The Best Way to Potty Train Your Toddler

The joys of parenting are bittersweet. If you are tired of adult smelling diapers or your child brings you diapers and wipes because their tired of smelling themselves; its potty training time. When my son turned 12 months old I introduced him to his new best friend, Sponge Bob potty chair. He wasn't thrilled with the idea by any means, and no toddler will be, because it robs them of their mobility. Pull up commercials are doing the potty dance so remember to keep it fun. I'm going to give you some real life advice. If you want to have your child potty trained in a week follow my instructions closely and you will have the results you are looking for; an independent potty goer.

First and foremost when trying to potty train your son or daughter make sure your child is capable of following basic instructions even if they can't verbally communicate. If your child hasn't reached this milestone yet, don't worry they will and when they do let the potty training begin. Now let's go over all the things you will need to begin your potty training journey:

1. You will need a children's potty chair. Purchase one that sits on the floor not one that fits inside your toilet set. If your child slips on the adult toilet you will create a fear of the toilet something that can hinder your switch to the big toilet once their tall enough to reach it. Another reason you'll need this type of chair is because your child can get to it with little to no assistance; independence is one of our main goals here. The best place to find one in my opinion is Kmart, Walmart, Target, even the thrift store or good will might have one or wherever you like to shop.

2. You will need about 14 pair of children's underwear with your child's favorite character on the front. You want to buy the ones your child is crazy about as they all have favorite cartoon characters at this age. This is a very important part of the psychological aspects of making your child a independent potty goer.

3. You will need to purchase a couple pair of rubber under pants, Place these over your toddlers underwear. If you can't find them where you normally shop babies r us has them for sure.

4. You will need some entertainment. My personal choice were educational videos. Leap frog make amazing videos such as the talking letter factory. It teaches phonics which can be a big help in learning to read. This would be consider killing two birds with one stone. I love birds :) The ideal video should last no more than 30 minutes this way you will know when its time to take your child off the pot if you are working around the house. Sometimes we can't just sit in the bathroom all day so we put the potty chair in front of their favorite show from time to time.

Okay now that you have all the things you need lets put all the steps together. In order for this to work you have to be dedicated to your child and capable of doing things in a timely manner and on a strict schedule. This method of potty training wont work for someone who can't devote about two weeks initially. Trust me when I say this works. All my cousins that have children asked me how I potty trained my son by 18 months so I told them what I'm telling you. They didn't try things my way until their children were about 3 almost 4 but when they tried and followed my method it worked right away. Good Luck.

First and foremost when you bring the potty chair home introduce your child to it and show them how to work it. Allow your child to sit the potty in the bathroom across from the adult toilet in your home. It is important for you and your child to sit facing each other. When you need to go take your child with you to use it. This is good boding time and leading by example.

Pull ups are made out of the same material as diapers and if you try to potty train your child with pull ups he or she will be 3, 4 , and 5 still using pull ups. Children need to feel the wetness and the squishing of soiled underwear, for some children it will be just once.,It is important it registers in their brains that they don't like the feeling. So, pull ups should only be used when you child is sleeping in case of an accident until they are able to wake themselves or their bladder is strong enough to hold it through the night. Again, when you go to the bathroom take your child with you and sit them on the toilet. As your child gets older if you have a boy have his father take him when he goes so he can learn the man thing :) Its important to remain quiet while you're peeing so that your child can hear the sound. Hearing it will make them want to go if they have to. Its okay to make some grunting noises to imitate a bowl movement because babies and toddlers do this when they go. The daily routine in the home setting will be to let your child wear their character undies and while you are putting them on(the undies) you want to say this, "Ooh look at(name of the character) he/she is so cool just like you. You don't want to get him/her wet or messy do you?" child will respond, "Well make sure you go to the potty and keep(name of character) dry". This makes you child feel as if they have a duty to keep their favorite character dry and mess free. When you feed your child or give your child something to eat wait 15 minutes and then sit him/her on the potty chair. Don't let them get up until they use the bathroom. Use consistent language when referring to number 1 or number 2. If your child hasn't gone after 15 minutes then let them up for 30 minutes and then repeat. While your child is wearing their favorite character undies keep the rubber under pants on at all times this will prevent a mess on furniture or clothes.In the event they have an accident the undies and rubber pants will enforce the wet feeling that a diaper or pull up wont. Don't criticize your child if they have an accident just reinforce it by taking them to the potty chair and making them sit on it as a reminder of the wanted behavior. It is important to wake your child about two to three times a night when possible so their bladder is not full and it is imperative that you stop all drinking an hour before bedtime. If you follow these steps and take some advise from a real mom who has tested this method time and time again with repeated success I'm sure you will be coming back to share your potty training success stories with me and other moms. Dad's you are capable of doing this as well, with the same success; so don't give up on your little ones a potty chair is all they need. Ddon't forget to make a big deal when he/she goes in the potty sing, dance, clap, and jump all around. Your child will love it and so will you. No more its your turn to change the diaper :)