With 61% of children between the ages of birth and 6 years in daycare, it’s important that parents work closely with their child’s care professional while potty training. When you child is ready for potty training, the right potty training guidance and supplies can make all the difference.

Be Sure Your Child Is Ready – Before you begin potty training, make sure your child is ready. Your child should show the following signs of potty training readiness:

• Expresses an interest in the potty
• Tries to imitate family members
• Stays dry for two hours
• Express the need to go potty or indicates that he or she just has
• Able to pull pants up and down
• Irritated when diapers are wet
• Expresses interest in cotton underwear
• Has predictable bowel movements on a regular basis
• Diaper stays dry overnight

Introduce Potty Training
If your child is in daycare, he or she will probably notice that there are other children around who wear cotton underwear and use the potty. This kind of light peer pressure can motivate your child to want to use the potty as well. Start introducing the idea by watching a potty training book or video together. Be sure and tell your child’s daycare provider that you are beginning the potty training process. You child’s daycare provider can help by watching for signs of potty training readiness and answering questions from your child.

Discuss the Plan
When you begin potty training your child, discuss your plan with your child’s daycare worker. This person has probably potty trained many children and may have useful tips and tricks that he or she has found useful. Make sure your potty training methods are similar.

Set Potty Training Rules
Work together to set some basic potty training guidelines. For example, agree that neither of you will punish your child for accidents or that you’ll give stickers as rewards for using the potty. The potty training process will be easier for your child if both you and the child care worker are providing the same potty training guidance.

Progress Reports
Speak with the child care provider often to exchange progress reports. Both of you need to be aware of any successes or potential problems. If the daycare worker tells you that your child used the potty earlier that day, be sure and tell your child that that you heard about his or her success and that you are proud of him or her.

Copyright © 2004 ZIP Baby. All Rights Reserved.

Danna Henderson
ZIP Baby
101 Convention Center Drive, Ste 700
Las Vegas, NV 89109
www.zipbaby.com

About The Author
Danna Henderson started ZIP Baby in order to provide parents with comprehensive potty training information as well as a large variety of potty training products. For more information about potty training, visit the ZIP Baby Potty Training Store.

When your child shows signs of potty training readiness, it’s time to purchase some essential potty training items. There are many new products which can help to make potty training quick and easy for both you and your child. We have researched all of the latest and most effective potty training products. Here, you’ll find a number of new potty training aids, such as the Tinkle Toonz musical potty or the anatomically correct drink & wet dolls that can be used with Dr. Phil’s potty training method. Be sure and browse through our selection of 2004 potty training books and DVDs, which provide a great introduction for both parents and children.

The important thing is to begin potty training with the right training products and information, to ensure your child has a positive experience from beginning to end. Don’t wait until you and your child are frustrated to buy a fun musical potty chair or read a bedtime potty training book.

After you have purchased the potty training products, begin introducing the idea of potty training by reading a book or watching a DVD. Place you child’s new potty chair in the bathroom and let him observe you going potty. Children learn by imitating other family members. This is a good time to teach him good hygiene by washing your hands after using the potty.

Be sure your child knows that he can come to you if he feels uncomfortable or afraid. He needs to know that you will always love him, even if he has accidents. For tips on handling accidents, read our article, Handling Accidents with Composure.

Copyright © 2004 ZIP Baby. All Rights Reserved.

Danna Henderson
ZIP Baby
101 Convention Center Drive, Ste 700
Las Vegas, NV 89109
www.zipbaby.com

About The Author
Danna Henderson started ZIP Baby in order to provide parents with comprehensive potty training information as well as a large variety of potty training products. For more information about potty training, visit the Potty Training.

Starting new things for your child sometime difficult, but you still have to do it. Potty training is one phase that your child has to go through. So, find out when is your child ready for potty training. Here are those five ready signs:

1. Takes Off Own Clothes
Let’s face it. The first step to becoming dry begins with your toddler’s ability to recognize he has to go to the bathroom. The second step is his ability to pull down his pants, or lift up her dress. The third step is actually going to use the potty. If your child begins insisting on taking off his clothes then he probably is ready to begin training for the potty.

