Potty training must be a positive experience in order for the child to learn quickly. Like learning to walk and talk, learning to use the potty takes time. Just as a child falls when first learning to walk, he will have accidents when learning to use the potty. A child doesn't learn it all at once, no matter how easy those train-your-child-in-one-day methods make it sound. There is a lot of preparation that has to be done before the actual training in one day takes place, and then after wards the parent must keep up maintenance for weeks before the child is entirely on his own.
The single most important thing to remember when potty training any child is that patience, kindness, and cheerfulness will produce far better results than anger and frustration.
There are steps to preparing your child before you take away the diaper and expect the child to stay dry and clean. It doesn't matter which method you choose to follow, if you have these in place, you will be able to successfully train your child.
#1 Teach the child to wet in the potty. Every morning when the child first awakens, put him on the potty. When he's ready let him get off. Don't make him sit there any longer than he likes. Don't turn this into a disagreeable task. If he doesn't want to get on the potty, let him watch you for a few times. He may have no idea what he is suppose to do at first. and may take a few days to learn to actually wet in the potty. If he wets on the floor, use it as a learning tool.Show him that he has "gone potty" and that is good. Then explain that he needs to do it in the potty not on the floor. When a child knows what to do when he gets on the potty, and it's enjoyable, you will have a much easier time of training him when you actually take the diaper away.
#2 Teach the child to pull his pants up and down. Around age 2 children usually go through a stage where they want to do everything themselves. Take advantage of this independence and let him learn as much as possible. When dressing the child show him how to pull up his own pants. When undressing, let him take them down. Do not try to potty train a child that cannot get his own pants up and down. There is no way he could get on the potty if he wanted to.
#3 Teach your child to tell you when he needs to go. He needs to be able to say "potty" or something similar to let you know. Otherwise you'll just be guessing all day and may not guess correctly.
#4 There must be a bond of love between you and your child so that. he loves to see you smile at him and will do things to please you to see your smile. You must love the child enough to overlook his weakness of having accidents and love him enough that you won't destroy his self esteem through your anger when he messes his pants. Don't make him feel ashamed that he has eliminated, which is as essential to life as eating and drinking. Clean up with a cheerful smile. He'll get it right much faster if he feels love and acceptance.
Proper preparation and a positive attitude will make any potty training program that you choose successful for you and your child. The child must be able to wet in the potty, pull his pants up and down, and speak enough to tell you when he needs to go. But most importantly you must have that bond of love between you and the child.
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