For more than a generation, experts have been advising parents to allow their kids to decide when to make the transition from diapers to potty. As a result, the age of toilet training has risen dramatically, as has the incidence of constipation, bladder-control problems, and other potty-related illnesses. Diaper companies have been forced to make larger sizes, (Pampers is pushing for a supersize disposable diaper for over children 35 lbs) while parents are wrestling with 3 year olds to stay still amid the clean and swap of diaper changes.
The old fashioned way of potty training, "naked and $75" in which you remove the diaper, put a portable potty within reach of your toddler and wait for the inevitable accident, seemed to be effective, because kids of that age hate to have 'it' running down their legs. So, in turn they stop the flow, and you rush them to the seat. The $75 was for cleaning the carpet. Within a few days, the child was trained.
If you want to start potty training you child early and ditch the diapers, pick up a potty next time you see one. Don't expect your child to immediately embrace this foreign object but place it in the washroom, or anywhere else your child will see it regularly. If your washroom is on the second floor, put in the playroom or living room during the daytime.
Don't push and start slow. Let your child notice the potty and play with it and inform them repeatedly that it is called a potty/toilet/or any other term you wish to use. Also begin remarking to your child during diaper changes, "You peed!" according to what they did, to help them associate with words.
After your child is comfortable with the potty, get some books or a toy, and ask them if they want to sit on the seat, they may not respond but proceed by removing their diaper and attempting to sit them on the potty. If they protest, don't force them to sit on it, put the diaper back on, and try again in a few hours, or the following day. By putting the diaper on after, you are helping them make the association that potty = no diaper, and most kids love being free of theirs.
If they do seem OK with sitting on the potty, get the books or toy and let them play, or read to them while they sit. If anything happens, tell them, "You peed!! Yay!". Don't make them get off right away if they don't want to. Often times the shock of the different feeling from going in a diaper will make them stop the flow, and if you take them off too soon, the may not be fully done.
If you feel that they are done, then put a pair of underwear on him or her, and let them run around, but keep a close eye, and the potty nearby. Watch for signs and if you think they might need to go, ask them again if they want to sit on the potty, and attempt to place them on it. If an accident happens don't get mad, or put shame on them. Again, tell them what they are doing, and attempt to get them back on the potty ASAP.
Most importantly be consistent, you don't have to start off on a marathon training session if you don't want to by any means, but if you work on it for an hour or two in the morning or evening one day, try and do it at the same time the next day and every day after. If you miss a day, it's not a big deal just jump back on the wagon the following day or whenever it seems to fit. Toddlers love to be challenged and love receiving praise after the success of a new triumph.
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