Toilet Training. Vicki Lansky

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СКАЧАТЬ that there are neighborhood children who would probably be delighted to demonstrate. Day-care today often lets children “learn” from their peers and often speeds up their learning curve.

      • Try to help your child recognize the sensations of “being wet,” “wetting now,” and “about to be wet.” Encourage your child to talk about these sensations—especially “about to be . . .” sensations—without pressuring your child to be toilet trained. Comment on signs you notice, such as the child’s pausing in play or walking if he or she is uncomfortable after elimination. Use statements such as, “You are having a BM,” rather than asking the general question, “What are you doing?” Asking your child to let you know when the diaper is wet or messy is another way of increasing awareness.

       Check Fluid Intake

      If your child shows all the signs of readiness except the ability to stay dry for at least two hours, check fluid intake. Any child who is drinking milk, water, or fruit juices continuously cannot stay dry for long. Also, check with your doctor about the possibility of a milk allergy or lactose intolerance (the inability to digest milk properly) which can result in cramps, loose stools and the inability to hold a bowel movement for more than a moment.

      • Let your child go nude in appropriate settings to help the child “see” what he or she is doing, and to help make the mental connection between the words and what they refer to.

      • Changing a diaper in the bathroom will also associate the process with the place. Children over age two should be off the changing table for this reason.

      • Although much ado has been made about using the proper terminology for body parts and functions, you should use the words that come most easily to you and your child. “Peeing,” for example, may be more effective than the term “urinating” if the latter is a forced term. DO use specific terms, though; “going to the bathroom” is too vague. Try not to use words that will make your child think of his or her bodily functions as being dirty or disgusting (for example, “dirty,” “stinky,” “yucky,” etc.).

      • Help your child learn the meaning of the terms “before” and “after” by using them yourself in other contexts such as, “We’ll wash the dishes after dinner.”

      • Talk about the advantages of being trained: no more diaper rash, no more interruptions for diaper changing, and the pleasure of being clean and dry. Discuss training as an important stage of growing up and being “grown up.”

      • Let your child practice lowering and raising training diapers or pants sometimes, or putting them on and taking them off.

      • Have a potty chair handy on which the child may sit on (even with clothes on) while you are in the bathroom yourself, but only if he or she wants to. The intent is not to get results, but to provide familiarity with the equipment. Let the child flush the toilet for you, to help him or her get used to the noise it makes and avoid possible fear later on.

      • Begin reading potty books to your child.

      Also watch for body signals that children give when they have the urge to go.

      • Becoming red in the face.

      • “Dancing” on tiptoes.

      • Holds legs together.

      • Pulling at clothes.

      • Hands holding genital area.

      You can put words to their actions and point out these signals and suggest using the bathroom. Eventually children tune into these signals themselves.

      I don’t think there’s any one way to toilet train children. They can be tempted, coaxed, yelled at or put on the potty every hour, but they won’t really be trained until they decide they’re ready.

       Marlene Gwiazdon, Osceola, WI

      Nothing I try has worked. My three-year-old understands everything about potty training, but tells me, “I’m not ready, Mommy.” So I try not to say anything. If he’s not ready, he’s not ready.

       Kyle Lutz, Mill Valley, CA

       Chapter 2

       Should I Choose a Potty Chair, an Adapter or Use the Toilet Seat?

      Some experts claim that we complicate the toilet training process when we require children to learn on several different kinds of equipment in succession. We start them on the potty chair, then move them to the adapter seat, and finally, we move them to the adult toilet—making three tasks for them to learn.

      There is much to be said for using one, two, or all three of these methods. I suspect that the choice really isn’t all that significant. Your choice will depend on your child’s size, age, and preference; your preference (which I think counts for a lot); and the size and number of your bathrooms. Whatever method you settle on will probably work just fine for you and your child

Potty Chairs

      Proponents of the potty chair say it allows a child to be more independent, since a parent doesn’t need to lift the child to the toilet. It also allows a child to place his or her feet squarely on the floor when bearing down to eliminate, and the child can also use the support of the chair arms. Because a potty chair is obviously the child’s own, he or she will take pride in possessing it.

      I know many parents like the flexibility of the potty chair, moving it to various rooms in the house to suit their convenience, and using it for travel as well. (Others claim that a potty chair should remain in the bathroom, so its purpose becomes solely associated with the bathroom.)

      If you have a potty chair in the bathroom, you and your child can go to the toilet at the same time.

      One disadvantage is that a boy will not be able to urinate standing up—it will be too difficult to aim, and there will be too much splashing. Another consideration is that it needs to be cleaned out by you or your child. In the beginning, cleaning out the pot will be fun. With experience, it loses its appeal for a child—and probably for you too.

      If the potty chair appeals to you, you should get one before you start training so it becomes a familiar piece of equipment to your child. In fact, you may even let your child shop for the chair with you. You can narrow the choice down to two or three styles, and let your child choose from among those. This can make the child all the more anxious to try it out.

      Personalizing a potty chair or adapter will also make it more unique and interesting. You can do this by adding a few stickers or decals of your child’s choosing. Or use press-type letters and spell out your child’s name.

      Let your child know that it’s okay—for now—to sit on the potty with clothes on to get used to it, but when he or she is ready, it will be used as “Mommy and Daddy use the toilet.” Avoid using the potty chair at other times so as not to confuse the issue.

       Choosing a Potty Chair

      If СКАЧАТЬ