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Play Stimulates Imagination & Cognitive Development
Don’t you wish your baby were born toilet trained? Most parents do. New mothers are tired of changing nappies by the first week of their children’s lives. They wait expectantly for the day their young ones can tell them when they want to use the toilet. Toilet training like sitting, walking, and talking is a part of the developmental process of a child. But unlike sitting and to some extent walking, a child has to be taught to indicate his desire to use the bathroom. This can sometimes be a long and arduous process. Therefore, both the mother and the child have to be ready for it – the mother because she has to devote a lot of time and energy towards it and the child because he needs to be able to control his bladder and bowels to some degree and also be able to communicate his desire through either non-verbal or verbal signals.
A child is usually ready to be taught to use the potty when he is around 18 to 24 months although there is no set rule. Like everything else (walking and talking), some pick it up quickly and some don’t but eventually everyone does. So, how do you know if your child is ready to sit on a potty chair? There are some physical and behavioural signs.
Physical signs include:
- Well-formed bowel movements at relatively predicable times
- Not urinating for 3-4 hours at a stretch
- The ability to get clothes on and off
Behavioural signs include:
- A dislike and uneasiness when left in a soiled nappy
- An interest in the bathroom and others using the bathroom
- The ability to follow simple instructions like “yes”, “no” and “sit”
- The ability to sit still for a few minutes at a time
Training for bowel movements is easier than training for urination since they are predictable. Therefore, it is better to start bowel training first. Begin by buying a simple, small, and colourful (to catch your child’s interest) potty chair and place it in your child’s room. This will be more comfortable for him as it will be the right size as well as in a place where he is at ease. Then at the time he normally has a bowel movement, make him sit on the potty chair. Initially, he may resist and may not pass his stools (remember not to show your disappointment) but eventually after getting used to the process, he will. When he does, praise him so that he feels proud. For urination, you have to make your child sit on the potty at regular intervals. Children usually pass urine an hour after a drink, so keep this in mind when putting your child on the potty.
After a few days of using the potty chair, a child usually starts indicating his desire to urinate or have a bowel movement through facial expressions or if he can talk – words. A mother has to be observant and quickly make him sit on the potty otherwise he will spoil his clothes. This is because even if a child has learnt to indicate his need, he may still not have enough control over his bladder and bowels to hold on till the time is right. Therefore, it is better to keep your child dressed in easily removable clothes.
Making ‘sitting on a potty’ a routine, is an effective way of toilet training your child. This way he will get used to the process and expect it and therefore resist less. Remember not to pressurize your child to sit or pass urine or stool if it at times he doesn’t want to. Pressure is counterproductive. Be patient, expect accidents and relapses, and most importantly don’t fret. It is all a part of the process. Don’t start training for day and night simultaneously. First get the day training on track and then start on the night. Alarms help to signal to you when to take the child to the washroom. Again there are physical signs for when your child is ready to go to bed without a diaper. If you notice that the diaper is dry in the mornings on a regular basis, then it is the right time to put him to bed without one. Again, there will be times when he’ll wet his bed but that is to be expected.
Toilet training ideas have changed over the past few decades. It has been found that training is more effective when the child is mature and physically ready than when the parent thinks he should start learning. Starting too early may only increase the time it takes and also increase your frustration and irritability.
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