Questions to ask yourself

before you begin potty training your child

To make Potty Training a smooth transition from diapers to the potty chair, it's important that you ask yourself a few questions to be better prepared.

1. Is your child ready? Most kids are ready to be potty trained long before their parents realize they are. They also are ready long before their parents are. Most kids can be potty trained at about 22 months old. You can know for sure by seeing if they wake up dry from naps and in the morning.



2. Are you ready? Potty training takes a lot of work on the part of the parent. It's important that you're ready to be consistent and positive for your child. Parents that go into potty training with a negative view of the task usually make it hard on themselves and their child.



3. Pull-ups or underwear? You'll need to decide before beginning if you plan to use pull-ups or go to underwear. I've found that pull-ups work against potty training and can cause potty training to go on longer then necessary. Pull-ups feel like diapers and children use them as such. I recommend going straight to underwear.



4. Daytime training? Nighttime training? Or Both? Many parents believe they have to do them at different times but this just isn't so. It's much easier to potty train a child for both day and night training at the same time. Putting a diaper on the child for bedtime confuses them and will make think they can get that diaper back if they want it.



5. Potty Chair or Toilet? I have found that it's important to have a potty chair available for your child but to be willing to let them use the toilet if they want. Giving the child the option during training will make potty training easier on both of you.

Once you've been able to answer these questions you'll find that potty training will go smoothly and be hitch free.