I would like to share with you the best potty-training tips I received from potty-training experts recently. Our daughter is now 2.5 years old and we are finally entering that
important stage - potty-training. We attended a potty-training event where we got loads of expert tips and a few products to help our potty training along. I found this information so useful I though I'd share these top tips with you guys as well, and tell you a bit about our experiences of potty training. Please note, this post is written in collaboration with Huggies UK.
When to start potty training?
Whenever the child is showing the signs! The signs are showing interest in potties or going to the toilet and recognising when they are wet/soiled and wanting to be changed. They should also be able to follow simple instructions. Age isn't really important, it is more about the aptitude.
That said, it is best to leave potty training to a time when there isn't
too much change in your lives. It can be too stressful for the little
one otherwise! Our daughter showed the signs for a long time, but as we were moving house, we delayed her potty training a few months as we wanted her to settle in
first.
Summer or winter?
It is a bit easier in the summer time as you need less layers, and could
go bare naked too. That said, it is important to start potty training
as soon as the child shows interest in. You might lose that momentum if
you wait for the optimal season.
First steps to potty training
Explain, explain and explain what to do. Take your child to the toilet with you - they are so fascinated about what is going on they won't mind the smell ha ha. Kids love learning by example. We also bought
a potty training book and started reading it, and it made a world of a difference to her enthusiasm.
Our book explains how you say good bye to nappies and hello to big girl
pants, and she was really excited about this message. We bought her a
load of little knickers, which she loved wearing, and most definitely
made her realise straight away when she had just peed/pooed herself!
When we go out, she wears
Huggies Pull-Ups. They are fab as they let her experience the wetness on her skin, so she recognises
the sensation and can start learning about when she needs to go. She
often wears the Pull-Ups home as well - we call them her special pants
and she loves putting them on and gets excited about the different pictures on them. Using Pull-Ups means potty training is a bit less of a hassle for us and when we are outside, she won't get upset about having an accident and soiling her clothes.
We also received a potty for her -
My Carry Potty Ladybug. My daughter got to choose a potty out of three options, a ladybug, a bee and a cow, and she was just beaming with her choice. She loved it and is now insisting on taking it with her everywhere. That's a great tip by the way - let them choose their own potty to get them all excited about potty training and let them have a sense of ownership of the whole process.
Potty training on the go
Currently we use Huggies Pull-Ups outside, and take her
My Carry Potty with us when we go visit family. She loves having her potty with her, and it helps that we are consistent about potty training. She doesn't wear nappies except at night time, and she gets to use her potty even if we are out of the house. It really does help! Having a potty with you, even when you go to the shops is really helpful as well, as you can whip it out whenever you need to and avoid accidents on the go. My Carry Potty also has some serious sealing action on it - I haven't had to test it in action yet, but I am pretty confident it would hold anything in it until you can empty it!
When to night time potty train?
The best time to start night time potty training is when they start to have dry nappies in the morning. Each to their own, you can do night time potty training at the same time as day time potty training or once your child has gotten the hang of it during the day. It's likely that this will take a while, and it might be better for your own sanity to nail day time before progressing to night time!
Rewarding success
You can reward children with stickers, or use a reward chart, and apparently it really helps. We however decided not to reward her with anything else than praise and encouragement. One reason is that we think that really is enough, secondly we didn't want to encourage material rewards. But each to their own - some children apparently really appreciate a little reward like a sticker, or perhaps after doing well enough for an extended period of time, something a bit bigger like a colouring book. We got some fab Huggies stickers, and a
Crayola colouring pens and a book to use as rewards.
Trouble shooting: What if it is scary?
It is quite normal for kids to get scared of the sensation, the mess and
the end result. They might even feel bashful and upset at their bodily
movements and try hide during or after pooing.
Our daughter got really upset when we first tried potty
training her and we had several stop and starts with her potty training. She
got so upset and cried a lot when she did a poo without a nappy on, and
after that she refused to even go near a potty. We decided to leave it
for a few months to get over the bad feeling, and to try again later.
Lots of encouragement helps, as well as making poo fun and non-
threatening (yes, really). The first poo our daughter made on the potty took lots of encouragement, a bit of "magic" by mummy using her fairy wand (don't ask...) and lots of time sitting around the potty. Once she did it, we took it to the toilet and waved it good bye, and flushed it away. Yes. We really did that, just to prove poo isn't scary and she doesn't need to be upset about it. Parental love in action!
How did we get on?
After about a week of consistent effort we got a first poo in the potty! Yay! At first she was a bit scared of the whole process and would hold it in, and then poo when she was sleeping, but after lots of encouragement we got there. Day time wees are a bit more difficult to catch as they come so quick, but we are getting there. We use the Pull-Ups when we go out to avoid little accidents. As she feels the wetness with them, she is also learning about the sensations that lead to peeing. We also take the My Carry Potty with us so she can potty train even if we are out. She is doing really well and is learning so fast - it really did help to wait until she was ready and to be consistent in our efforts.
Potty training kit giveaway (now ended!)
I got a full potty training kit to take away from the event - and I'll be able to share one with you too! It includes Huggies Pull-Ups, Huggies Style on the Go wipes pack, Huggies Disney stickers, a My Carry Potty, a My Carry Potty book, Crayola colouring pens and a Crayola colouring book. So it really is a complete potty training kit, with everything you need!
T&C: UK residents only! Can't guarantee the colour/model/exact quantity of the products, the picture is for representative purposes only. You can enter daily with a tweet and the free entry :)
Edit: There are some fabulous tips in the comment box, be sure not to miss them. I can't reply to you all, as there are over 50 of them currently, but I have read every comment and am planning to do a follow-up post referencing them :)
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