Baby and the potty: at what age does a child start potty training?
Passing a certain age, all parents find that their child asks for the potty when they need to relieve themselves.
Learning about cleanliness is an important step that each child experiences in his own way. Even if each one evolves at his own pace, the average age at which the potty becomes an indispensable accessory is 2 years old.
Of course, things happen slowly, with a few misses and accidents, but on the whole, little ones learn to go to the bathroom and to go without a diaper quite quickly. Of course, there are a few tricks that will help him learn faster, but generally, cleanliness is when the child is ready!"
How to help your child in learning cleanliness? We tell you everything.
At what age should baby be placed on the potty?
As with growth or the acquisition of any skill or ability, potty training occurs at the child's own pace.
In general, the potty is introduced around the child's 2nd birthday. It is at this age that the child begins to have more control over his body. He must therefore go through the so-called anal phase, from 18 months onwards in general, to become fully aware of his body and his feelings.
It is therefore from this moment that he begins to feel the need to pee or poop. Of course, he is still in diapers when this phase begins, but he often starts to feel less comfortable with his soiled diaper.
Among the sure signs, the fact that he announces or says he is going to poop is a big step. It proves that he feels what is happening in his body and that he understands the consequences.
Thus, it is from this point on that we will be able to sit the children on the potty.
How to encourage and help your child use the potty?
Even though he is just starting to become more aware of his body, it is normal that bé is not ready to give up his diapers.
For almost two years, they have been part of his “daily outfit. You have to tell yourself that it's not empty to see yourself without a diaper.
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Start by getting her to smell the potty
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Préhim his potty as his personal toilet. Just like the big kids, he will be able to go to the bathroom.
Just explain to him that this potty is made exclusively for him, that it’s his accessory. Then explain to him what the potty is really for. Tell him that pee and poo no longer go into the diaper, but into the potty. All these explanations often arouse curiosity in children. The fact that they have access to something new and personal, and that they are doing it just like the big kids, is usually more than enough to tempt them.
For its first use, do not install the potty in the toilet and sit your little one on it. This first test often requires patience! If it doesn't work, don't panic! If not today, it will be tomorrow.
Good to know :
don't force your child. If he doesn't feel ready, he will dread the potty tap during the day. The potty is so much a part of the house that he may associate it with a moment he fears and end up braving. This potty training should make him feel better, not shut down. If he is not ready, we wait a little and try again a few days/weeks later.
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SOME TIPS TO GET YOUR CHILD OFF TO A GOOD START TOWARDS INDEPENDENCE
Here are some simple tips to make it easier for your child to learn to be clean.
Make his potty a familiar object.
Dr. Brazelton, a noted psychiatrist, advises that the potty should be demonized by making it an everyday object; Take a few minutes every day to sit your child on it, then settle in at his or her sides to sing a nursery rhyme or tell a story. Even if he doesn't sit still, he'll quickly grasp that the potty is a harmless, innocuous object.
Run every day, this method quickly yields good results.
With the goal of learning to be clean, use transitional layers.
Thinner than traditional diapers, they aim to prevent any accidents. Point this out to your child. Tell him that he uses big boy diapers now, but that he'll soon be able to stop wearing them.
For nighttime and nap time, use a bedroll.
Install a fitted sheet on the mattress, a waterproof sheet, then a fitted sheet. Equipped as above, his bed will be ready for nighttime accidents. It will be enough to make a small toilet and to change your child, to remove the fitted sheet and the bedroll, so that he can immediately go back to bed. Very practical.
When your child starts potty training, dress them in easy-to-remove clothing.
What a fantastic invention the snaps are! In one gesture, it allows you to remove a garment. It's ideal when your little one starts potty training. Young parents know this: you have to be active! At home, for the first few times you use the potty, get some clothes with snaps. Ditto for school, especially if your child isn't quite bladder savvy.
Choose a practical potty more than a fun one.
When it comes to the potty itself, choose a design that will keep your child comfortable. If your child likes to play or read while sitting in the potty, don't give them anything to do. Instead, a potty with a bell, lights and other devices can keep him entertained. He may be using it more for distraction than for pee-pee.
The key is to guide the child without forcing him
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As is often said, “everyone learns à their own pace“. Certainly, we talk about the average age of learning to be clean, but as always, this is only an average. However, very few children actually use the potty before 18 months. There are always exceptions, of course, so don't panic if your child isn't a potty enthusiast. Even if he takes his time, tell yourself that it will come.
Remember: the potty is à him, it is his personal toilet, just like the big ones, but better.