How to Potty train a toddler (A mother and medic’s view point)

Let’s be honest, this subject matter is usually a huge elephant in the room!

When the cost of diapers becomes a bit too overbearing and your growing toddler gets overly comfortable in them, what quick actions could you as a parent take to salvage the situation? I would be giving my two cents of insight from a parent and Medic’s view point.

Parenting is no walk in the park y’all. I believe that bringing a child into the world, should always be a planned and conscious event. Forget the social media glitz and glam it’s a world of hard work!! Nobody gives you a preparatory memo, trust me I am writing to you from experience.

Now I wouldn’t want to paint parenting as a woeful experience or scare intending parents away, never ever fam. It is instead one of the most beautiful experience and gift any human could hope to acquire.

So back to the subject matter, your bundle of Joy has arrived, all glory to God and as first time parents, you are going through this new phase of life clueless. Well, that was how I felt, absolutely clueless.

From grasping the intricacies of breastfeeding, to figuring out the proper way diapers are worn, I can tell you that Baby buisness is very serious business .

Now, somehow by the grace of God we as first time parents summounted the initial challenges up until the 2 and half year mark where most parents start to feel the pressure of getting their toddler potty trained.

I and my hubby being medical doctors had very little time to breathe outside work. Little wonder why we were not so keen on commencing this tedious process. Diapers seemed like the easy way out, both for us and our toddler. We had hoped his school (playgroup) teachers would take the load off us, and perform the magic of helping to potty train him.

We continued to push through the easier path until we realized he wasn’t growing any younger. At that point, we began to brainstorm on how to retrace our steps and succeed at the potty training mission. I felt the pressure y’all. Mean while our toddler continued to have the time of his life with no worries. Infact, he had gotten too comfortable with diapers.

Potty training isn’t rocket science, and there are no hard and fast rules. Also remember that children are quite unique and different in their ways, even siblings. What works for A might not necessarily work for B.

With that being said, join me as I share with you, some of my newly discovered do’s and don’ts of potty training. Let’s be unconventional and start with the don’ts.

Don’ts of potty training

Never associate potty training a child with punishment. Don’t do it guys, it only instills fear in a child and serves as a huge stressor. Furthermore, it could result in more problems for the said child such as an even more delayed mastery of the act, and super poor bladder/bowel control.
When accidents happen, please do not make a fuss about it or scream in frustration. They sense the negativity and it certainly does not help!
Do not ignore communication signs from your toddler! Sometimes they give you signals on what is wrong and why they haven’t been interested in the whole act. Mine said the potty we got was too boring, so we definitely had to step up lol!
Never start potty training when the child is under any form of stress such as parent divorce, change in environment or any significant change that could obviously impact on a toddler
Don’t give into parenting peer pressure guys! People would say whatever they want but at the end of the day, this child is yours to raise.
Take it slow and steady! Throw deadlines out of the way. Setting a deadline for potty training would only cause unnecessary pressure and end up in a preventable disaster.
Avoid child comparisons please. Never compare your child with any other child who recently attained this milestone, it certainly does not help
Don’t expect automatic night time training, that might be a whole new ball game.

Tips for Successful potty training

Talk to your child on the journey you are about to embark on and why it is necessary to embark on the journey in the simplest of terms. They might look too young to understand, but trust me, they do in their own ways
Watch out for signs that tell you the little one is ready for the ride. These signs might include: uncomfortable facial expressions after soiling their diapers, staying in a quiet corner after doing the do, tugging on soiled diapers, and spoken words such as ‘poop’ or ‘wee’ before soilage.
Try to associate fun activities with potty training folks. You could go the song way, that worked perfectly for us. We created a catchy hymn using his name. Something that goes like this 🎶 *insert name* is a big boy/girl, he/she goes to the potty. Peepee, poopoo in the potty and you flush and wash your hand🎶🎶 He really loved the song and it made him anticipate potty time.
Embrace routines guys! It helps a lot. Following a potty routine say early in the morning, even when said child doesn’t need to go and repeating again at mid day, in the afternoon and at night would start to resonate with the child and become a norm in no time.
Give rewards and treats for successful potty experiences. As much as punishment serve as the least effective method where potty training is concerned, rewards are quite the opposite. They help significantly.
Buy potty training pants, they are a step up from diapers. The thing about them is that they give the best of both worlds. They have the pantie feel (they aren’t as thick and padded as diapers) but could still absorb some parts of the accident. Further more, they are super easy to remove as opposed to diapers.
Don’t do boring! My child once told me the potty we got him was quite boring, can you imagine! I found his words hilarious. On a serious note, there is this really nice adult like (WC) potty sold on Amazon that can actually flush y’all! You need it, it is a game changer.
Another nice hack that has been making waves recently is the ‘gotta go turdle’ for actual simulations of a poop action. Y’all this turdle makes coloured poop! The first day I saw it, I was in awe. If this isn’t innovation, I don’t know what it is. This innovative gem is also available on Amazon.
Give some dry time during the holidays, with no pant trainers or diapers. There would be lots of accidents and messes to clean up but please don’t get frustrated, it is for the greater good.
Finally, don’t forget to enjoy the process. This way, you are sure to have beautiful memories later on. Patience is key guys.

Recommended potty training essentials for a seamless training process

Potties

This of course is necessary to commence the potty training process, however it is important to avoid using boring potties. Bring

on the fun Mummy and Daddies. Below are links to purchase some of the best and versatile potties to tickle your toddler’s fancy.

SKYROKU Potty Training Toilet for Kids

Nuby My Real Potty Training Toilet

Real Feel Potty by Jool Baby

Training pants

There is a need for a bridge between diapers and regular pants, this is where the training pants come in. They provide the regular pants feel to keep the child aware, but still have some level of absorbance to reduce the mess significantly when mistakes do happen. Yeah, there would be mistakes folks, Rome was definitely not built in the day.

Pampers Easy Ups Training Pants

Pull-Ups Boys’ Potty Training Pants

Gotta go turtle

Guys! There is a new rave in town and I can confirm that I is definitely worth the hype y’all. So, these be gotta go turtles are super innovative and amazing. They are the true definition of thinking outside the box, I commend their manufacturers. So these turtles simulate the real potty experience; that is they sing about having to use the potty and come with a make shift potty and coloured food which when ingested by he turtle comes out as coloured poop. Amazing isn’t it? This is sure to get your toddler hooked,

Little Live Pets – Gotta Go Turdle

Little Live Pets Gotta Go Flamingo