Potty Training

• Let your children lead the way with potty training.  Above all, you do not want to create a power struggle.  Your children will potty train when they are ready.  Be sure to enlist the help of your pediatrician so that you will know what to do when the time comes.  As with anything in parenting, there are countless ways to potty train your children.   
• Create a reward system for your children, as you know what motivates them best.  In the beginning, you will want to play up each and every success.  You can create a chart and use stickers as a reward.  When your child has earned a predetermined amount of stickers, you can offer a small prize or toy.  Sometimes offering a special treat, like fruit snacks or candy, can help motivate a child.  And finally, when your child has an accident, simply say, “Maybe next time you’ll get all of it into the potty.” 
• Prompt your child to go to the bathroom every 45– 60 minutes.  You can set a timer to serve as a fun reminder that it’s time for a potty break.  Rather than asking your child if he/she wants to go potty, simply say “it’s time to go to the potty.”   This will remove any power struggle.  Having your child take frequent trips to the bathroom will help him/her to learn that feeling of needing to go before it is too late.  Before long, you will be able to stretch out the intervals.  Another suggestion is to keep a basket of books in the bathroom for your children, so that they will have something to help pass the time. 
• Consider potty training one child at a time.  When one child shows signs of readiness, you can begin potty training that child first.  The other child or children who are not ready will learn from watching the first child.

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