The question of how to accustom a child to the potty begins to worry every inexperienced parent, even at the moment when the baby is not even a year old.
As a rule, this question begins to be asked as early as 6-8 months, considering that each year already should independently go to the toilet “in an adult way.”
This is a false assumption, so we’ll talk about when to teach children to potty from a medical point of view.
When to teach
Teaching a child to a potty is not an easy task and requires a lot of time, patience and strength. Each baby is individual and the learning process can be successful both in 6 months and in 2 years.
The very attitude of parents to this matter plays a very important role here. If they believe that it is not necessary to teach a baby to go to the toilet as an adult and the moment will come when he will learn to do it on his own, then the process can drag on for a very long time. However, this also has its own share of truth. The kid grows up and sees how his peers and household members do it, with time he begins to go to the toilet on his own.
But, to say that the process of learning will last less if you start to do it at an earlier age, is impossible. The little man must be aware of what he does when he does and what he feels. And, as a rule, he will be able to realize all this only at the age of 12-24 months.
Therefore, if you want to know when to put a child on a potty, then remember that this is an individual matter, but even doctors do not advise starting to do this before one year, since all your work will still not bear any fruit.
Parents should understand that the most important thing in this matter is brain development. Only conscious control of the allocated function can lead to positive results.
The age at which this conscious control occurs is 2.5 to 3 years. If at an earlier age the child does not accustom to the potty, do not panic. Wait a bit and try again to explain to the baby what it is and what it is for.
What do you need to do to start using the pot?
Before you learn about the ways to teach a child to potty or develop your own methodology, you must first purchase a product of the correct shape, which will be convenient for your baby.
Firstly, there should not be any devices distracting from the process of urination. Today, there are a huge number of products in the form of cars, animals, etc. Yes, of course, they are bright, beautiful and, of course, will attract attention. However, for him it will be another toy and he will not use it for its intended purpose.
Secondly, the shape of the product also has a large role. For girls, this can be an ordinary round pot. For boys, it is better to choose a product on the front of which there will be a bulge that will not allow urine to spill onto the floor.
Thirdly, the sides should be wide and should not cut into the delicate skin of the baby. To do this, it is best to buy plastic products. They are practical, easy to clean and soundless (they are convenient to use at night).
In the question of how to teach a child to use a pot, patience of parents also plays an important role. You need to wait for the moment when your baby will show signs that he is already ready for this process.
Here are some factors that allow you to determine when to put the child on the potty, or rather that he is ready, both at the psychological and physiological level, for this process. So baby:
- It can independently walk, sit down, rise to its feet from a sitting position, and also raise objects from the floor;
- He clearly understands the speech of adults and can, with the help of sounds or gestures, show what he wants;
- It does not go to the toilet for itself for a long time and remains dry after a day’s sleep;
- After he went under himself, he begins to feel discomfort and shows a desire to remove his wet pants and put on dry ones.
To teach a child to walk on a potty after the manifestation of all these signs of his readiness is not difficult for parents.
Is early learning good?
Many parents are delighted to see children go to the potty at the age of 8 – 10 months with their friends or relatives.
The thing is that the method of teaching a child to the potty at an early age really works, but it develops a reflex in the baby and does not allow him to understand the feeling of wanting to use the toilet. In other words, when mom puts him on the children’s toilet and doesn’t remove it until the baby goes to the toilet poses the sounds “letter-letter” or “aaaa”. Then, when the child sits on the potty and hears these sounds, he develops a conditioned reflex.
But at an older age, at about 24 – 36 months, such babies begin to protest, since they finally begin to feel the urge to the toilet, while they are again forced to go to the toilet to the sound. Therefore, planting a child on a pot should occur after all the above signs of the baby’s readiness are manifested.
How to quickly train?
How to teach a child to potty quickly? This question worries many parents. However, many now, probably, will be upset, because to do this quickly will not work. It will take a lot of time to explain to the baby “what is it and what does it eat with?”
The methods of teaching a child to the potty are different. But most of them boil down to the fact that you should not give up diapers at the time of training. However, this opinion can be argued.
Diapers put a barrier to the baby. He will be at a loss, why should he go to the toilet, if he still remains dry after he goes by himself. And besides, accustoming the child to the potty requires familiarizing the baby with his genitals. He must understand why they are needed and how to manage them.
Today, there are special diapers for training in the pot. As a rule, they have vivid pictures on the front of the product and after the baby went to the toilet, they begin to disappear. This is also a good way to teach babies to go to the toilet as an adult.
The process of accustoming the baby to go to the toilet as an adult should occur in the summer. Since puddles on the floor and wet pants will be expected for the first time, you need to do this in summer to prevent the crumbs from freezing.
First, put the baby on his “toilet”, it is necessary after morning and afternoon sleep, before evening sleep and before a walk. After that, it is necessary to teach the child to walk on the potty, not only after or before bedtime, but also throughout the day. To do this, ask him more often if he wants to use the toilet or not. Children often flirt and urine control may be weakened at this point.
Do not force your baby to use the toilet. If the first time to go to the toilet did not work, nothing scary. It will definitely turn out 5 or 10 times. The main thing is patience. Do not scold the baby if he accidentally went to the toilet for himself, but begin to praise after he has done “his own business” on the pot.
When a child begins to walk on a potty on his own, be sure to teach him to keep his “toilet” clean. Show him where to pour the contents of the product, how to wash it, where to put it, etc. This will also help you accustom your baby to personal hygiene.
