Click to go mobile
Search articles from thousands of Examiners
Los Angeles Family and Parenting Orlando Parenting Examiner
Find out more about Robyn:

As a corporate video writer-producer turned stay-at-home mom and freelance writer, Robyn Kurth's adventures in parenthood began just days after moving to Orlando in September of 2001 (“The stick is blue!”). When she isn't tending to her husband and two children, Robyn is either writing or channeling her inner Martha Stewart in the kitchen.


 
Subscribe to Robyn's Email Alerts

Get alerts when Robyn submits a new article
Email Address


  Include other special offers from Examiner.com
Terms of Use

Robyn has been added to your favorite examiners
·

Parenting tips on potty training

November 11, 10:15 PM
2 comments
RSS

Photo credit: www.babiesrus.com 

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!”

 

For more info: 
Read the WebMD link on toilet training HERE.
For tips on potty training a toddler, read the Parenting.com article on the subject HERE.
Find out more about potty training for preschoolers from Parentcenter.com HERE.
Author: Robyn Kurth
Robyn Kurth is an Examiner from Orlando. You can see Robyn's articles on Robyn's Home Page.
Find out more about Robyn:
As a corporate video writer-producer turned stay-at-home mom and freelance writer, Robyn Kurth's adventures in parenthood began just days after moving to Orlando in September of 2001 (“The stick is blue!”). When she isn't tending to her husband and two children, Robyn is either writing or channeling her inner Martha Stewart in the kitchen.
Subscribe to Robyn's Email Alerts
Get alerts when Robyn submits a new article
Email Address


  Include other special offers from Examiner.com
Terms of Use

Robyn has been added to your favorite examiners

Comments

Name:
Comments:
characters left

Mon
Jul
06
Los Angeles Events
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: National Tour
Orange County Performing Arts Center

Write for us

Now Recruiting in Los Angeles
We are now looking for Los Angeles writers to cover hundreds of topics, including: View all available topics »

Medical Advice

Kids' Games on the Web