Step One to Baby Potty Training
When teaching or learning anything the first and most important part is understanding. So when teaching potty training you need to talk to your child so they can understand what potty training is all about. Talk to them when you are changing their diaper, “you have a poopy diaper and now I am putting on a clean diaper” or “your diaper is wet and now I am putting on a dry diaper.”
Change your childs diaper everytime it is soiled even if it is only a little bit. This is so important during the potty training stages. Your child needs to enjoy being clean and dry. The more they enjoy being clean and dry the easier the process will be. If you are not excited about changing them more often, just keep telling yourself that this diaper is one less diaper you will have to change later when your child is out of diapers.
Everything you talk about and express needs to be positive and happy. Never make negative comments when changing your childs diaper. Never make fun, laugh or make jokes about poop or pee, especially associated to their diaper. They may see that as form of attention. They may start to soil their diaper to get that attention. They need to feel good about potty training talk.
When you see that your child is having a bowl movement, ask them gently, WITH OUT embarrassing them, “are you going poop?” Then leave them be. If they usually go to another room and you know they are having a bowel movement, then leave them be. When they are done, you can then ask them if they just pooped? If they don’t have much to say about it, check their diaper, then explain to them what they did “you pooped in your diaper” or “you peed in your diaper.” This will give them an exact name and example of WHAT they are doing.
Be sure to always ask in a nice happy tone, you never want them to have any negative feelings associated with pooping or peeing.
Talk about the family pet, “Spot goes potty outside, and then we put that potty in the garbage” or “the kitty goes potty in the litter box and when I clean it out I put it in the garbage, just like we do with your wet or poopy diapers.” Talk to your child about the fact that everyone goes pee pee, and poop. Give them examples like “when I have drank a lot of water, I need to pee on the potty.”
Talking about everything will give your child a clear picture of the whole process of potty training. This will create a good understanding they can do. Understanding creates confidence. With confidence comes success!
Learing the potty training steps early!