How often do you want young mothers to quickly get rid of the tired diapers and proudly boast on a walk: - "And we are already asking for a pot!". However, more experienced ones know very well - everything has its own time, and the process of accustoming the baby to this necessary household item may take a long time. And yet, when do you need to teach a child to potty and how to do it most effectively?
When to start teaching a child to potty
Many parents believe that 7-8 months is a good time to develop sustainable potty skills. However, at this age it is more appropriate to talk about acquaintance with the pot, and a random positive result can only indicate reflexive performance. From six to twelve months, the fidget enthusiastically gets acquainted with his own body and its capabilities. The absence of diapers makes this process even more exciting and effective - gradually understanding of the purpose of the genitals comes. It is no coincidence that children who have been rid of diapers are accustomed to the pot faster and more successfully.
At this age, it is already possible to introduce the crumbs to a new subject, to allow them to sit on it, but in no case to keep them forcibly, waiting for the result. Once having experienced negative emotions, the child will categorically refuse to use the much-needed item for a long time. If mommy can’t wait to make friends with her one-year-old child with a pot, she will have to be patient, as the child will not be asked for a long time on her own and consciously. In the absence of objections from the baby, you can sit him on the potty after waking up, a hearty lunch, before bedtime, but his actions will be based only on reflexes. Thus, if the child is only one year old, mom will have to wait a little longer.
The optimal age for teaching a child to potty
Much more successful is the attempt by parents to make friends with a baby potty at the age of 18-24 months. Such a large time period is explained by the individual characteristics of the psychological and physical development of children. Mom can independently determine the presence of signs that indicate the readiness of the child to acquire new skills. If the baby easily performs the following actions, it's time to accustom him to the potty:
- Confidently walks, bends down, squats;
- picks up small items from the floor;
- perfectly understands spoken language, mother's explanations and requests;
- verbally expresses his desires;
- feels discomfort from wet panties and expresses a desire to change them;
- stays dry for about two hours during wakefulness and after a day's sleep;
- defecates at about the same time.
The baby begins to associate the process of emptying with a feeling of fullness of the bladder or intestines, and according to some signs, you can understand what he wants to use the toilet. Mom is required to calmly and lucidly explain that peeing on the pot is much more comfortable than walking in wet pants, and unobtrusively suggest sitting in a comfortable seat. However, do not linger on the pot for more than 4-5 minutes - if you could not achieve the result, you can try to do it later. Accustoming to useful skills, it is necessary to make it a rule to offer the baby to use the potty after sleep, food, outdoor games, after and before a walk. The main result is to realize that it is much more pleasant to be in clean and dry pants.
How to speed up the process of teaching a child to a potty
As mentioned above, for children wearing diapers, getting used to the pot will be more difficult. For them, the connection between filling the bladder and its subsequent emptying is not so obvious. My mother’s patience is quite capable of coping with these temporary difficulties, but you still have to part with diapers. There are some simple tips to help speed up the process and get great results:
1. As agreed, we place the diapers away in the bedside table. The baby will not have to remove it from himself in order to quickly sit on the potty when urged to urinate. Of course, puddles cannot be avoided, but one cannot do without it.
2. We carefully observe our beloved child - when grunts or other characteristic signs appear, they should affectionately invite him to "make his own affairs" in a pot. If the attempt succeeds, the baby deserves praise, but otherwise it is not worth scolding him.
3. The pot, warm and clean, should be in a place accessible to the crumbs.
4. If the baby's panties are treacherously filled with moisture, you need to focus his attention on the fact that now he is damp and unpleasant, and the pot would help to avoid this. No need to scold the baby, in extreme cases, my mother can express her regret, and once again explain that it would be more convenient to use the pot.
5. It is necessary to plant a child in a pot after sleep and a hearty dinner, after returning from a walk, at night. But in an unfamiliar environment, in the presence of many outsiders and noise, you can’t count on a good result - the baby just can’t relax and go to the potty.
