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I’m no potty training expert, but I’ve successfully potty trained one child and am readying myself to move on to the next one. One thing that I found helped tremendously when it came to potty training my daughter was to start early. I don’t mean that she was propped up on the toilet before she hit her first birthday, but instead that I made sure she always understood what the toilet was for and that it was her eventual goal to use it. This means that she was always welcome in the bathroom when I was using it, and although I did not enjoy losing the last bit of privacy I had I knew that her fascinated stare when I used the toilet was indicative of interest. I also took her into the bathroom to change her diaper once she reached an age when she paid attention to her surroundings. My intention was to demonstrate to her that the bathroom was the place we went to when poop or pee happened, whether into the toilet or into a diaper.

The point, dear parents, is to begin familiarizing babies with the toilet long before potty training actually happens. My daughter never exhibited a fear of the toilet, and I’m guessing that’s because the toilet was always there for as long as she could remember. She learned to use the toilet relatively quickly, and I would like to think that her early exposure to the many treasures of the bathroom had something to do with it.

Then again, maybe that’s just her temperament. Stay tuned as I get ready to potty train my son, because I may soon rescind everything I just said if potty training isn’t a breeze for him.

Tags: Potty Training, toddler