Potty Learning for Toddlers
By Tricia Ballad
Parents of toddlers know all too well the difficulties
in convincing a two-year-old of the benefits of using the potty.
Let’s
face it: most two- to three-year olds are more interested in
the contents of their toy box than that of their diapers.
Many parents don’t realize how they inadvertently hamper
potty learning success by keeping their child in disposable diapers
until the transition to big-kid underwear is complete. Here are
five ways to help the process along – and to stretch out
what you hope will be the last package of diapers you have to
buy!
Put toddlers in simple
cloth diapers. They will feel the wetness
immediately and begin to associate the discomfort of wetness
with the act of urination. Disposable diapers don't begin to
feel wet until the child has urinated two or three times. In
this situation, cloth diapers that wick wetness away from the
skin are counterproductive, since you want your child to feel
wet.
Go for simple prefolds. Just be sure to change
them promptly to avoid diaper rash. Use a cover at first or
when it isn't possible
to do an immediate diaper change, until your child reliably tells
you when she is wet. Prefolds and covers are now available in
many mainstream stores. They’re not the best quality, but
your child won’t be in them for long -- and once potty
learning is complete, prefolds make great all-purpose cleaning
cloths.
Use cloth diapers without
covers whenever possible. This allows
you to know immediately when your toddler has urinated. Let your
child play in just a diaper and T-shirt. (Unless you really enjoy
doing extra laundry.)
Notice common times and
situations when your toddler wets the diaper. This allows you to catch her before she urinates and
suggest that she go to the potty instead. Create success stories
with your child.
Allow your child to go
diaper-free for a while each day, preferably just after he’s gone to the potty. Most toddlers relish
the freedom of being naked. This also saves precious time when
rushing to the potty to "catch a pee."
Don't give up when your
child's clothes (or the floor!) get wet. It's all part of the learning process. Have your toddler
help clean up the mess and talk about how much quicker they can
go back to playtime when they use the potty, instead of having
to change clothes or clean up a puddle first. Then give them
another chance, either in a cloth diaper or none at all.
© Tricia Ballad
Tricia Ballad was a web developer
by profession and a writer and natural family planning advocate
by passion. She left her job in September, 2004 to stay home with
her children. Her goal is to "negotiate the divide between
mainstream suburbia and the strikingly counter-cultural, seeking
a balance between the two extremes." Tricia lives with her
husband and their growing family in the Chicago area. She is co-owner
of the Balter
Catalogue Company and runs www.balladweb.net
for families and small business.
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