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Is Your Baby Ready For
Potty Training
by Sarah Veda
You’re
getting tired of changing those diapers, aren’t you?
It’s so great to be able to get your child out of diapers. But, when it comes to
potty training, timing is everything. If you start when your child isn’t ready,
it will just take longer.
However, if
you miss the right opportunity, your child may resist the process more when
you try later on. So, just how do you know when to begin?
First of all – forget what your mom told you about having you potty trained
by the time you were eighteen months old. She probably just had herself
trained to sit you on the toilet at regular intervals, which is not the same
as being fully potty trained. It’s really best not to even think about potty
training until your child is two. But, for most children, the right time
will hit sometime between the ages of two and three. |
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When your child is ready
to begin potty training, he will show an interest. He will begin to want to
observe your toilet habits and will ask questions. Explain that big people go to
the potty instead of using a diaper. Even if it makes you uncomfortable, let
your child go to the bathroom with you and watch. If you have a son, make sure
Daddy is taking him to the bathroom with him, too. Daddy will probably resist
this, though I’m not really sure why, since public restrooms make public
urination a regular occurrence for the average male! There are several good
story books on the market about potty training that you can start reading to him
your child at this stage, to help encourage an interest in going potty. There
are books geared specifically to boys and those geared to girls, which is
helpful.
Another good sign that your child is ready for potty training is his ability to
pull his pants up and down by himself. If your child has mastered this step of
dressing, potty training will go much more smoothly.
Another important physical sign of potty training readiness is the frequency
with which your child urinates. If he is still wetting his diaper every half and
hour or so, he is not ready.
But, if he’s going one to two hours between wet diapers, then he is able to hold
his urine, which is critical to being truly potty trained, at any age.
If you think your child is ready for potty training, check out my article in
“Mommy to Mommy – the Truth About Taking Care Of Baby”, where I outline some
potty training strategies designed to make this developmental hurdle as painless
as possible, for you and the little one. You can pick up this book at
http://www.educatedmother.com.
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Sarah is a 41 year old wife and
mother of two boys and one girl. She spent many years as a
manager in the corporate world, and gave it up to be a stay at
home mom. Go to
http://www.infantresources.com now and get her
incredible baby minicourse – absolutely free. |
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