- We have all heard the stories
of parents who have toilet trained their toddler
in a matter of days.
It seems too good to be true, but it is absolutely possible.
I've toilet trained both of my kids in two to three days
and I know lots of other parents who have done it too.
So in this video,
I'm going to share eight things to do
to toilet train your little one fast.
The very first
and most important thing you need to know
is that your child is ready for toilet training.
If they are not ready,
then toilet training can drag on for months or even years.
So how do you know if your child is ready?
Really, you're looking for two things.
Firstly, they should be able to stay dry
for one to two hours at a time,
which generally happens at around two years of age,
and they want to be doing soft form poos.
So we want to ensure that they are not constipated.
If they're constipated,
you want to hold off toilet training
until that has been addressed.
Once you have determined
that your child is ready for toilet training,
the very first thing you want to do
is click on the link in the description box below
to get my free toilet training essentials list,
which I outline the products
that are going to make this process a whole lot easier for you.
And the next thing you want to do
is increase your child's awareness of wet, dry, and dirty.
For your child to toilet train successfully,
they need to be able to tell the difference
between wet, dry, and dirty.
And unfortunately this means getting rid of nappies
and nappy pull-ups because they're simply too good
at absorbing away the moisture following a wee,
which makes it near impossible
for your child to identify that they are wet.
So to increase your child's awareness of wet,
dry, or dirty,
you want to swap out that nappy with underwear
or training pull-ups.
Training pants have an extra layer
of absorbent material which is sewn into the crutch,
which will soak up small accidents
and those little dribbles on the way to the toilet,
but they won't absorb big accidents.
Also, they stay wet,
which ensures that your child will learn the difference
between wet and dry.
Now, if you're not quite ready to get rid of nappies
because you just can't stand the mess
that comes with accidents,
then you can continue to allow your child to wear nappies,
but just get them to wear undies inside the nappies.
Using training pants, undies,
or placing undies inside nappies does three things.
Firstly, it allows your child to feel the difference
between wet, dry, and clean,
and it also increases their overall discomfort
once they have wet or soiled themselves.
So generally children don't like feeling that sensation
and they will be motivated to try and use the toilet,
or the potty, or change their pants.
And lastly, it gives them a sense of control
and independence as they are able to pull their undies on
and off when they're hopping on and off the toilet
or getting changed.
And this is a skill that they're going to need
in the future.
The next thing you want to do
is make sure you never ask your child,
"Do you want to go to the toilet?"
I can guarantee, when you ask your child this question,
99% of the time, they are going to say no.
And that is because going to the toilet is boring.
They would prefer to play.
And they are also learning what those body signals mean
to say that they need to go to the toilet.
So next time you see your child jumping on the spot
or showing you that they need to go to the toilet,
instead of saying,
"Do you want to go to the toilet?"
highlight what you are seeing and what it means.
So you would simply say, "Sarah, you're jumping on the spot.
Your body is saying it needs to go to the toilet.
It's toilet time."
When you state it like this,
you are taking away the option for your child to say no,
because it's no longer a question,
it's just a statement.
And you're also increasing their awareness
of what their body does when it's trying to tell them
that they need to go to the toilet.
When you do take your child to the toilet,
make sure they only sit on the toilet
for a maximum of five minutes.
It's important that your child
does not see you sitting on the toilet
as a form of punishment,
which can happen if they're made to sit on the toilet
for a long period of time in an attempt to catch that poo
or that wee.
You also want your child to realize
that when you go to the toilet, you do a poo or a wee,
you don't just sit there
and watch a device while nothing happens.
Therefore, to help your child make this connection
and prevent it from being seen as a form of punishment,
they should only sit on the toilet
for the time that it takes them to do a wee,
or a maximum of five minutes.
Now, if your child initially refuses to do a poo
into the potty or toilet, then that is okay.
Do not force them to do this.
It is really common that pooing in a toilet
or a potty is one of the last skills a child will achieve
before they are fully toilet trained.
And that is because pooing into a potty or toilet is scary.
Some children are scared
about the water splashing back on their bottom.
They might be afraid
that they're losing a bit of their body
when the poo falls out.
They might be scared
that they're going to get sucked into the toilet,
or the last time they pooed, it might have hurt.
So they don't want to do it again.
To help your child overcome this fear,
you need to use a gradual approach.
And the first thing you need to do
is get your child to be comfortable doing poos
in the bathroom,
or the same room where the toilet is.
And the way you do that is simply allowing them
to continue to wear their nappy, but do it in the bathroom.
Don't let them go and hide behind the couch
or do it in their bedroom.
When they have finished pooing in their nappy,
you would simply take their nappy off
and then you would flush the poo down the toilet
and say "Poos go in the toilet" while you flush it away.
Now, once your child is comfortable doing poos
in the bathroom,
the next thing you want to do is see
if they're ready to use the toilet,
but if they're not yet ready,
then you allow them to use the nappy,
but encourage them to sit on the toilet.
So you're getting one step closer to the toilet.
And then once they're comfortable doing that,
you can then see if they're ready to use the toilet,
and if they're not, then you simply cut a hole in the nappy
before putting it on them,
and this will ensure that the poo will fall out of the nappy
but give them a sense of security,
because they will be able to feel that nappy
while they're going to the toilet.
And then gradually, you will remove the nappy.
While your child is learning to use the toilet,
you are going to notice that accidents happen.
Unfortunately, they're just part
of the toilet training process,
but how you respond following an accident
can have a direct impact on how long
the toilet training process happens
and how often your little one has accidents.
Yelling, screaming, shaking your head,
showing your child that you're disappointed following
an accident can actually increase
the number of accidents they're having.
Your child may become fearful of your response
and start to hide when they do wees or poos.
They might become fearful
of just using the toilet in general,
or they may choose to do accidents
because that interaction with you following an accident
is seen as attention.
So instead of screaming
or yelling at your child following an accident,
stay calm and say something like,
"John, I can see you've had an accident.
Your pants are wet.
Let's go to the toilet and get changed."
Following an accident,
it's important that your child gets changed
into a fresh pair of clothes in the bathroom
or the room where the toilet is,
rather than in their bedroom or in the lounge room.
And this just ensures that your child has the opportunity
to go through and practice those steps required
for using the toilet.
So they would practice pulling down their pants
and their underwear,
sitting on the toilet to finish that poo or wee, if needed,
wiping their bottom, then pulling up their underwear,
then flushing the toilet and then going to wash their hands.
It also gives them an opportunity
to get used to the smells in the bathrooms of the chemicals,
as well as the noise of that flushing toilet,
which can often be quite scary for children.
It is also really important
that your child feels comfortable
when they're sitting on the toilet,
because we need them to be able to relax their muscles
to do a poo or a wee.
And this simply cannot happen
if your child is having to hold themselves up
to stop themselves falling into the toilet.
Also, for them to be able to successfully do a poo,
we want their knees to be higher than their hips.
So if you want to know exactly how you can help
to make your child feel comfortable when using the toilet,
make sure you watch this video
where I share with you two essential items
that you must get before you start toilet training,
because it's going to make the process a whole lot easier
for you and your little one.