Must-Have Potty Training Essentials: Setting Your Child up for Success
Choosing potty training tools
After you have observed your child and decided that your child shows interest and is physically ready to start potty training, you will have to choose potty training tools. It is good to have your child participate in helping to choose potty training tools when possible. They can help pick the colors, style and types of tools needed. Even though they may like a particular item, it may not work well in your home setting so you have to use your best judgment as well.
After you pick your potty training gear, you should feel free to change the tools you have already chosen if they do not seem to help you reach your goal of toilet training. For example, I and my eldest son picked out a cute blue potty pot that had a cute puppy face on it. He ended up just sitting on it for playtime and did not actually “potty” in it. I had to move to the toilet adapter seat for the adult toilet for him to take his toilet training seriously. He needed the adapter seat on the toilet to differentiate play time from toilet training time.
Potty, Potty Chair or Portable(adapter type) Training Seat?
This is really up to your preference and what is easy for your child. The actual potties come in various sizes, colors and shapes. Basically it is like a bucket to sit on and catch the waste, feces or urine. You then empty the waste contents into the toilet and clean the potty. If you don’t mind cleaning the potty every time your child uses it, it is comfortable for him to sit on, he actually goes on it and not play with it, you may prefer this choice.
The potty chair is the potty placed into a chair. The chair has an opening where the pot fits in. The advantage to this set up is that the potty does not move around on the floor. It is stationary in the potty chair. Your child can sit on it easily without it moving around and he can sit for long periods since he can sit comfortably with back support. Some potty chairs have arms on them so he can rest his arms while sitting and waiting for his package to arrive. The disadvantage again is the clean up afterward which you may have to do many times a day, depending on your child’s elimination pattern.
Advantages and disadvantages of potty seats
The portable potty seat is a portable potty ring, potty adapter or seat reducer that fits into the adult toilet.This makes the toiler seat size fit little bottoms comfortably. Your child can sit on the toilet without feeling like he will “fall in.” The advantage of this is that you can skip the step from potty or potty chair to adult toilet. You can also skip the continuous cleaning and sanitizing the potty after each potty trip because you just flush the waste down just as when the adults use the toilet. Your child can get used to using the toilet without fear sooner.
The disadvantage is that your child may need help to sit on the toilet where with the potty or potty chair, he can sit on it himself. It may be difficult for him to reach the seat since it is higher up off the floor where potty seats are at his level. To compensate for this disadvantage, there are little potty ladders and step stools to help your child reach the toilet seat safely.
Potty Training Ladders
If you opt for the potty training adapter seats, you will need to make sure your child can get on the toilet safely. Using the toilet adapter seat means he may go to the toilet more on his own. You should purchase a potty training step ladder or step stool. They can be either attached to or placed directly in front of the toilet that your child uses. They are usually made of plastic. Some are made of plastic or wood. They have a skid-proof base and are available in a range of colors, designs, and sizes.Place a nightlight or some form of illumination on his path to the bathroom just in case, he has to use the potty during the night. That way he can see how to climb the potty ladder or step on the stepping stool to use the toilet.
Potty Training Motivations
Children love to have fun. Adding fun to potty training will make it easier and entertaining for your child. With toddlers, one has to guide them with positive motivation. One way of doing this is with incentives or rewards that boost their willingness to learn new things while also building up their self esteem.Along with praise, your child may also like to receive a little reward when using the potty. You can give him a cookie or a little of his favorite treat or a little prize that you can keep in a prize jar or prize box that you can create together. Sticker charts are a great reminder of your child’s progress to reaching his goal to potty independence. Place one where he or she can touch and see it. Place the stickers where they can get them and place on chart.
Optional Fun Tools
Part of the process of potty training is timing when to go. You can take your child at regularly scheduled times such as hourly, before or after meal times or some other set time you have determined works for your child. One of the innovations of today that we did not have when I was potty training my children is the potty watch. Today’s potty trainee can have his own watch to let him know when it’s time to go. This innovation helps with the challenge of reminding your little one it’s potty time. The Potty Watch does that for you. It alerts your child with flashing lights, music or ringing sounds that grabs their attention. It alerts them from 30, 60 , 90 minute intervals letting them take a break from playtime to go to the potty. At the same time, it is fun for them because of the flashing watch and music telling them to go and they will have fun on the way to potty.
Potty Training toys
Potty training toys and books to reinforce the potty learning steps. Toys can illustrate using the potty with dolls using toy potty seats. Books about potty time can be used to encourage your child to use the potty. They can even look through these books with colorful pictures while sitting on the potty.
Potty training is a journey that is unique for each child. What you used for one of your children may not work for your next child. But with consistency and the proper potty training tools that work for you and your child, you will be successful and your child will be potty independent before you know it!
P.S. What is the most helpful potty training tool you use?
Which potty training tool do you feel is most important?
What do you think about gadgets like the potty watch?
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Happy potty training!
Your potty training tips are definitely spot on. I completely agree with you when you said that you should let your child choose her potty training chair. That is actually important, because it partially depends on whether she likes it or not. I will keep in mind to reinforce the fact that potty chair is not play time, but for actual “business” with my baby daughter. The problem right now is that she still doesn’t have enough patience to sit there long enough. I also have an adapter seat to accompany the potty chair. In my opinion, one of the best times for beginners to potty train is right before bath time. Personally I sit on the toilet while my daughter sits on her potty chair. I reinforce the fact that potty is an adult thing. The ladder seems like an interesting idea, but I doubt my daughter will know how to come back down from it. She is only 18 months old, so I will have to help her for now. What do you think?
Thanks Bill for commenting on my post with potty training tools. Sometimes it takes a little time to get children to sit on the potty for awhile. My sons used to look at pictures in the comics while they sat on potty and soon their little package would arrive. My daughter used to draw in a little notebook. Just be consistent with timing for potty visits. I helped my children up and down on the step stool we used to reach the toilet. They used the toilet adapter because it worked best for them to know it was time “to go.” If your daughter can’t come down on her own, you have to help her up and down or let her use the small potty chairs. Happy potty training! 🙂