Potty Training Girls

Archive for the ‘Potty Training Toddlers’ Category

When it comes to potty training toddlers, close observation of your child’s elimination patterns is necessary for all parents and child caretakers. Children, nearing three years of age, are usually ready to begin this process. Sometime after two years old, some children begin to develop a new pattern of going to a certain part of the house when they are about to defecate – and it’s not always the bathroom! This behavior exhibits a toddler’s ability to recognize what their body is preparing to do, as well as control the action. Rather tha n assume that your child is playing a game of hide-and-seek, your toddler may be non-verbally expressing the need for some amount of privacy while she releases her bowels or urinates. These three signs – feeling the need to eliminate, possessing the ability to hold it, and going to a place where he or she is comfortable enough to release their waste is critical in the development of toddlers.

Parents who have observed this pattern should then take it upon themselves to gently lead their toddler to the bathroom – away from the hiding place. With baby potty training, assurance is critical; a child should not be made to feel that he or she did something wrong by not going directly to the right place. It is best to have a potty already in place in the bathroom, so that your child is familiar with it, eliminating a new distraction, which she may assume is a toy.

The beginning stage of potty training girls does not mean that you must immediately remove your child’s diapers before allowing him or her to sit on it. Once the potty is no longer a novelty, then you might begin to prod your child towards the next step of urinating or defecating into it. By now, you are probably aware of your toddler’s elimination clock, which is usually within a half hour after a meal, or after drinking. Within that time frame is the perfect opportunity for you to lead your child to the potty, assist him or her with taking off their diapers, and allow them to calmly sit on the potty for 5 -10 minutes.

Potty training stages vary from baby to baby. What may be the “right” age or time for one child may not be the right time for another child. In fact, development training stages aren’t hard and fast, and some children pick up different stages in different orders.

While you may not always be successful in the initial timing, eventually your toddler will know when they are ready. Remember, potty training toddlers should feel comfortable and relaxed during this natural stage of learning and development. Criticizing, or behaving in a manner less than calm, will postpone success.

“Stages In Potty Training Toddlers” written by Brenne Meirowitz.

Potty training girls is neither fun nor easy, but it can be considerably easier if done at the proper time and stage of development.

The milestone of baby potty training begins by recognizing the skills and cognitive level your child has reached. Most pediatricians agree that children under the age of two have not developed to the point where they are ready to be toilet trained. Even if you see that your child has reached the state where he or she is aware when urination and defecation takes place, this does not mean that they are ready to be trained. Potty training is not a sort of trick that you can teach your child, in the same fashion as you might train an animal. Nor, is it an act that can be achieved solely by relying on reasoning, cajoling, or bribery. These mechanisms do have their place, but not until your child possesses both the necessary motor skills and communication level to use the toilet or potty consistently, as well as independently.

There are certain signs of development that parents can look for to recognize whether their child is ready to begin serious toilet training. As compared with two year olds, three year olds speak in 4-5 word sentences, rather than two word phrases. Two year old can follow simple, one-step commands, while three year olds have the ability to follow more complicated 2-3 step instructions. The obvious differences in maturity levels between the two age groups should be used as a guide as to whether your child is ready for potty training.

Because of the developmental differences, potty training girls may begin slightly earlier than little boys may. Just bear in mind that potty training toddlers is always going to be challenging, but you can make the “job” less difficult than it might otherwise be, and less stressful – for both parent and child – if you begin when your child is at the proper stage.

Written by Brenne Meirowitz

Potty training toddlers is never a “breeze”, and potty training girls may be a bit easier than training little boys, but still, the same emotional effort and energy for both can be daunting, especially to the new mother. When I say, easier, I am referring to the obvious; with girls, there is no target practice – ready, aim, fire – and there goes another blouse into the hamper. Well, I guess you get the picture.

The subject of baby potty training was not one I was particularly enthusiastic. The first question was not whether she was ready, but was I ready to start potty training her. I wondered if she would understand what the big fuss was all about, after all, it seemed only months earlier that she began to understand that she was a good girl for lying still while I changed her diapers. Potty training meant that I was faced with having to undo the all the emphasis I put into diaper changing and try to explain to her that diapers were no longer acceptable!

For a while, I thought that she would come to me when she was ready to become potty trained, especially after showing her how easy it was for other big girls to do. I figured something would click, and that she would want to be like her friend, or like Mommy, and sit on the toilet, but lifting her onto a high seat frightened her. There was nothing for her to hold onto, like the tray of her high chair. It seemed much easier to just change her diapers and then forget about. Sure, at times, it was a messy ordeal, but after a lot of practice, I had the routine down pretty well. I finally settled on a floor potty – one that she could sit on without needing my assistance to lift her up. After a little bit of time went by, she actually enjoyed showing me how she could use her potty all by herself. I can happily say now, that potty training girls, or boys, are a stage that mothers should not fear. Your child will eventually find pleasure in showing you how capable and grown-up they are, and you too will find gratification in knowing you too passed another challenging stage of motherhood.

“Potty Training Toddlers Isn’t Easy!”
Written by Brenne Meirowitz