Our previous article was about potty training. Now we have collected some tips for you to go through this time as smoothly as possible. Timing is really important, start the process only when your child is ready.

Firstly it is worth buying some tools to start potty training. You can choose from several
potties, all of them are good. You can also use potty seats with which kids can use the “big adult
toilet”, too; or you can choose a toddler step stool and they will easily sit on the toilet themselves.
Talk about the topic without taboos, children should ask their questions if they have some and you should answer these according to their ages.

Let’s see our tips and advice:

Which should come first: a potty or the toilet?
Some kids don’t like toilets, they prefer the potty since it is smaller, more comfortable and they can use it individually. But this can happen the other way around, too. The most important thing is to find the tool your kid feels comfortable with. Do not insist on anything.

In summer everything is easier
Why is it easier? Is potty training only possible in summer? No, not necessarily, but it’s easier – this is a fact. If your child is ready, summer is ideal to start potty training. Firstly you don’t need so many clothes: underwear and a T-shirt is enough to play. In case of a little accident, kids will feel the wet pants, as opposed to diapers, which absorb pee. It’s easier to change clothes since you just need to have another underwear and they can continue playing. Bodies might be uncomfortable in the summer heat and it is not practical since every second counts. Little underwear can be managed easier by kids themselves, they won’t need to wait for the help of an adult. This is also key in terms of teaching them to be independent.

Do not push them, just encourage them:
Every child has a different way of development. There are kids who will be potty trained sooner, and for others this takes more time. It is important that you should not push or force the process. Be nice and patient. Trust your kids that they will tell you if they feel the need to go and in this case hurry to the toilet or to the potty.

Talk about it:
Ask your kid if he or she needs to pee; if yes, go together. When you change the diaper and you see that it is clean, you can ask whether your kid would like to try to pee or not. If not, it is also okay. Tell them about the road of the pee through the toilet into the drain and so on. This might sound strange for an adult mind but kids are sometimes afraid of the toilet since things disappear in it. By telling them a tale about it, they will feel reassured. In the bookshops you will find several books in this topic.

Accidents happen:
At the beginning accidents will happen because kids can be absorbed in playing easily and they don’t recognize the need to go to the toilet. Never rag your child for this, never put them to shame. Accomplished success shall be emphasized more and praise them when they succeed in going to the toilet on time. At the beginning have some spare clothes with you always. To manage accidents we recommend you great books, for example Pip and Posy: A Little Puddle.

Cooperate with the childcare professionals:
Kids who are among other kids in the day-care or in the kindergarten will be potty trained sooner since they can motivate each other. They see their peers pee into the potty or the toilet and they will be willing to try it, too. In the day-care and kindergarten there are little toilets so children can sit onto them easily alone without a potty seat. You can rely on your kid’s early childcare professionals, too, they always offer the possibility for the group to try and support the process. In the afternoon kids will proudly tell the parents that they succeeded.

Every family goes through this process, there is no need to be afraid of it, and it is completely natural. It is important that we should be patient and calm. This will make our kids feel that we trust them and understand them.

Nikoletta Széki – Forest Tale Daycare

Fotó: iStock

This article is translated by Emese Murin.
Click here for the Hungarian version.