Potty training requires cooperation between you, your child and your daycare provider. A deal of patience is needed from everyone involved. The process can be difficult if you expect too much, too soon. A child needs to be physically, mentally, and emotionally ready to begin. Some instances where potty training should be postponed are:

- If the family is moving
- A new baby is due
- Another family member having an unexpected illness
- When there is a lot of tension in the home, such as a loss of employment would bring

You should start by letting your child casually sit on his own special potty chair. Do not force him/her to sit there. Allow him /her to come and go. He /she needs to feel comfortable with his/her new habit. Next you need to show the child what the potty chair is for. Every time he or she has a bowel movement dump the contents into the potty chair. Allow him to view the contents and say “this is where potty goes.” After a few times he /she will begin to understand that it is ok for the potty to go here. It is important to be patient during this time as you want it to become a happy moment instead of one filled with tension. After the bowel movement encourage the child to sit on the potty seat. You should reward success with a hug, kiss and /or a treat.

Never criticize a child when there isn’t success. You don’t want to expect too much. This is a learning process for everyone involved. Potty training takes time. Just like walking and crawling. A child must feel comfortable and that will lead to the next step in his / her development. You shouldn’t compare him/her to other children that might have had success faster. Each child is different and they will send you signals letting you know they are ready for the next step. A punishment should never follow an unsuccessful attempt. This only makes the child want to give up and go back to babyhood .he/she will begin to view the Big Boy or Big Girl stage as too hard. Accidents will happen. It is a part of potty training. After all, your child has been able to relieve himself anytime, any place. If your child protests you should try another day. It might be too soon.

Once your child has a successful attempt in his/her chair, you should begin to schedule trips to the potty. Take your child and place him on the potty once every hour. As he begins to understand the process and reasons why he/she is sitting on the potty, he will begin to be able to have more bladder control. He will have fewer accidents and be able to hold the urine in his bladder for longer periods of time. Eventually your child will understand what you expect.

Good habits start early. Show the child how to wipe from front to back to avoid bacteria in the genital area. Tell them to wash their hands with soap and have them dry their hands completely. Children love to play with water so this should be a fun part of potty training. As your child gets older he/ she will begin to go to the bathroom on his own. Night bladder control should be accomplished by the age of five. If you are still having the child wet at night at that age you should discuss it with your doctor. There are several ways to help. One thing you might try is, having fewer drinks after dinner. No drinks within an hour before bed. Have the child use the bathroom to empty his bladder just before climbing into bed. They make several products that help with this as well. An alarm that wakes the child up when he begins to urinate lets the child know he needs to get up out of bed and go to the bathroom. There are medications that can help as well. Remember lots of children go through this. Sometimes they may have a smaller bladder tan most. Do not think that it is a behavioral problem. Seek the advice of your physician.