What are the Best Potty Training Tips?

Potty training can be a frustrating challenge for both parents and children. Everyone usually develops their own potty training techniques, but potty training tips from pediatricians and other parents can be very beneficial during this stressful time. Choosing the perfect potty chair, "big kid" underwear, and incentive are all important to potty training success. More important, however, is the use of praise and encouragement, along with patience.

As soon as a child starts showing signs of potty training readiness, it is often recommended that the parent start thinking about which potty chair to use. One of the most popular potty training tips is to let the child help choose her own potty chair. It should be a chair that appeals to her, as she will be the one using it. After bringing it home, parents should allow and encourage the child to sit on it, whether she is actually going potty or not. This should get her more comfortable with the idea of using it and sitting on it.

If the budget allows, some experts recommend buying more than one potty chair. One chair can be placed in the bathroom, while others can be placed in other rooms in the house. With a potty chair within easy reach, a toddler will be able to reach it quickly and minimize accidents.

While purchasing a potty chair for their child, parents may also want to pick up some "big kid" underwear. Pull-ups can easily be pulled up and down by toddlers and some also have Velcro® sides for quick and easy emergency removal, and they can be used during the first days of potty training and at night time. Both pull-ups and cloth underwear can be found with a variety of designs and cartoon characters on them that will appeal to children. Unlike diapers, these underwear allow children to realized the uncomfortable feeling of urine and feces, which will usually make them more inclined to use the potty.

Most pediatricians will tell parents to literally show a child what should be done on the potty. A toddler can be taken into the bathroom with the same-sex parent and watch the adult use the toilet. Although it may seem uncomfortable at first, this is often one of the most important potty training tips. Small children are not always sure of what to do on the toilet, and it is usually up to the parents to teach them.

Along with praise, one of the most popular potty training tips has to do with offering some type of incentive or bribe. Offering some type of treat when a child uses the potty, according to many parents, is an excellent way to make toddlers want to go to the bathroom. The incentive doesn't have to be anything extravagant. It can be a sticker or pennies in a piggy bank with every success.

when potty training, it is important that a toddler's clothing be loose and easily removed by her small hands. If she is unable to remove her pants easily, this can result in an accident. Of course, accidents will happen, and in the event of an accident, feces should be put into the potty to let the child know where it is supposed to be, as opposed to her underwear.

Although every child is different, many parents and pediatricians will agree that it is easier to potty train boys than girls. With girls, it is important to teach them to wipe correctly after using the potty. They should wipe from front to back to avoid infection. When potty training boys, a common complaint among parents is bad aim, which can be helped by giving the boy something to aim at in the toilet, such as a few Cheerios®. Also, teaching him to put the seat back down can help prevent any future arguments with the women in his life.