Parenting tips on potty training

November 11, 10:15 PMOrlando Parenting ExaminerRobyn Kurth

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Does anyone remember that 1980s era television commercial ad campaign where Toyota owners did a slow motion jump into the air—followed by a freeze frame—to the tune of “Oh, what a feeling!” That sense of unrestrained exuberance is exactly what parents of toddlers and preschoolers feel when they finally potty train a child.

Our family finally kicked the Diaper Genie to the curb once and for all at the beginning of this year, but the experience is not so behind me that I don’t remember what those days were like. There is plenty of useful, expert information on sites like Parentcenter.com and Parenting.com on the subject, and today I thought I’d add a few tips of my own to the mix:

• Once your child takes an interest in going potty, they’ll be watching you for pointers. If you are alone with your two-year-old at the Florida Mall and you have to squeeze yourself into the stall with your toddler because you really have to go, think of it as a teachable moment.
• Pull-ups look like underpants but feel like diapers to your child, so they are more likely to “let loose” in a Pull-up. Try using underpants around the house and Pull-ups on the road if it would be inconvenient to clean up an “accidental spill.”
• Accidents will happen. A lot. If your child is wearing underpants but is not fully trained, place heavy towels on any upholstered furniture that might become soiled. Try explaining that when you visit the grandparents’ house and watch them freak out.
• Number 1 is a lot easier than Number 2. Some kids master peeing in the potty well before they feel comfortable about pooping in it. Also keep an eye out for a toddler who mysteriously disappears behind a chair or a table when he is on the verge of having a bowel movement, and urge them—gently—to go to the bathroom. Some kids sneak away to their private “loading zone” when they begin to understand what their bodies are trying to tell them.
• All bets might be off—temporarily, of course—if your potty training preschooler gets a new sibling. Be prepared that your older child might regress in order to pull some attention away from the baby.
• And the best advice I ever received, which is from an old friend of mine: “Don’t worry, it will happen. No one ever walked off to kindergarten wearing a diaper!”