Preparation for Potty Training Your Child
 

Before you start potty training, you need to be sure that there are no issues or changes taking place, which may interfere with your ability to potty train. These may include:

*    Arrival of a new baby into the family
*    Older or younger siblings going through behavioral problems
*    A change to the family routine (eg. visitors to the house)
*    Away from home (eg. on holiday)
*    Relocating to a new home
*    Starting kinder or new social groups
*    Periods where parents are going through stress
*    Illness
*    Sleep deprivation
*    Your child's behavior. If your child is consistently and stubbornly   resisting changing clothes, brushing teeth and eating food and throwing tantrums, then you may have a behavioral problem that needs to be addressed before you start potty training.

It may be advisable in the above situations, for the issue to be resolved or the family routine to be re-established before continuing.

Items you will need for potty training include;

* A sturdy potty and an insert and stepper for the toilet
* At least 10 pairs of underpants, which are easy to pull up and down.
* A doll or teddy bear, for the modelling process
* A wall chart for monitoring progress, and stickers as a reward for your child, to stick on the chart.
* Small 'surprise' toys you know your child will love, to celebrate  successes.
* Cleaning agents for accidents
* Small reward sweets, as a last resort

At least 5 days prior to potty training, you should commence familiarizing your child with the potty and getting used to sitting on the potty. It is not the intention at this stage to catch pees and poos, but if you do it is a bonus. You need to get your child used to sitting on the potty, for 5 to 10 minutes. Try doing this three times during the day - either upon waking, prior to a bath, after lunch or dinner.

Show by example using the toilet, how to use the potty. To encourage your child to sit on the potty, offer strong words of encouragement - you can read them a book or play simple games while they are on the potty as an inducement! If this is not sufficient, you may as a last resort consider offering a sticker or a sweet as a reward for sitting on the potty. If your child is resisting, you should NEVER force the issue. Try again later.

If by chance your child is successful in doing a pee or poo, make a BIG DEAL out of it!! Say for example "Wow Tim, you did a pee in the potty! That is fantastic! You are a big boy now!! Your excitement and verbal recognition of your child's accomplishments is probably the greatest motivator for your child, so use it often!

Once your child has successfully accomplished the above, it is time to move on to modelling the process.

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If you want to get all the details to ensure the potty training of your child is a  success, we recommend you get a copy of our guide, "Potty Trained in 1 to 3 Days"