Toilet training should be started as early as 2 years, but first you need to check for following signs.
Signs to know when your child is ready for toilet training :
- Can sit and walk easily for short duration
- Getting more and more independent and can say “NO” and “YES”
- Can identify himself wet nappies
- Holding urine within the bladder for more than 2 hours, i.e to have dry clothes for more than 2 hours
- Dislike wearing wet clothes and try to remove clothes on his own
- Can easily remove and wear clothes
- Can tell some key words to family members for passing urine and stool
Note: Your child may not show all of this signs, but if he shows most of this sign then you can try for toilet training.
How to prepare for Toilet training?
- First you have to decide which toilet you are going to use, that is between a potty chair or a regular toilet. It’s better to select potty chair as it looks less scary than a regular toilet. One can also go with the regular toilet but don’t use both potty chair as well as regular one, otherwise child may get confused.
- Make toilet or potty chair well equipped with a stool so that child could easily step up and sit over it; a smaller toilet seat which can be fitted over the normal toilet to make child more comfortable and secured.
- Make sure you have ample of time and no plans for holidays or any other major change in life as this could be very disturbing, confusing and frustrating for your child.
- Make your child learn some signal words or action for going to Toilet, e.g., it can be “poo, woo, want to go… ”.
- Plan toilet training when child has normal bowel motion, do not attempt when child has diarrhea or constipation.
How to start for toilet training?
- Before starting the training, allow child to sit on the potty for few minutes. Let him be comfortable sitting on it.
- Try to keep wet nappies inside the potty, and then make child to sit on it. This will help child to understand that they have to poo inside the potty.
- Make them sit on the potty chair at their usual time like after feeding time or any other specific times.
- Inform child when you are using the toilet in the same words which they understand. This could help a lot.
- Start appreciating in the beginning times for every small success as well as failures.
- Never shout on them or get panic in front of them. If once child will be de-motivated, they might take a long time to start.
- Be calm and have patience.
Note: This is a very slow process and would take more time to get it executed. If child is not ready, don’t force him to do and try after few weeks or months. For parents it would be a tough time and will need lot of patience for this, but they will surely enjoy and relieved once their child will be doing toilet on their own.
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