Potty Training: Timing Is Everything!
If you’re about to start shopping for a good potty training for kids, good luck, there are many different types on the market. Also, remembering time is everything; You should start when your child is ready, not because of what your mother-in-law, mother, or her friends say. Be warned, many husbands like to harp on the subject, especially if you have a son, so be prepared to hold your ground on all fronts. Now would be a great time to start brushing up on your communication skills, especially when it comes to this sensitive topic. There are plenty of good podcasts you can download for free if you feel like you need a little training in dealing with difficult people, especially family members. I particularly like Jonathan Rietti’s approach. He teaches how to stay in control of your own emotions and not let someone else control how you behave, which often happens if you’re not well practiced in the art of marital diplomacy. I would say from experience that many new mothers lose their communication skills, especially when focused on the baby. Ultimately, your toddler is the best judge, along with you, of when he’s ready to go.
You may want to get your husband involved in your search for a potty for boys, and online is a good place to start. While shopping online, she may be able to gently express her views on potty training without going into argumentative mode. After all, potty training is neither fun nor easy, but it can be considerably easier if done at the right time and stage of development. The toilet training milestone begins with acknowledging the skills and cognitive level your child has reached. Most pediatricians agree that children under the age of two have not developed to the point where they are ready to be potty trained. Even if you see that your child has reached the state where she is aware of when she urinates and defecates, this does not mean that he is ready to be trained. Potty training is not some kind of trick that you can teach your child, the same way you might train an animal. Nor is it an act that can be accomplished solely by relying on reasoning, persuasion, or bribery. These mechanisms do have their place, but not until your child has the necessary motor skills and level of communication to use the toilet or potty consistently and independently.
There are certain developmental signs that parents can look for to recognize if their child is ready to begin serious potty training. Compared to two-year-olds, three-year-olds speak in 4-5 word sentences, rather than two-word sentences. Two-year-olds can follow simple one-step commands, while three-year-olds have the ability to follow more complicated 2-3-step directions. The obvious differences in maturity levels between the two age groups should be used as a guide to tell if your child is ready to be potty trained.
Choosing the best potty training for kids can also make a difference as to whether your child is a girl or a boy. There are actually toddler urinals, which are obviously inappropriate for a little girl. However, if she chooses one of those for her toddler, she’ll also need to train him to sit on a potty when she needs to poop. There, keep in mind that training children will always be challenging, but you can make the “work” less difficult than it could be, as well as less stressful for everyone involved if you start when your child is ready.
