Leaving it out
We’ve all received advice from others on potty training at some point and time whether we liked it or not and whether we applied the advice in our potty training journey or not. We’ll leave giving those bits and pieces of advice to everyone else, instead we’re here to tell you about things you shouldn’t be doing when training your toddler to use the toilet, regardless of what anyone else tells you.
Starting too soon
There are very few reasons a toddler cannot be ready around the age of 2 to be toilet trained. By the time your child is this age, they can pull their pants up and down on their own, follow simple commands, recognize and identify objects (including body parts) and understand the concepts of in/out, wet/dry, up/down and so forth. But ‘around’ is a relative word. As a mum or dad, it is important that you look for the readiness signs of potty training to avoid confusion, frustration and resentment instead of focusing on the “age factor”.
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Forcefulness
Toddlers and preschoolers definitely need boundaries and guidelines. But to try to force a child to do their business on the potty is a battle that isn’t going to be won and isn’t worth fighting. Trying to force a child to go on the big potty only serves to make the situation worse. Children will retreat into their own little safety zone; often making it physically impossible for them to go to the bathroom. When you do this to your child, you can actually cause harm to them.
Punishment isn’t as effective as guidance when it comes to potty training
Punishment
To punish a child for not going on the potty is never a good idea when potty training. You wouldn’t punish your preschooler for writing in all upper or lower case letters, would you? A child who is going through the potty training process is also going through a lot of other mental and physical development at the same time. Besides, punishing them for accidents only reminds them of what they’ve done wrong. By focusing on when they don’t have accidents and praising them for these times, you’ll be reminding them of how fun it is to be clean and dry.
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Potty training done right
Potty training isn’t a race. It isn’t a measure of intelligence. It’s a milestone in life. Don’t make it out to be scary or an image maker or breaker. Just make it available, make it a natural and practical step in life and remember that slow and steady wins the race.
Did these tips help you? If you have anymore tips, please share them with us. We’d love to hear from you. For more on potty training, watch this video: