. Each time your little one goes potty successfully, give them a sticker with their favorite heroes, and let the child stick it on the board.
They will understand that it is a good thing to go potty as they are rewarded for that. And your little one will be happy.
6. Sing your special song. If you see that the child is scared when it comes to sitting on the potty, you should think about making them relaxed.
Singing a song is one of the ways out. You can search for the song on the Internet. You will definitely find a lot of ideas on this topic.
7. Praise them every time they go potty, as this process will bring the child positive emotions. You can hug and kiss them, tell praising words.
You can give them treats (candies, some juice, cookies, small toys, stickers, and so on). It will motivate your toddler to go potty more often.
8. Fairy tales about going potty. Buy a new bright book for the child, preferably if the book is about going potty. When you put the child on the potty, read them the new book.
You can bring their favorite book as well. The child will listen to you. And it will make the kid relaxed.
Another way out is role playing. You can show how to go potty through playing. You can use the child’s favorite toy and show them how the toy is sitting on the potty doing a pee or poo.
9. Let your kid walk nacked around the house. As the child has no diapers or training pants, it will provoke them to sit on the potty.
It is even useful for the child’s skin to wear nothing for a while to prevent skin irritation and rashes on their bottom. Also, it is better to use this method during warm seasons.
10. Make going potty as a routine. Schedule when it is better to put the child on the potty. For example, let it be before going to sleep and after it / before having a meal or after it / before and after having a walk.
In such a way, you will show the routine regime of going potty that will become the child’s habit later on.
11. Your own example. When you need to go to the toilet, take your little one with you and show the toddler how easy it is. It is better if the mom shows it for her daughter and the father demonstrates it for his son.
If you have older children, you can ask them to demonstrate it as well. The child will see the example and imitate you on their own small potty.
12. Put some magic! When the child pees, the color of the water changes. It would be exciting if it changes to blue or green or purple.
Just use some pigments or dye-stuff to change the color. Your toddler will be curious to observe how the color changes when they are peeing in the potty.
13. Boys need more time than girls. It would help if you devoted more time for your son to train him to go potty as there are two ways for boys to pee.
First, you should teach them how to pee sitting down. Only then you can train them on how to pee standing up.
14. Sometimes it is hard and painful for the child to poop. It scares them, and they do not want to do it again. You should explain to them that the child needs to relax and realize that it is a natural process.
There is nothing to worry about. Be next to your little kid while they are doing it. You can also turn on a child’s favorite cartoon or read the book they like.
It will help them to relax and make this procedure not that painful.
15. Do not punish your little one if they do something wrong. If you shout at the child, they will be afraid of going to the toilet and will hide from you when they want to poop or pee. It can cause additional pressure on them.
Just explain to the toddler why it is wrong. If you see that this fail lasts for a long time, you should think about postponing potty training. Maybe, your child is not ready for the potty at that early age.
Be ready that this process can fail from time to time. It is also normal. Regress is also a part of the teaching process. You should pull yourself together, be patient, and try it again.
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