Recently a Utah State House Bill was passed requiring potty training to enter kindergarten. In this blog post we’re talking all things potty. From training tips to helpful videos, let’s dive into some potty talk.
Potty Training Suggestions:
1. What products do I need to get started? Get a toilet seat that has a double lid, one for little booties and one for bigger booties. Emma Hubbard explains the benefits in this video. Who wants to empty a kiddie potty after their child has used it? Not me. Purchasing a training toilet doubles the work for you and doubles the training. Your child will have to learn to use both the training toilet and the big potty. Toilet seats with double lids keep your child from falling in or sliding around which can help them feel safe enough to pee or poop. Additionally, get a sturdy stepping stool that puts your child’s knees slightly higher than their hips. This puts them in position to successfully use the toilet.
2. Prep your child for potty training. Toilet training shouldn’t happen to your children, it should happen with your child. How do you do this?
- Look for signs of readiness. Most kids are ready to potty train between 2-3 years of age. Check out these signs of readiness and signs they’re not ready.
- Talk about potty training in an exciting light! When it was time to potty train, I took my son to the store, allowed him to pick out his own boxers, and a toy (he chose a bubble lawnmower). It was his gift for starting potty training. I prepped him for this day by reading books and watching short video clips about potty training, which are linked throughout this post. I also gave him a heads-up. A couple weeks before we started potty training I told him we would be starting in 2 weeks. A week later I reminded him it was in 1 week. Then I reminded him when we were a day or two out. I kept the reminders limited so he could see the day coming and didn’t have too much time to lose motivation.
- Teach before you start. Many kids fear pooping in the toilet. As you prepare to potty train, any poops in the diaper that can be disposed of in the toilet should be. Your child can follow you from the bum changing station to the toilet as you drop their poop into the toilet. Then, let your child do the flushing and wash their hands after. This is good preparatory behavior that teaches your child where poop goes, and what to do after they use the toilet.
3. It’s okay to talk about your own bodily functions. For example, “I drank a lot of water and now I need to use the bathroom.” “I think I need to poop.” This teaches your child that everyone goes to the bathroom and there’s no shame. It also helps them recognize their own bodily signals that may be telling them it’s time to use the toilet.
4. Laying down the law. Everyone uses the bathroom before we leave the house, before nap or quiet time, and before bed, etc. This is just a habit we reiterate. It also means fewer visits to the public restroom or stops along the road.
5. Everyone has a toilet! “Rachel, did you know they have a bathroom in Hobby Lobby?” If you need to go to the bathroom, I can show you where it is. There are potties everywhere!” When we started potty training this was how many of our outing conversations began. It’s comforting to know that you can find a bathroom just about anywhere you go!
6. When accidents happen… don’t freak out. If I yell and scream at my child for having another accident, then he will correlate fear with potty training and may regress. The sensation of being wet or dry is more obvious when a child is wearing underwear. They will start to learn that being wet is uncomfortable.
7. Cleaning up the mess. Get a cleaning solution that helps remove accidents from the carpet. You can find both products for kid stains and/or pet stains that work just as well. (The most memorable baby shower item I got was a pet urine destroyer.)
8. Make the potty training steps easy to remember. Daniel Tiger was a favorite for us. We found a book that sang the potty songs from Daniel Tiger. We watched the Stop and Go Potty video just about every day as we prepared to start potty training. This made it easy to remember the steps to take when using the toilet. “When you got to go potty, stop and go right away! Flush and wash and be on your way!” See if your child’s favorite character has a book or song about potty training you can incorporate into your child’s training.
9. What to say instead of, “Do you want to go to the potty?” Emma Hubbard gives a great suggestion, she says to highlight what you are seeing. “[Sarah] you’re jumping on the spot. Your body is saying it needs to go to the toilet.” Here’s another Daniel Tiger video that demonstrates this.
Eventually, you won’t have to worry about encouraging your child to use the toilet because they will be in tune with their body and use it when they need to. Learning to wipe their own bottom or make it through the night consistently without accidents are skills that will come down the road. Take a deep breath. You will get through toilet training. Reach out to Help Me Grow Utah if you are seeking additional resources on potty training.
