•
Articles
Helping Children Learn to Use the Toilet
Diaper Changing and Potty Training Tips
- Name:
- April Morgan
- Email:
- MorAprld@aol.com
3-5-01
My daughter has a hard time remembering to wipe, flush and wash her hands. So we made a chart for her to put stickers on. I wrote the words Wipe, Flush and Wash hands. With wipe a taped a piece of toilet paper next to the word. For flush I made a cyclone. For wash hands I traced her hand. She gets a sticker for each time she performs her tasks. She loves it and thinks it is great fun.
- Name:
- Megan
- Email:
- Peanut@mhtc.net
3-5-01
When diaper changing the children sometimes have trouble staying still. Staple wrapping paper, fabric or wall paper to a small bulletin board that you can find in almost any store this is also a good thing to put your diapering and/or potty chart on. Hang the board just above the diapering table. When children are getting wiggly say something about an object on the bulletin board to attract their attention. This really does work and the children learn about the items on the bulletin board.
- Name:
- Natalie
- Email:
- natalie@aurisch.com.au
2-12-01
Cut out pictures from magazines and use photos of the toddlers in your room to decorate your change table area. We have a small shelf above the change table where we have these pictures, the toddlers look at them and label them, this keeps active toddlers still on the change table and helps with language development.
- Name:
- Amy in MA
- Email:
- argilman@yahoo.com
2-12-01
Remember that many toddler's favorite word is "NO"- whether they really do mean no or not! If you ask a toddler if they need to go to the bathroom, the answer you will generally get is the big "no". Instead, I ask, "Do you think a lot of pee or a little will come out when you sit on the toilet?". Much more successful way of letting the child know it's time for a try, and avoids a power struggle.
- Name:
- Mona Riggs
- Email:
- taken9737@aol.com
2-9-01
When I take my class (ages 15 months- three) we all go in the bathroom, and sit on the floor. This is great for the kids who are just starting to potty because they see the other children getting praised for going potty on the potty!
- Name:
- Crissy Fleetwood
- Email:
- crissyfleetwood@yahoo.com
2-9-01
To get an active toddler to lay still for a diaper change give him a job to do such as holding the diaper or handing you wipes as you need them.
- Name:
- A. Hutchings
- Email:
- www.hutch@wingsisp.com
Date: 1-24-01
Each time I change my one-year- old's diaper, I name the "elimination" that has taken place ("Ike pee-peed in his diaper" or "Ike, you pooped in your diaper") using an upbeat, positive voice and then show him the diaper. This gives him names for the elimination so that he will be able to name them himself and see what it is I'm talking about. A child can be educated on potty training easier if he knows what your talking about and has the names of the words to use himself at some point. Also, if I know that he is eliminating into his diaper I will say "Poop. Ike is pooping." to him so that he will recognize that the action has a name and recognize when it is happening and not learn to ignore his own signals.
- Name
- Patty
- Patiecake.com
11-10-00
This song is sung to the tune of "This is the way we brush our teeth" etc.
Where do we make our poops and peep
Our poops and peep, Our
poops and peep
Where do we make our poops and peep
We
make them in the potty!
- Name:
- Joyce
- Email:
- joycec53@aol.com
10-2-00
The Potty Song: (to the tune of, Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star)
Tinkle, Tinkle, little pee, in the potty you will be.
Poopy,
Poopy stinky-O, in the Potty you will go.
- Name:
- Ricki
- Email:
- RLascody@earthlink.net
10-2-00
Never underestimate the "power" of Batman, Superman or Pokemon! My son potty trained immediately because we bought big-boy underwear as a reward. He didn't want diapers from that day and night on!
- Name:
- Jeni
- Email:
- Jeni_234@hotmail.com
8-29-00
My two year old son taught me this one!! He noticed when he went potty he was making Bubbles! Once he noticed that he always wanted to go to the potty. I shared the idea with the teachers at my school that have that age group, and they couldn't believe how well it worked in getting the other boys to use the potty to make bubbles. Wow what a thought........
- Name:
- Heather
- Email:
- Heath@cool.com
7-15-00
A way to get toddlers to potty train is to use food coloring in the toilet. Put a few drops in then when the child urinates it changes color. They want to use the toilet to see what color it changes to. This works great.
- Name:
- Heather
- Email:
- dhowens@jps.net
7-15-00
While potty training our 2 year old girl, we noticed when we put her on the big toilet with a fitted seat, and her dolly on the little toilet that sits on the ground, she goes!
- Name:
- Kathryn
- Email:
- FlynnPhillips@home.com
6-8-00
Relax! Let your child take the lead. I have had many children go through my 2 1/2-3 1/2yr old class. About 1/2 are potty trained when they start in the fall. By Christmas the rest of the children have joined the group. I like to attribute this to several things, seeing the other children handle the process by themselves and deciding that they don't want to feel that "itchy" wet pull-up anymore. We also use open stall coed bathrooms. We have a two hour class and we go before class and halfway through before snack. Of course if they have a bowel movement we change the pull-up, otherwise they can decide to be wet or not! It doesn't take long to figure out that it is not that big a deal when everyone else is going. Mom and Dad this is one of your first tests in letting your little one make a choice.
- Name:
- Joanne
- Email:
- Daphidil123@cs.com
6-5-00
Potty training boys is easier if you draw a smiling face on a piece of toilet paper and have them aim at it. It works and costs nothing.
- Name:
- Sarah
- Email:
- skosenka@irem.org
6-2-00
I am in the process of potty training my two year twins. We have a 'potty song' that we sing ONLY when they really go potty. They love it!! It's great motivation and they have learned to sing the song themselves.
- Name:
- Esther
- Email:
- Esti5@aol.com
2-20-00
Another inexpensive, easy to find aiming tool for boys that helped potty train my 2 yr old is Froot Loops he was trained with them in 2 days. He loved them.
- Name:
- Jill
- Email:
- mwaroff@bellsouth.net
Date: 1-30-00
We were having a hard time getting our boys to go potty for us in class until a mom brought us in a box of flushable potty animal shapes for aiming. The boys love to try to hit the target animal. We now have every child going to the bathroom.
2001-2004