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How Do We Know When to Back Off?
While a number of parenting materials would say children ages 18 months to 3 years need to be toilet trained, that does not necessarily apply to all children. Being a mother, you have long realized that your child is unique. He has his unique attitude and unique needs. Potty training is something that you need to work on with your child, only when he is ready. Starting too early on your toilet training might put you through a series of potty training problems.
Most potty training problems are caused by a child’s immaturity. Immaturity means that he is not yet ready for the demands of toilet training. Immaturity can lead to days, weeks and months of messy training. Children usually have a short attention span. They will not stay focused on something that they cannot understand. As you may observe, young children tend to keep their hands at work which causes them to discover the contents of your purse or make a mess with your makeup. They can’t help it; they are still immature.
Another potty training problem is over-imaginativeness. Some children refuse to go near the toilet bowl fearing that they might get sucked down the toilet by the flush. Ridiculous as it may sound but those little minds sure get worked up with surreal impressions of your toilet.
If a child urinates after a bowel movement or right after being taken off the toilet, it is a good sign that he is still not ready to go through potty training. This scenario is often caused by his inability to relax the muscles that control the bladder and bowel at the same time.
There are some children that ask for a diaper when they are expecting a bowel movement. Silly enough, they prefer passing their stool in their diaper in their special place. The good thing about this scenario is that the child is capable of recognizing his pooping urges. This may just be a passing stage. Just don’t forget to praise your child for recognizing his bowel signals. You can actually work from there. Gradually lead and convince him to defecate in the toilet instead of his special place.
Some children refuse to go potty unaccompanied. Some children may even become comfortable going to the toilet only with their Mommy. This is actually normal because you are the person your child trust most. With that, you can gradually withdraw yourself from the picture.
Urinating while sleeping is a common problem when potty training. Expect a lot of accidents when you are potty training your child. As a solution, make it a habit to make him pee before going to sleep. Also, in the morning as he wakes up, take him straight to the toilet to prevent accidents in his bed.
One classic indication of his potty training readiness is more frequent diaper changes. Since regular diapers become somewhat inadequate to your child’s pee and poop discharge, toilet training becomes necessary. To make your toilet training a success, make it a fun experience.
Invest on a cute potty trainer to encourage your child to do the deed in the toilet. You can also let your other children join in so the little one will imitate your older children’s toilet habits. Lastly, even when your child makes a mess or has accidents, keep smiling. Hug him when he seems to become frustrated. Beyond words, your love and affection is a silent way of saying, “you are doing better each day kid!” What is a better form of encouragement than that?