Any mommy blog must discuss the importance and methods of potty training your little ones. Potty training is a right of passage that all children must endure, and some parents seem to ease their little ones through this process with ease while others struggle for years to accomplish this most basic of tasks. There must be a secret! The important thing to remember is there is no one method that is successful with each child. We are all individuals and all of us have preferred learning modalities that offer us the best means of success. The challenge is to choose the best method for your little one. Many parents have used the same method for siblings with varied success. It may work well for older brother or sister and then it is a complete failure for the younger sibling. Below are some methods many parents have found helpful.
Infant Method- Many parents begin potty training their infants only weeks after they are born. Many babies make the same indications when they must potty as they do when they are hungry or tired. If parents can intuitively pick up on these clues, they can hold the baby over the potty to begin training. The pros are that this really promotes parent-child bonding, it is cost-effective, it is more hygienic and it prevents diaper rash. The major con is that it requires supervision on a 24 hour basis which is not always possible in today’s world.
Potty Training in One Day Method- This intensive method has the parent show the child how and why to go potty and by using a potty training doll, it can be demonstrated. Although this is called the “One Day” method, it actually take one intensive day of training and several weeks to fully accomplish. The pros are that this is a quick method and can be done while one parent takes a few weeks off work and dedicates the time to training. The major con is that this is structured and requires complete dedication by the parents to accomplish successfully.
They will go when time is right method- This is the most commonly used method in America and it is also recommended by the American Pediatric Society. This is one reason American’s are one of the oldest groups of children to be potty trained in the world. This really isn’t a method. The concept is that the child will use the potty when they are ready and motivated to use it. The pros are it is easy and fits most lifestyles. The con is it can take a long time and it is also expensive as it generally takes much longer and thus diaper expenses are prolonged.
Whichever method you chose to use, remember that each child is different and each child has their own unique requirements for success.