Potty Training Tips- Debra Markham
Posted by Sandra Ghaoui on Thu, Jun 30, 2011 @ 12:58 PM
It’s a burning question for those parents whose children are approaching two: When is the right time to begin potty training? For many parents, this time of transition is one of the hardest and most stressful in your child’s life, because it varies so much between each child. To set your mind at ease, we would like to share some potty training tips based on the knowledge on this process that we have obtained over our many years as a school dealing with children of all ages and levels of readiness:
1. Start potty training at around 28 months of age: The optimal age to begin potty training is approximately 28 months, as your child probably will not have the muscle control necessary for success until that age. Certainly, talking to your child about using the toilet, as well as letting him or her watch you (most beneficial is mom with daughter and father with son) as you urinate is a great way to begin. Having a potty in your bathroom at home, even though your child may not actually sit on it, is something that is helpful as well.
2. First steps to potty training: Once your child begins to tell you that they have just urinated immediately after the event is a sign of readiness. In the Pre-Primary classrooms, if the teachers notice that the child is dry during changing times, they may ask if she or he would like to sit on the potty. When something actually does happen, it is a time for praise. This phase may last weeks or maybe months. Pull-ups are very useful at this stage as the child can pull them up and down without much assistance. (We prefer the Pull-ups with Velcro tabs; this makes it much easier to replace the Pull-up without completing undressing the child.) Clothing that is easily managed by your child (no tights, overalls, belts, etc.) is a must from now on.
3. Remove pull-ups after a week with no incidents: A child will usually become trained with urination first; potty training bowel movements take somewhat longer. However, once a child has been dry during every changing and has used the potty without accidents for one week, it may be time to ‘graduate’ to big-boy or big-girl underwear. This should be a decision in which your child has a large part. You may ask “Are you ready for underwear?” and if the answer is “Yes”, you should allow your child to shop for, choose and perhaps even purchase this himself.
4. Accidents might happen, reinforce if there is a regression: If, after wearing underwear for any length of time, your child should begin to have accidents on a regular basis, we will go right back to Pull-ups. As a school, we are not able to accommodate a child who has more than one or two accidents a day on a consistent basis. We must insure that our floors and rugs areas are as hygienic as possible. No fuss should be made; a simple “We’ll try again--there’s no hurry. Someday you’ll do it!” is the best approach to this type of regression. Sometimes a child will regress because of a change in his/her life: a new sibling, a move to another house, etc. Sometimes, the child simply does not want to interrupt his/her play activity and it is so much easier to just “go”. If this seems to be the case, we will either go back to Pull-ups or ask the child to change him- or herself. Doing so allows us to point out the amount of time and effort this takes; we reiterate that going to the potty, flushing and washing hands is much quicker and allows for more playtime. This will work eventually!
5. It's a process, take your time: Again, please be reassured that this is a process and that your child will be totally trained only when he or she is ready. Unspoken parental anxiety can lead to stress and conflict on the part of the child. Taking the long view and accepting this training as a developmental process is the best route for all!
Remember that potty training is a process and one over which your child has the final say. We will always encourage and always be prepared to continue, but at times, a brief respite may be the wisest course! It is true that no child goes to Kindergarten in diapers, even though the process may seem like it will never end!
Debra Markham
Head of Schools