Toilet Training Your Child

With being a parent comes a dozen responsibilities! Responsibilities you just can't ignore. One such responsibility is to toilet-train your baby. So, what is toilet training? Well, quite simply, it is just getting the idea of a toilet introduced to your baby. Stop! Did you think this means that your baby will not just walk into the loo and pee-poop themselves? No! Not at all! It just means that you need to take your baby to the washroom now every time they want to pee or poop!

There is no real milestone for when your baby is ready to be toilet trained. Babies aren't ready before 12 months to be toilet trained since their bowel and bladder movements are not in their control.

Some kids show signs of getting toilet trained between 18 to 24 months, while some may take up to 3 years. It is entirely normal, and there is no need to stress about it.

When should you start toilet training your baby?

There is no set pattern or timeline for it. Some parents start as early as when the baby is a month old. They watch for signs of the baby's pee and poop and run to the bathroom to get their baby done with pee or poop.

However, the ideal age to start toilet training your baby is when your baby is 8 or 9 months old. At this point, your baby's pee and poop cycle will be a lot more organized because, by this time, your baby would have started solid food. A breastfeeding baby and a baby on solid food will have different pee and poop cycle because a baby who is exclusively on breast milk will pee around 8-12 times a day and can poop either once a week or even many times a day! Hence, it's best to start toilet training your baby when used to solid foods

You may also like to read: How many times can you use the same paper toilet seat cover? (mylofamily.com)

How should your toilet train your baby?

Well, here are a few things you can follow to toilet train your baby:

1. Use sounds your baby can associate with pee and poop. Many parents use the sound "ssssss," and that's when the baby automatically understands that they need to pee or poop.

1. Schedule potty trips at regular intervals of time. Like, maybe every 45 minutes to one hour.

1. You can use a potty chair on the toilet for your baby to be comfortable during his pee and poop sessions.

1. As soon as you notice any signs of poop or pee, take your baby and run to the toilet soon!

1. Get them used to after-toilet rituals. Teach them to wash and wipe their genitals to eliminate the chances of germs in their genitals. Handwash after pee and poop is a must!

1. Once you see success in toilet training for 2-3 weeks, it is time to say goodbye to diapers!

References

1. American Academy of Pediatrics. (2011). The Right Age to Potty Train. helthychildren.org

2. Stanford Children’s Health. Toilet training. stanfordchildrens.org