Parents typically experience different emotional states including happiness, anger and sometimes frustration during their child’s potty training process. However, it is good to know that for the child, the feelings can be even stronger! If you learn to understand it, your road to successful potty training will be shorter.
For the child, this learning experience is a nightmare! Right at the moment they are having fun and enjoying themselves with their favorite toy, they have to deal with a process which is anything but enjoyable!
What Does The Child Believe?
It’s hard to say for sure exactly what they may thing, but a guess would be that: Life is not fair! Whenever they try to eliminate a lot of waste products, mom or dad takes it, throws it into the toilet and it is flushed away. The child does not have a clear image about hygiene and doesn’t have a clue as to what’s happening. Patience is very important at this stage.
The little one does not understand why this is necessary. It scares the child and makes him or her wonder why this is so important to mom or dad. Why does my bottom slide into the potty? Will it swallow me? What is this toilet? What is hiding in there? Is there a monster in there? That water sounds terrible! Where does my waste go? The key here is to try to make it as fun as possible and reward the child for successful attempts. For our son, seeing peers going to the bathroom helped tremendously. There is something to be said about positive peer pressure.
Then, after a youngster starts to succeed, they must face other sources of stress like washing hands and zipping pants. Sometimes, the child cannot synchronize these post-potty activities and their underpants get stained or wet. Frustration grows and right then, mom seems displeased with them. That is too much! Mom does not love them anymore…Why? Therefore, at this point your maturity as parents and your capacity to understand must surface. You’re faced with turning this ritual into something pleasant without losing your patience!
Potty Training – When To Begin?
It is hard to say when it’s the right time to start potty training. There is no specific age for this training. In general, children between 18 and 30 months are ready for potty training, but some of them take a bit longer. However, don’t let this scare you! If the child is ready, it will be easier for him or her to do it. If you push the child, you risk both failure and a frustrated, unhappy son or daughter. Thus, you should show your child all the steps, but the child must decide when to start it and how.
Potty Training Signs – When Do We Know That the Child is Ready?
There are some obvious signs like that moment when the little one is able to sit easily, when the child begins to imitate adults behavior in the bathroom and when the child starts to refuse the Pampers and wants ‘big boy’ underwear like Daddy has. When you think this time has arrived, offer the child this alternative to diapers.
Another sign is that moment when the youngster becomes concerned about being clean and neat. He or she puts things where they came from, picks up toys, etc. They show the first signs of becoming independent, such as wanting to climb down the stairs on their own, or simply starts to ask to use the potty.
You can start potty training when the potty becomes interesting to the child and when doing so becomes a fun game rather than an unpleasant experience. Another typical sign is when they are finally able to zip or unzip their pants without help and also when they finally seem to understand and appreciate the difference between being wet and being dry.
There are some children who need to be preoccupied with something else while using the potty like a book or a toy, to follow a certain ritual. Some of them may choose to use their potty when brings them to the potty and puts on a special child’s chair. Other kids need to talk with their mom or dad or have a need to be told a story. Anyway, with patience and creativity, even the most difficult child can be potty trained.
Taking it one step at a time
Potty training is something that your child can learn regardless of whether it takes a few days or a few months. Just remember that a child must be ready for it when they are, not when you are. After all, it is not your project, it is his or hers. You are only a wise and patient assistant! Good Luck!!
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