Children worldwide successfully achieve this milestone and so will your child.
Start by eliminating all pressure that creates tension, meaning potty training takes longer and is much harder.
Readiness should be your guide.
Your child will begin to show signs through letting you know when they require a change and by making postural or facial gestures.
Toddler's brains are working to connect the mind-body signals and it is a complicated process.
Refrain from trying to rush things because rushing a child who is not ready often produces unnecessary delays and resistances.
Keep in mind you want to avoid the potty training blues.
When your toddler has all the signs of physical readiness for potty training
- You see the dance from foot to foot that tells you that your toddler feels the urge
- If you are in a battle, and ask, "Do you need to potty", you hear a loud, emphatic no.
- Perhaps you respond with another question, like "are you sure?"
- As your words leave your lips, you observe the urine running down your toddler's leg, into sox, shoes and pooling on the floor.
Yet, you are seemingly running into a brick wall.
Some toddlers are flexible and compliant by nature, others struggle with limits and interruptions to their activities, and others are more likely to engage in power struggles over everything.
Overcoming resistance and gaining cooperation · Connect - connecting is achieved by identifying with how your toddler sees and feels about the potty training ritual.
You might get down on one knee and say, "I know it can be hard to learn to use the potty, but I know you can do it.
With practice, you will do better and better.
· Calm - You want to remain calm because emotions are contagious.
Have you ever tried to go to the bathroom when you are tense and feeling under pressure? Nothing seems to work no matter how full your bladder may be.
· Listen - Toddlers speak through their behavior, so if you are tense, angry, frustrated or demanding you will be getting that response back.
It is as if your toddler is holding a mirror up to you saying, "This is how you look to me".
You might not like what you "hear", but listening gives valuable information about what might be going wrong · Limits - Limits come only after the first three steps are completed.
Speak calmly, without intensity or excitement.
You might say, "It is time to potty now".
Try dropping the tone of your voice at the end of the sentence, which gives a matter of fact message that this is non-negotiable.
If you hear, "I don't need to", do not argue or explain.
Accept what you have heard and respond with, "That is OK, it is time to sit on the toilet and try" · Fresh Start - After five to ten minutes, express your pride that your toddler has made the effort and even if there is an accident, do not go back to "I told you it was potty time, see what I mean".
You child did as you requested, on schedule and there is nothing to criticize.
If you do blame, guilt, or condemn your toddler in any way, you will create further resistance.
Parents tell me all the time, "I wish I had known these absolutely crucial keys before I started out.
It would have helped me be the parent I always hoped to become.
Now, you have the benefit of my experience! By implementing these five simple but powerful ideas, you will be able to reap amazing results from your parenting efforts right out of the gate.
Your most stressful days will change from what seems like one parenting blunder after the other to one parenting success after another.