Toilet Training

First decide when you feel your child should be toilet trained

There are two general approaches.  The first is to wait for your child to indicate verbally that he wants to stop wearing diapers and wear “big boy pants.”  The second is to watch for indicators of developmental and physical readiness including: walking alone: being able to express needs verbally: physically being able to cooperate and carry out simple instructions: and being aware of when he needs to urinate or have a bowel movement.  Routine behavior management methods are then used to begin training (reward successes, ignore accidents, encourage your child to tell you when he wants to “potty”.

Many parents become impatient with toileting process and the child.  When the routine goes slowly parents may wonder: “what am I doing wrong?” or “what is wrong with him and why is he having so many accidents?”

Somewhere between 18 and 36 months most children develop daytime bowel and bladder control.  Boys may be slower than girls.

You need to set realistic step-by-step goals which both you and your child are interested in achieving.  Reward all successes.  All caretakers must be involved and a positive attitude and consistency are essential.  Good hygiene is necessary for both wiping, hand washing and toilet paper disposal.

If you answer yes to any of the following questions you should talk to your child’s physician.

·         S he constantly wet?

·         Is his urine discolored?

·         Does he have a “weak stream” when he urinates?

·         Does he show pain when he urinates?

·         Is he always constipated?

Accidents do happen.  Do not scold or punish.  Keep a positive attitude and reward successes.  Set a limit for the number of accidents before you decide to step back and wait a few weeks before trying to train again.