How to potty train your toddler

Key points:
1. Potty Training Milestone: Potty training is a significant developmental step. Choose the right time, involve your child, and create a positive and patient environment.
2. Step-by-Step Approach: Start with clothes on, gradually transition to diaper-free potty time. Incorporate potty breaks into daily routine. Positive reinforcement, not punishment, is key.
3. Nighttime Transition: Focus on daytime training first. Encourage potty use before sleep. Avoid punishment and promote positive understanding of the process through fun activities.

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If you have noticed that your child is ready to start learning how to use the potty, that’s awesome! Say goodbye to diapers and hello to the toilet. You and your little one will embark on a wonderful adventure and accomplish a major milestone in his development.

Knowing that potty training is not an easy task, we provide you with tips recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

• First of all, make sure that if you decide to start, it’s the right time for you and your little one. Avoid training when you are too busy, moving to a new house, welcoming a new baby in the family, etc.
• Invite your child to choose his own potty. You can even decorate it together so he feels less intimidated and motivated to use it.
• Place the potty in his bedroom or the bathroom nearest to him.
• Begin sitting your little one on the potty with his clothes on, so he gets a feel on what it’s like to sit on it. While he’s seated, talk to him about the toilet, its use, and how to sit properly on it.
• Give your child a chance to sit on the potty when he shows interest, even if it is with his pants on. When he shows confidence try to sit him without a diaper. Remind him to keep his feet on the floor and tell him that what he did in the diaper now must be deposited in the potty.
• Incorporate sitting on the potty in your child’s daily routine, and gradually increase the times he sits on it.
• As he masters the potty routine, you can change his diaper near the potty and deposit his depositions in it so that he further understands his use.
• When your baby understands the process, place the potty where he plays and let him move around without a diaper, motivating him to use the potty if he needs to.
• As he gets used to the potty let him play near it with clothes and underwear. This way if he has an accident, he’ll realize that it’s uncomfortable.
• Remember to congratulate him if he uses the toilet successfully, but don’t scold him if he has an accident; that will only stress him.
• When you see your child is using the potty, change the diaper to underwear but only during the day. Learning to control his bowel movements at night or naptime takes longer. Instead, motivate your little one to use the toilet before going to sleep and after waking up.

Remember not to punish or shame your child if he has an accident, instead use positive reinforcement and encourage him as much as possible. Remind him that this is a natural and necessary process, not something dirty or something to feel ashamed of. You can perform various activities to make the training fun, such as decorating the potty or reading and drawing on it while sitting and waiting.