How to Toilet Train Your Toddler

There are many ways to toilet train your child, and various experts consider many of them controversial. Remember that your child will give you signs to indicate readiness for the big step.

Difficulty: Moderately challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Training Pants
• Potty Chairs

1. Assess your toddler's readiness for toilet training. Ask yourself these questions: Does your toddler follow simple instructions? Dislike having a soiled diaper? Know words for stool and urine? Sit for 5 minutes or more attending to a project? Understand the physical signals indicating the presence of urine or stool? Have dry periods for 2 hours or longer? Wake up dry from naps? These are all good indications that you can start introducing your toddler to the potty.

2. Buy a potty or toilet seat. Choose one that will suit the needs and preferences of both you and your toddler. Do you want one you can take with you anywhere? Do you want one that will rest safely on public toilets? Do you want one that makes music? Don't be surprised if your child doesn't agree with the one you think is right.

3. If you feel comfortable, have your child sit on his potty with clothes on while you, your spouse, or another person of the same sex as your child goes to the bathroom. Don't try to restrain your child or force him or her to sit down. If your toddler shows extreme fear or disdain for the potty, put it away and try again, or let your child explore the toilet seat independently.

4. Sit your child on the toilet seat without a diaper when he or she shows no signs of fear. Explain to your child what is supposed to happen on the potty. Don't be surprised if nothing happens for a long time. After two-plus years of passing urine and stool in a diaper, change will come slowly.

5. Create a toilet routine. Following a routine will set up your child for success. Place your toddler on the toilet at specific times of day - first thing in the morning, right before or after a nap, and right before bed.

6. Be patient. Some children become urine-trained before becoming stool-trained. Other children wet the bed up to age 7 or 8. All children develop and accept change differently.

Tips & Warnings

• Reward your child for making it to the potty.
• If your child has an accident on the floor or in training pants, use gentle, encouraging words. Let your child know that he or she is learning something new and that accidents are OK.
• Read toilet-training books for kids together to show your toddler that other children learn this skill, too.

Who Can Help:

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on 12/30/2006 I found the easiest way to train my little boy was to tell him the "toliet" was hungry! My child could not wait to pee and poop, and everytime we flushed the toliet, we told him the "toliet" was now very happy and content!
It worked and tried and true with my second son as well!

on 8/7/2006 First of all, try not to compete with other parents. This was a huge setback for my son, because I pushed him before he was ready. The second try was when he thought it was cool that I went to the bathroom as part of my daily life. I began putting him on his own potty and sat in the room like he did with me. If he went, I would do the "Duty Dance." I would jump around and clap and cheer and be a total loser, but he loved it.

Another proven method I used was no undies. It wasn't fun for either of us, but she learned very quickly.

The third method was a combo of allowance and a mini bubble gum machine. We were teaching our 3 year old about money and it dawned on me. When he "went", he was allowed to buy an item from the machine, but if he had an accident, he would have to pay me a penny to clean up the mess.

on 12/15/2005 I started first thing in the morning and after naps with my kids, as soon as they were able to walk well and get on the potty by themselves. They usually had to go a few minutes after waking, so I would get them on the potty and wait a minute or two and they would pee. After a few days of that, I had them on the potty more frequently through the day.

on 11/22/2005 Twenty plus years ago I used the treat method to train my kids, and it worked for both. I am now training my 18 month old grandson the same way. Using the candy idea as treats, I bought the flat suckers that you can find strung together (you know, the ones where the plastic wrappers are connected in a strand). We called them "Potty Pops" and tacked them to the bathroom wall with a push pin. Each time they would use their potty chairs, they would be rewarded with a potty pop. They were not allowed to have them unless they did, which made the treat seem more special. My kids were both trained before 2 years of age and I found it quite easy. Good Luck!

on 11/22/2005 I hung a Ziplock bag on the wall and filled it with gummy LifeSavers. When my daughter went to the potty she got one. But, only when she used the potty! It worked great.