Simple Yet Effective Ways of Potty Training Your Little One

Blog Submitted by Ruchi Anand

Reading the title of my blog, many of you have either potty trained your little ones already or there might be moms wanting to potty train their toddlers and don't know how to start with the process.

Potty training is teaching your little one how to pee or poop and make him independent so that he can do both of these on his own eventually. There is no right age for potty training as some babies may start it when they are one or one and a half years old while others may not even start it before their third birthday. So the best time for potty training is when you and your baby are ready together. 

I had my own share of  moments which were either funny or times when I was exasperated and thought when will this change. Babies pee a lot and in winters, you can see them peeing after every few minutes and it slows down after they are nine or ten months old. I started potty training my baby when he was 11 months old. And the reason was that I wanted my kid to be potty trained kids before he was off to play school . I think it's a good idea to be trained by parents rather being trained by nannies at school, makes it all the more inconvenient for the baby as well as the parents plus the school charges separately for diapers and it's not cost effective.

On the other end, when I made my baby sit on the potty seat, his first reaction was as if I made him sit on some sort of weird throne where he looks taller than me and he didn’t pee in the seat but he did pee n poop on me!! This just did not happen once, it happened four times in a row. I just thought of putting back the diapers and not do this practise again. 

My mom advised me to try and make the Shh sound (with your tongue inside the mouth and both teeth touching each other ). I seriously found it funny but I thought of trying it at least once to see what happens. I made my baby sit on the potty seat and made that sound and he pee'd. That was my moment of Joy. Finally it worked. Since then I have been training my baby however for all the moms who are about to start with potty training , please try the sound advice on your own discretion as what worked for me, might or might not work for you.

There have been moments I have made my baby sit on the potty seat and he has not pee'd , so I have tried again. In the initial days out of twenty times that I tried, the success rate was just twenty percent however it increases gradually. Now at  about five months later, my child understands that he will have to sit on a white seat (potty seat) after he gets up , before he sleeps in the night and many times during the day. While training my baby, I have made a list of some key points while that will help you potty train your baby. Here are they –

Buying the right potty seat - While looking for the right potty seat, ensure that it has a removable urine guard. You could've always wash it, once pee or poop is done and it's best for hygiene and cleanliness. Also while doing pee or poop ,the little one should be able to lean himself a bit at front with his legs on the ground and he should be able to get off and get on the potty seat comfortably.

Keep a track of time : Whenever you decide to start with potty training no matter how old your baby is, you need to keep a track of time always .Try to keep a checklist either on your phone or in your notebook about the number of times you make the child sit on the potty seat for pee. You can start as early 15 minute interval and go up to 30 minutes or more. Once, the little one gets used to the habit, he will either touch his diaper or will try to say it with some sounds (if he has started speaking )that he needs to pee.

Explore the fun element : Your child might be hesitant at first to sit on the potty seat. You could try and make him see cool videos about potty training, do story telling, sing rhymes, give him that favourite toy which he likes to play with , play some music. It will be a struggle initially however your little one would soon get in the habit of doing potty on his own.

Night time training is far away : Potty training should be started during the day first. Once the little one gets used to pee independently, you could try and make him pee before going to bed and once during the night irrespective of him crying in the night or not. He would get used to this habit and eventually the usage of diapers would be less and he could sleep peacefully without wetting the bed mattress.

All of this would take some time, just be patient, try and try until the child is completely trained. Even if you fail a few times, it's completely fine. You should just keep going and remember to make your little one pee or poop first , once he gets up in the morning or before he sleeps at night. That's the secret to a happy, potty trained child.

Happy training with your little one :)

Ruchi Anand Puri is the founder of the The Guiding light, an activity centre for kids. She is a work from home mom of a one year old, who keeps herself busy with calligraphy, painting and her passion for writing.