How to Start Potty Training Little Girls

Many kids relish the freedom from diapers offered by successful potty training.

In China and Eastern Europe, many parents dress babies in bottomless clothing with no diaper underneath. These parents take cues from their infants behaviors and learn when to hold their babies over a commode or other desirable area to catch their bodily eliminations. In the United States, early settlers used available materials to create make-shift diapers of animal skin stuffed with grass, or linen cloths held together with safety pins. While ready-made cloth diapers and pins still exist and their use continues, many parents and caregivers are grateful for the convenience of disposable diapers. Eventually, however, the process of training little ones to use socially acceptable toileting habits must begin.

Things You'll Need

• Potty Chair or Child's Toilet Seat Attachment and Step Stool
• Toilet Paper
• Wet Wipes (optional)
• Stickers or other Incentives (optional)

Instructions

1. 

   Talking to children about toileting helps remove possible fears.

   Talk to the little girl about the uses for a toilet or potty chair. Explain that big girls use toilets or potty chairs instead of diapers.

2. 

   Modern potty chairs have evolved to better suit young ones.

   Let child thoroughly examine the toilet or potty chair to see how it is designed and how it functions. Allow child to practice pulling down her diaper to sit on toilet, then

   standing back up and pulling the diaper back into place until she can do it with minimal assistance. This may take anywhere from a few times to a couple of weeks, depending on the child's age, dexterity, and level of interest.

3. 

   Refrain from scolding for accidents.

   Help child recognize signs of needing to use the toilet like squatting, grunting, clutching at the diaper area, or jumping. Immediately escort the child to the toileting area while letting her know it looks as if she is ready to use the potty. Do not chide her if the act has already been done; in order to avoid embarrassing or stressing her about about potty training, simply say, "We reached the potty too late; we'll try again next time."

4. 

   Show appreciation for her efforts by offering verbal praise or small treats.

   When the child successfully eliminates into the toilet or her potty chair, offer high amounts of verbal praise for her success. A sticker or special treat may help encourage her to try for more successful visits to the potty.

5. 

   Rewards for potty training achievements go a long way toward building self-confidence.

   Set goals for the child to reach and give rewards when she meets those goals. For example, you may wish to buy a pair of underpants featuring her favorite cartoon character and let her know she may try them on after three entire days of dry diapers during waking hours.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't be dismayed if a child learns to use the potty during the day but continues to wet her bed at night. Learning night-time control may take a couple more months or even years to accomplish.

• Most kids learn to control urination before defecation. This is not a cause for concern.

• Teach girls to wipe from front to back and show them how to properly wash and dry their hands after toileting to help ward off infections.

• Flushable wet wipes designed for personal use help children clean themselves better after elimination.

• Setting a series of reasonable, short-term goals and offering rewards for reaching them works better with young children than setting one or two major goals. For example, starting off with rewarding a child for one whole dry day keeps potty training fun and interesting, while stating a goal of a whole month without accidents may only serve to cause the child anger and frustration with potty training.

• The size of a regular toilet may rightfully cause a child to fear the idea of falling in. Special seat attachments for toddlers are available in stores and help decrease the sensation of falling while making it easier for the child to remain an upright position with less effort. Letting the child use a stepping stool also helps them feel more comfortable climbing onto regular sized commodes.

• Never leave young children unattended in a restroom.

• Use extra vigilance around toilets designed for adults as accidents have occurred from children falling in while leaning over to flush a toilet.

• Young ones have sensitive skin. Unscented toilet paper is ideal for potty training. If using flushable wet wipes, look for ones designed for sensitive skin and limit their use for after defecation to reduce the possibility of outbreaks.

References

• Potty Training Concepts: History of Potty Training
• Parenting Science: The science of infant toilet training
• Mayo Clinic: Potty Training: How to get the job done
• Kids Health: Toilet Teaching Your Child

Resources

• Baby Center: Successful Potty Training for Girls