What are the Best Tips for Easy Potty Training?

The ease or difficulty of potty training depends on how willing the parent is to give up control of the situation to the child and experiment with different techniques as the child learns to use the toilet. Easy potty training does exist, but it all comes down to the individual child in question. The key tip to easy potty training that all parents should remember — regardless of how they choose to potty train their children — is to let the child decide when she is ready. Even if the child learns to use the potty at a much later age than other children, she will eventually decide when she wants to learn and having the patience to wait until this time is the best method of easy potty training.

To help a child learn to use the potty, it's best to offer some sort of praise or reward for successful attempts. Physical rewards in the form of candy or small toys can motivate a child to work harder to learn potty training. Regardless of whether parents decide to use physical rewards, they should always praise the child for using the potty. If the child makes a mistake, the parent should again mention to him that he needs to use the toilet and give encouragement that he'll get it right the next time.

Parents who want to find an easy potty training solution for more difficult children should consider the number of toys and gadgets on the market to help with potty training. Training potties and certain toys encourage children to use the toilet properly. They can provide encouragement by playing music or changing color when the child successfully uses the potty.

For best results and easy potty training, parents should take cues from the child. If she shows no interest in using the toilet, she is not developmentally ready and will have more accidents. When the child begins to question how the toilet works or asks to try herself, this is the best time to bring up the subject. Parents should let the child progress at her own pace and if she stops using the toilet after showing significant progress, the parents can give her more time or contact the child's doctor to ask for tips and suggestions.

Finally, it's important for parents to consider the child's point of view. The toilet and the sounds of flushing it can seem scary. Certain children feel that using the bathroom and flushing is like flushing away a part of them. To make potty training an easier and more pleasant experience, parents should explain to the anxious child how his body works and what the toilet or child's potty actually does.