2. Talks about Using the Potty
He may say, “I want to use the potty.” Or, he may just point to it and sit down. Either case he is showing an extreme interest in the little chair. Well, what do you do if he’s interested in sitting; maybe he’ll be interested in using it. You never know unless you try. Hey diapers are expensive why spend more on them if you don’t have to.

3. Does a Potty Dance?
There are some children doing potty dance? Does your little one have a routine? Does he stomp, turn, twist, and grab his groin like Michael Jackson? If he does, then that’s his potty dance. He’s ready, ready, and ready if he has his own version and he dances it whether there’s music on or not.

4. Shows an Interest in the Bathroom or Toilet
This is the big koruna of all ready signs. The big earthquake so to speak. If your child is curious about the bathroom or toilet, then he’s ready to learn how to use it. Is he curious about how it flushes? Well, that’s because he wants to know how that giant white chair works. Why does it make that sound? It’s a noise like no other. He’s not being bad when you have to drag him out of the toilet. He wants to know what the toilet is. He wants to know how it works. He is ready, ready, and ready for potty training.

5. Stays Dry Overnight & During Naps
This is a hard readiness sign to understand. If you child staying dry overnights and at naptime that is the sign that he is ready for potty training. In any event, your child is ready if he displays this sign.

Now, does your child exhibit any two of these ready signs? If so, then get ready to do your potty training. You will never know those signs if you are not pay attention to their reaction.

About The Author
Janice Caller, author of “A Parent’s Guide to Toddling, From Diapers to the Pot.” She successfully potty trained her four children. Visit her Website PottyTrainingGuide.com at http://www.pottytrainingguide.com.

There are seven stages of potty training. They begin with showing signs of potty training readiness and conclude with being able to use the toilet away from home.

Signs of Readiness – The first stage of potty training begins when your child shows the following signs of potty training readiness:

• Expresses an interest in using the potty
• Irritated when diapers are wet
• Pull pants up and down by him or her self
• Stays dry for about two hours at a time
• Expresses the need to go potty (or indicate that he/she just has)
• Expresses an interest in cotton underwear
• Has predictable bowel movements
• Tries to imitate other family members

Introduction to the Idea of Potty Training – When your child shows a majority of the signs of potty training readiness, it’s time to introduce him to the concept of using the potty. This can be done by reading a potty training book as a bedtime story or watching a potty training video or DVD together. Purchase a potty chair> and let your child watch you use the potty. Children will often imitate family members.

Sit On the Potty – When your child has been introduced to the concept of potty training, he will probably imitate family member and sit on his potty chair while you use the bathroom. This is a good time to teach good hygiene such as wiping and washing hands after using the potty.

Use the Potty Sometimes – Be sure to give your child plenty of liquids and take him to the potty every 30 minutes. This will help build muscle memory. The VibraLite Watch can make potty training reminders fun for your child. The first time your child uses the potty, make a big deal of his huge accomplishment. A hug, encouraging words, or a small treat can be good motivational tools.

Use the Potty Alone – As your child gets more comfortable with the potty and his ability to control his bodily functions, he will go to the potty by himself. He will then come tell you about it. Again, this is a time for lots of praise and encouragement.

Transition to the Toilet – When your child is comfortable using his potty seat, it’s time to transition him to the toilet. Many children are afraid of falling in, so you may need to purchase a toilet seat adapter such as the Flip-N-Flush. This device reduces the size of the toilet hole, thereby making you child feel more secure.

Use Potty Away From Home – The last stage of potty training occurs when your child is able to use the potty away from home. Thankfully, there are many portable and disposable toilet seats available to keep your child from touching public toilet seats.

Some children breeze through the seven stages of potty training in a matter of weeks while other’s take several months. Your child’s progress depends on his or her stage of development, your potty training knowledge/actions, as well as the potty training products you have available.

Copyright © 2004 ZIP Baby. All Rights Reserved.

Danna Henderson
ZIP Baby
101 Convention Center Drive, Ste 700
Las Vegas, NV 89109
www.zipbaby.com

About the Author
Danna Henderson started ZIP Baby in order to provide parents with comprehensive potty training information as well as a large variety of potty training products. For more information about potty training, visit the ZIP Baby Potty Training Store.