With due attention and diligence of the mother, a two-year-old baby will need one to two weeks to secure skills firmly, while a one-year-old baby will need one or two months to do this. It is necessary to remember the individual characteristics of children, and not expect full compliance with standards. Maybe your baby will begin to use a specific piece of furniture on his own in a few days, and maybe for this he will need a whole month.
If Mommy was too persistent, and the child developed a persistent aversion to the pot, you just need to temporarily abandon the object that you didn’t like, retrying a few days later. During this time, without insisting on sitting on the pot, you can just try to teach the baby to the need for his existence. In extreme cases, you can buy a new, beautiful and bright, pot, and try all over again.
New technique - teach your baby to potty in seven days
Many mummies in practice tested the new Voluntary Baby technique, developed by Gina Ford and promising a guaranteed result in just a week. If your fidget is already one and a half years old, he performs simple actions and communicates well with his mother, try it!
Day one - we resolutely remove the diaper, happily informing the baby that he is already big and will just walk in shorts. Having set it on a pot, you need to try to keep it there for 10 minutes, quite sufficient for morning emptying. Sit nearby, talking about the benefits of this procedure. If the result is negative, try again after 15 minutes, organizing an excursion to the toilet and telling what it is intended for. Do not despair if the panties still become wet - you will succeed, just be patient.
Day Two - we consolidate yesterday’s successes and continue to monitor the baby’s behavior, offering a pot at the first sign of his desire to relieve himself. During long games, your child may be too carried away and make a puddle - try to prevent this.
Day three - we don’t even wear diapers for a walk, so as not to confuse the baby. Before going out, it is advisable to wait for a positive result from sitting on the pot, and on a walk to offer the baby sit on the pot you have taken with you if you want to pee. Do not worry, a pot for a walk is not for long.
The fourth day - from this day your common successes will be obvious, it will be enough for the baby only to remind to go to the potty, as he can play too much and forget. Remember, you need to praise him for every successful attempt, this is a significant support in consolidating the skill.
There are other similar techniques, but they are similar, so they are not worth a separate consideration. The main rule for their effective application is the ability to fully devote these few days to the baby for attentively fixing a useful skill. It is good if the child’s clothes are comfortable and spacious, allowing you to quickly undress if necessary. If the crumbs sometimes make a mistake and sit on the pot right in their shorts - you don’t need to scold him, he just didn’t master enough the procedure for the necessary actions.
How to choose a pot for a child
A wide range of baby pots for different ages allows you to choose the most attractive and convenient option. When buying, use the general recommendations to make the process of learning to the pot more successful:
- it is better to choose plastic products - they are bright, comfortable and, most importantly, warm. Touching a cold pot can discourage sitting on it for a long time;
- stability is an indispensable condition, falling with an awkward movement of the child is also unlikely to cause attachment to an insidious product;
- musical effects, no doubt, will draw the attention of the baby to the pot, but only as a new toy;
- convenience and comfort, the presence of a back are important factors when buying a product; a baby will definitely appreciate his mother’s efforts and reward her with meek execution of her “tricks” only in a pot;
- If you plan to travel, it is better to purchase a model with a cover.
When buying a pot, pay attention - for girls a round shape of the product is offered, for boys - oval, with a ledge in front.
Dr. Komarovsky - useful tips on teaching a child to potty:
- it’s best to take advantage of the onset of summer - a minimum of clothes, you can even run naked;
- besides the readiness of the child, the readiness of the parents must also be present;
- desirable condition - excellent health of all family members and good mood;
- immeasurable praise of the child in case of success, otherwise - thorough concealment of grief;
- the baby’s attention is fixed not only on the setting process, but also on the accompanying actions - removing the panties, pouring out the contents of the pot and returning it to a permanent place;
- Mandatory sitting on the potty after sleeping, eating, at night, after a walk;
- At first, diapers can be used for a walk and for a night's sleep, focusing the baby on a dry diaper in the morning and not sparing approval words.
