Toilet training tips
Get the Basics Right
Huggies has formulated an extensive list of toilet training tips to help you get started, as well as to revisit the basics to get you through the difficult times and get your toddler’s progress back on track.
Consider these key areas and how they relate to your child before reading our tips:
1. Building a Toilet Training Routine
Once you kick things off with toilet training, try and work everything that you and your child do into a routine. This isn’t always so easy, as children’s bladders and bowels don’t always act according to a plan! Get a grasp of how many times your child needs to go to the toilet in a day and when, and try to approach toilet training based on what you’ve learned about this behaviour.
Building a consistent training plan will improve your child’s confidence as they will know exactly what to do, where to go and how to do it! Children love consistency and repetition, and will feel much more in control of a situation if they know what’s coming up next.
2. Independence
As parents, we never want to see our children struggle with anything that they do. It’s natural for a mother or father to want to do everything that they can for their child. But you need to ask yourself if this is the best way to go about toilet training?
It’s something that parents need to keep a close eye on, because obviously there are aspects of toilet training where children simply cannot do it without you, but you need to teach them independence as well.
Try to take things one step at a time. The more your child progresses in their training, the more you should try to hold off a little bit and let them give it a shot on their own. They’ll soon be wiping, flushing and washing their hands without you even knowing it!
3. Praise and Reward
This goes without saying, but encouraging your child when they do something worth celebrating goes a long way in toilet training.
Children love to please their parents at this age and show them what they can do, so when they tell you they need to do a wee or poo, or they sit on the potty by themself, give them a high five and a ‘well done!’ to encourage them to do it all again.
Rewards while toilet training work really well too. If a child knows they’ll receive a lollypop or get to play with a special toy once they’re on the potty they’ll be nagging you to use it again and again!
Toilet Training Tips
When it comes to toilet training, using simple, easy to action and effective techniques is often the best option.
Read the following toilet training tips carefully:
- Try not to leave your little one’s feet dangling while they sit on the loo as this can sometimes hinder bowel movements. Put a little box or stool down so that your toddler can rest their feet and make using the loo as easy as possible.
- Try to get your kids to understand that it’s way more comfortable to be dry instead of wet; this will add some extra motivation.
- Try to gradually phase out diapers, as some children hate change and this may cause them to regress in their toilet training progress.
- Try to give your toddler as much privacy when using the toilet as possible, as some kids won’t use the loo if someone is watching.
- Make the bathroom environment as welcoming as possible by putting in some of your little one’s favourite toys and maybe even a book or too next to the loo.
- Try making up a little tune and sing it every time your child goes to the toilet successfully. Include generous praise and compliments in the song, so that your tot knows they are doing something good.
- Put some food dye into the toilet so your child can enjoy watching it change colour after using the loo. This tip is a huge hit with tots!
- Give surprise treats, lollies or gifts to your toddler after using the bathroom. This positive reinforcement will encourage the use of the toilet.
- Create a bit of buzz around flushing the lavatory and make this your child’s special job. In order for this to work, you should try to make your child understand that they can only flush the loo once they have used it.
- Training pants, like Huggies Pull-Ups, can make toilet training quicker and easier.
- If your child sits on the loo for a while (between 2 and 4 minutes) but nothing happens, don’t force anything. It might not be the right time. Just come back to the loo a little later with your child.
- A good tip is to keep a plastic potty in the car for emergencies. You never know what might come up. An old towel comes in handy, too!
- Try to ensure that your child is drinking plenty of water and eating foods high in fibre, so that bowel movements are easy peasy.
