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Potty Training Your Baby: A Practical Guide for Easier Toilet Training

No matter how you do it, remember this is a learning process that takes time, with many accidents along the way. Being patient is the best way you can support your child as she learns. Keep in mind that children with special needs may take longer to learn to use the potty.

They may also need special equipment, and a lot of help and support from you. Toddlers are all about trying to gain some control over their world.

Toilet Teaching Your Child

They are using their growing physical, thinking, and language skills to gain some power over themselves, their bodies, and their surroundings. This natural and healthy desire for control can lead to power struggles, as children quickly figure out that one way to feel in charge is by refusing to do something they know their parent wants them to do.


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Toilet training is particularly ripe for power struggles because it is so tied up with toddlers wanting to have control over their own bodies. Think of it as just another skill you are helping your child learn. Refusing to do it becomes a very powerful way for your child to feel in control.

The more emotional you are, the more it shows your child how much it matters to you that he use the potty. It is also very important not to force your child to use the potty because it can cause intense power struggles. These power struggles sometimes lead to children trying to regain control over their bodies by withholding urine or bowel movements.

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This can create physical problems, like constipation. So if you are starting to see power struggles developing over potty training, it might help to take the pressure off. Stop talking about potty training or doing anything about it for a little while, until your child shows signs of readiness and interest again. Many parents wonder about offering rewards for using the potty—a sticker, an extra sweet, or a little toy every time their child is successful on the toilet.

The other risk is that the use of rewards for toileting can lead children to expect rewards for doing almost anything—finishing a meal, brushing teeth, etc. Occasionally, children have physical issues that make potty training more difficult, so a check-up is always a good idea.

You may also want to sit down with a child development specialist who can help you figure out what the challenges around potty training might be for your individual child and can help you identify toilet learning strategies that might be more successful. Anticipatory guidance with a child-oriented approach.

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Potty Training Your Baby A Practical Guide for Easier Toilet Training

Annual Conference - Save the Date! It Takes a Village Improving the lives of babies and families takes a vibrant network of baby champions. Parenting Resource Potty Training: The Second Baby Book: How to cope with pregnancy number two and create a happy home for your firstborn and new arrival. The Gentle Eating Book: The Gentle Discipline Book: How to raise co-operative, polite and helpful children.

The Gentle Parenting Book: How to raise calmer, happier children from birth to seven. The Gentle Sleep Book: For calm babies, toddlers and pre-schoolers.

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A guide for calmer toddlers and happier parents. Sarah Ockwell-Smith is the mother of four children. She has also undertaken training in Baby Massage, Hypnotherapy and Psychotherapy. Sarah specialises in gentle parenting methods and is co-founder of the GentleParenting website www. Sarah writes a parenting blog www. She frequently writes for magazines and newspapers, and is often called upon as a parenting expert for national television and radio. The Stories in Our Genes.

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