Anshika is 20 months old now and she is not yet potty trained. I had concerns over this issue and talked about this to the daycare Taai as well. She says it takes time and Anshika will soon understand on her own , though she tells us once she has done the job / when she is about to pee. However when my Amma came here , she focused on how to potty train babies the right way and from the start , something I missed out on . This post is on the 5 ways to potty train your baby or toddler.
There are many articles on the right age, the right time and the necessity/requirement for potty training. But according to experts the right age for potty training girls is from 29 months and 31 months for boys. But I have seen parents toilet training their babies right from 3 months or so which I think is a very good 🙂
My niece is toilet trained right from her 1st month. She doesn’t poop or pee on bed sheets or at odd hours :).
5 WAYS TO POTTY TRAIN YOUR BABY OR TODDLER
1. Taking baby in the arms for peeing/ pooping
Well this is an age-old method told to me by my Amma , which she had used on her three kids including me :). A baby would be taken in arms in such a way at regular intervals so that he/she knows it’s the time for potty/urination. Quite strange eh ? Yes even my mother in law agreed to this as she had used the same method on my hubby when he was a baby 🙂
The main advantage is that babies tend to know the time for urination/pooping and this clock sets in as well. Plus the bed sheets or clothes are not spoiled 🙂 Imagine there were no diapers at that time , and this method could have helped them a lot.
I have heard about making noises thereby signalling baby to poop/pee. Like when you take the baby to poo/pee , noises like ‘shoo’ or ‘ssshh’ can give signals to the baby to poop or pee.
However it takes a lot of patience and practice for the above mentioned ways 🙂
2. Taking baby on the legs
Ok this method is followed by my sister in-laws. I remember I had gone to their place in Chennai during my school vacation and had seen her placing the baby in her legs keeping a newspaper / plastic bowl so that baby could drain his bowel or pee. Afterwards the baby is washed with plain water and dressed.
No need of diapers and no bed sheets/ clothes soiled , how easy isn’t ?
3. Potty trainers
Make your baby get used to commodes or toilet training seats. Make him/ her sit on it when she poops or pee. This will make the baby understand that it’s the time for urination / bowel movement. Gradually the transition to toilet seats can happen 🙂
4. Using baby toilet seats
Baby toilet seats were installed in Anshika’s previous daycare. Those were so cute and so baby friendly :). A toddler (1.5 yrs starting) can easily sit on it without any support , flush once the task is done and clean their hands in the baby friendly wash basins as well.
I liked this idea a lot and potty training in a right way including washing their hands were taught there in that daycare.
5. Communicating about potty training
This can be applied to toddlers who could communicate or signal when they have the urge to do potty or urinate. One of the toddlers in the daycare signals when he has to pee/poop. He is taken to the washroom then . Taai tells me that it helps her a lot 🙂