The ABC of toilet training

How to do it?

• It is better to use a potty chair rather than a regular-sized toilet for the first few steps because your child will feel safer and more stable. The potty chair allows the child to have a better posture, which helps with his sense of safety and boosts his self-confidence.
• If you are using a regular size toilet, make sure you have an adapted seat with a large and stable stool for your child’s feet.
• Make sure the potty is is easy to get to.
• Allow your child to be present when you go to the bathroom and make him feel comfortable in the bathroom. Allow your child to see urine and bowel movements in the toilet. Let your child play with flushing the toilet.
• Consider placing a potty chair on each floor of the house if you live in a multilevel home. Allow your child to observe, touch and become familiar with the potty chair.
• Tell your child that the potty chair is his own chair. Allow your child to sit fully clothed on the potty chair, as if it were a regular chair. Allow your child to leave the potty chair at any time. Do not force your child to spend time sitting on the chair.
• After your child has become used to the potty chair and sits on it regularly with his clothes on, try having your child sit on the potty without wearing pants and a diaper.
• The next step is to show your child how the potty chair is used. Place stool from a dirty diaper into the potty chair. Allow your child to observe the transfer of the bowel movement from the potty chair into the toilet. Let your child flush the toilet and watch the bowel movement disappear down the toilet.
• Learn the signs that tell you your child is about to pee or poop. You will then be able to guide him to the potty chair before he does it in his diaper.
• Encourage your child to tell you when he needs to go. Congratulate him even if he warned you too late; positive reinforcement is still the best method.
• Don’t expect instant results and be ready for accidents. Stay calm and avoid threats, punishments and, of course, yelling.
• Don’t punish your child if he doesn’t succeed and don’t humiliate him by calling him “a little baby” because he could regress.
• Notice the daycare or the person taking care of your child to keep a consistent routine.
• After a successful week, you can move on to Pull-Ups/Easy Up diapers. Make it a special occasion.
• If your child has a couple of mishaps, he should be able to go back to wearing diapers if  he’s little and training pants if he’s older. He should not be punished or feel embarrassed. Start over a few weeks or months later  when your child seems more ready.
• Remind your child not to drink two or three hours before going to bed.
• Remind your child to empty his bladder every night before going to bed.
• Explain to your child the importance of getting up during the night if he needs to pee.

What to do if your child refuses?

The worst attitude to have when potty training your child is to think of it as “war” against diapers. Not only will your child not respond positively to this attitude, but he could also develop behavioural issues that may add on to the toilet training. Furthermore, if your child is well into his “no” stage, you will both dig your heels further into the ground and no one will come out a winner in this situation. Needless to say that if you always seem disappointed in him, your child’s self-esteem will take a hard hit.

• If the first try in toilet training doesn’t work, it’s probably because your child is not ready.
• Some children have a hard time stopping to play to go to the potty. Avoid this problem by letting your child play or read while he is on the potty chair.
• Some children may be hesitant to poop in the potty chair if their feet are not stable. It is highly recommended that your child be comfortable on the potty.
• Your child may be afraid of regular-size toilets. Sometimes, they are afraid they’ll fall in and this fear is reinforced with the sound the toilet makes when we flush it.  The fact that excrements “disappear” in the toilet can sometimes be a psychological trauma for a child who feels that he has to let a part of himself go. Toilet training is easier with a little potty chair.
• If your child refuses to be potty trained, it is better to stop the process for one to three months. After forgetting about the first try's failure, most kids will be ready to be toilet trained.