For most parents, Spring and Summer are ideal times to get your toddler potty trained. You may find some extra time on your hands, and you’re ready for your toddler to be potty trained this summer before heading off to preschool.
I’m all about parenting smarter, not harder, and making the most of your time within your potty training journey. Follow these three keys for your toddler’s potty training success this summer.
#1 Ditch the diapers this summer!
This is one of the most important keys to potty training in my book. If you’re focusing on daytime potty training, it’s time to ditch the diapers and put your kiddo in underwear when you are actively potty training.
Why?
Well, to be frank, you want to use those pee pee accidents to your advantage. If your child has a pee pee accident, it’s important for him to feel the sensation of being wet, and it’s okay – even good – if your child doesn’t like being wet; this will help teach him all the more.
Through accidents your child can learn more about how his body works… When he feels that sensation of pressure on his bladder, he can learn to control his muscles and ask for the potty. It’s all a part of the learning process.
So ditch the diapers and don’t be afraid of accidents… They are a huge teaching tool for potty training.
#2 Use Rewards
I’m a big fan of using rewards, especially when it comes to potty training.
I used rewards when potty training my own son and will definitely use rewards when it’s time to potty train my daughter.
Why use rewards?
By using rewards (and praise), you are helping to teach your child the skill of going pee pee in the potty, and you’re helping your child to go pee pee in the potty at some later point in time.
Every time your child goes pee or poop in the potty, he earns a reward. This extra motivation will encourage your child to continue practicing that skill of going pee pee in the potty in the future.
When choosing rewards, make sure that it’s something that your child likes, something that your child is motivated by. Deliver that reward each time your child goes pee or poop on the potty, and provide reminders to your child about what he can earn when he goes pee on the potty. You can even offer your child a choice of what he wants to work for, which can help with buy-in to the process.
For my son, we used gummy bears, jelly beans, and two minutes of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on the iPad. We offered him a choice of his reward and switched the options around throughout the process.
Think about something that your child really, really likes and use that item as a reward for potty training.
#3 Teach your child to request the potty
One of the most common potty training struggles parents come to me with involves their child being fully potty trained but not asking for the bathroom.
What does this look like?
The child can go pee pee on the potty, doesn’t have accidents, and is in underwear throughout the day, but the parent is the one to say, “Hey, it’s been a long time… It’s time to go sit on the potty.” Or, a parent will see that their child is walking funny and holding it until it’s almost too late. In this case, the parent always has to be the one to initiate a sit on the potty.
For a child to be fully and completely potty trained, we want him to be able to tell an adult, “I need to go potty.” This is something that we have to teach within our potty training process.
And FYI, it’s important. Even though your child is potty trained at home, knows where the bathroom is, and can go there by himself, what happens when he’s with you at the grocery store or the library and needs to go to the bathroom? Will he make a request to you in that environment?
Or what happens when your child is at daycare or preschool with other adults… Will he inform the teachers that he needs to go potty?
Requesting the bathroom is an important life skill that we must teach within our potty training process.
How do you do it?
Every time your child sits on the potty throughout potty training, prompt him to request the bathroom before each sit. It looks like this: When your child is about to go sit on the potty, you can say to him, “It’s time to go sit on the potty. Say ‘potty.’” Have him repeat the word “potty” or other similar phrase.
By prompting your child to verbally request the potty for each bathroom trip, you’re giving him practice to make a request of his own and getting him in the habit of doing so.
It’s an important step and one that’s typically forgotten in the potty training process.
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Potty training over the summer can seem intimidating and can be something you dread. Know that your child can be potty trained this summer, your child will go pee pee on the potty, and that you can do it all in ease.
Want more advice like this? Read more from the author here.
