A free potty training tip or two may be just what you need to make this step in your child's development a little bit easier. Potty training is a challenge because, if you think about it, the idea of using a toilet for waste management is a rather abstract concept. To adults, this may seem like a simple task that requires no more thought than walking or breathing but to a child, this can be a great challenge. They have to answer questions for themselves such as "Am I doing this right?", "Why can't I just go in my diaper like I always have", or "What is the purpose of all of this?". Therefore, it is only natural for a parent to seek advice on how to make this whole process go by more smoothly.

Initiating the Training

First, to train a child to use a toilet, you have to be patient. As such, you should not begin toilet training until you know you're going to have a few days to dedicate much of your time to this task. Think of it like housebreaking a pet. When you housebreak, or housetrain, a pet, you use many techniques to aid in their learning. Among these techniques is positive encouragement. Just as with a pet, you will want to give your child great amounts of positive encouragement to make them feel good about the fact that they are learning to use a toilet properly. Fortunately, it is much easier to potty train a child than it is to housebreak a pet, because children are capable of cognition, allowing you the following advantages.

Demonstrations

If you're looking for hints or tricks to making this process easy, demonstrating is what you need to learn to do. Take a doll or stuffed animal and use it to demonstrate how potty training activities work. This will show the child how they need to sit, which is important for them to be able to do it right. Also, throughout your demonstrations, talk about how great it is that the toy is doing it right (which will make your child want to excel, as well). Finally, do not chastise your child if they can't figure it out right away, because that can lead to anal-retentiveness (neat freak) or obsessive-compulsive disorders.

Potty Training Tips

Here are some other tips to consider during this process. Do not make your child feel ashamed of the waste products he or she is producing. This can lead to your child feeling self-conscious about using the toilet. Also, make sure that the training toilet that you use is not too large or too small for your child because you want your child to be as comfortable as possible throughout this process. Finally, keep in mind that it can take a few weeks or longer for your child to finally be able to use the bathroom on his or her own. Patience is a necessity for any potty training parent.

There are no secrets to making this process easier. Of course, there are things you can do to make it easier, but in actuality, you are simply teaching your child a life skill that they will have to learn, eventually. No matter what, do not give up and remember to guide your child every step of the way. After all, once training is complete, you will never have to worry about it ever again.