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All parents alike look forward to the
next milestone their children achieved as they grow. However, when it
comes to packing away the diapers, there is truly no fixed time frame
in this particular milestones. If parents insist on using the potty
before the toddler is ready, he/she will be unhappy at first, and then
turns guilty and resentful. As a result, the relationship with the
toddler would suffer.
To avoid turning the training from becoming a battle of nerves, which
the parents can never win, the following 7 DO NOT's must be observed :
1. Never force a child to toilet train when he is not ready
Parents first have to understand that
bowel and bladder movements control are entirely reflex activities and
a normal young baby has no control over them until they are about 18-24
months old. However, some children may not be ready for toilet train
until they are at least 2.5 years or older. Let your child set his own
pace.
2. Never start toilet training during a time of change
Avoid toilet training the same time as
you start your child at nursery school or during the arrival of a new
baby.
3. Never scold or punish if he has ‘accidents’ during potty training
Do not make a fuss if your child
accidentally wet or soil himself. Clean him up and encourage him to not
to let it happen again. ‘Accidents’ are inevitable during the process
of training, especially when they are too engrossed in their play to
pay attention to the urge. If parent makes a fuss about it, he may
associated passing urine or opening his bowel with scolding and
punishment and is more likely to refuse to oblige when he is made to
sit on the potty the next time.
4. Never let him wait
Attend to your child’s ‘urge’ immediately
by getting him the potty or taking him to the toilet. Do not expect
your child to wait as he cannot control his urge to urinate or open his
bowels.
5. Never expect your child to urinate when he does not have the urge to
do so
Parent tends to make this mistake
especially before going out for an outing by sitting the child on the
potty so that he will not wet his pants during the trip. This will not
work unless he has the urge to pass urine. Only children 3 years and
above will be able to voluntarily urinate when asked to.
6. Never use laxatives unnecessarily
Do not try to induce bowel movements to
your convenience by using laxatives. This will eventually cause more
harm than good as your child may develop a phobia of going to the
toilet.
7. Never get upset with setbacks
Newly achieved control can be broken by
any ‘changes in routines’ (such as the change of a babysitter, the
start of nursery school) or episodes of sickness. Do not get
overwhelmed by this, keep cool and start the training all over again.
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