Potty Training Boys: A Successful Guide
Potty training a boy comes with unique difficulties and experiences that are simultaneously rewarding and stressful. With the right preparation, this process could be a time of bonding and forming a strong relationship with your child, and establishing a strong habit that the child will carry with them into adulthood.
It takes patience, a carefully thought-out strategy, and open communication between you and your child to successfully potty-train boys. Based on the suggestions of others that have faced the same challenges as you, you can put behind you the anxieties that are involved with potty training.
When Should You Begin Potty Training?
The right time to potty train your child isn’t set in stone. It is common for children to feel uncomfortable before they reach three years old. The normal potty training period is twenty-seven months, and it could take longer to avoid incidents.
When your baby starts showing interest in and awareness of it, you know he is ready for potty training. If he reaches out to you when he needs to change his diaper or follows you to the washroom, he is mentally prepared. If your child cannot pull up his pants independently or go to the toilet independently, you should not rush him. Being physically and psychologically ready is essential.
The Importance of Early Communication in Potty Training
As a parent, you have a crucial role to play in your child’s development, since you listen to them and address their needs. From a very young age, their verbal communication skills are very limited to babies and muffled sounds. Boys learn by watching you and listening to you.
1) Watching & Learning: A Simple Usefulness
Having a male role model to observe may not be attainable in every family, but it’s extremely advantageous for a boy. Toddlers can see how adults behave during bathroom breaks and set well-communicated exceptions in order to differentiate between girls and boys anatomically. Older siblings can also help out. Seeing how you reward good behavior will reinforce what you are trying to teach them.
2) Potty Training for Boys with the Right Words
Using some phrases and words helps stimulate boys to talk about what they need during potty training. Find words he is comfortable using to describe when he wishes to defecate or urinate. “Poop” and “Wee” are usual and also “Number 1” and “Number 2.“Toilet” is preferred over “potty” since it indicates the goal of the activity. Consistency and comfort are important so he can be at ease and free to communicate.
It can be tempting to refer to a boy’s genitals as “pee-pee” in place of “penis” to make them feel less shame about their bodies. Some boys see this as an adult thing, and it’s not wrong to refer to the potty as a toilet. Negative words like “dirty” and “stinky” must be avoided.”
3) Media and Books to Help with Potty Training
Books, videos, and songs can be used to inform boys about their anatomy, bathrooms, and hygiene routines. Among examples of good books are “Potty Superhero” and “Everyone Poops,” which are good books to encourage your child’s positive attitude toward potty training.
“What do you do with a potty?” is a book explaining how to use a potty. It is practical compared to other books on the market, and its level of interactivity is top-notch. Sesame Street’s “Potty Time” offers interactive educational content using likable characters that toddlers can relate to.
4) Creating a Routine for Potty Training
By making a schedule your boy will follow, he can transition from diapers to diapers to complete the toilet’s use.
Some Tips To Consider
- Consider starting training on a weekend when you don’t have any other activities to disrupt your plans.
- Before starting training, note the latest bowel movements.
- Schedule toilet breaks before and after they go to bed, even when they don’t.
- Reward them for the times they do the right thing.
- Your child must be comfortable with using diapers and potty training together.
As we train the baby through repetition, the potty should always be available, as the toilet is to us. When you start the potty training, ask the child if he needs to go to the toilet. Using the exact phrases and words you use during potty breaks, you let him know when to expect an unscheduled potty break.
5) Taking it Easy
Once potty training took place, boys should have heard about and have sat on the potty chair. You might be surprised at how much he’s learned just from looking at others. Pants off make potty training much easier. Ensure that your boy turkey his penis inside the bowl. If you want your child to feel like using the potty is not a chore, he can play with his toys when he sits on it. Allow them to indicate when they are done.
Potty Training a Boy: How to Make Preparations
In the past, toddlers used the toilet without any guides and often learned what they needed by practicing and watching. To make things easy, merely the methods proven to be successful by others before you. Make sure you have a clear plan and the best tools. Potty training does not have to be messy and uncomfortable.
There is no reason why potty training should be expensive. All you need is an inexpensive potty chair. To make sure that your boy child has the great help possible, there are essential materials that don’t cost much but are of great importance. Some of them include a potty chair, footstool, clothes, soap, and targets.
Potty Chair
An excellent potty chair lets a boy child sit and place their feet on the floor while allowing space to place the penis when seated. A potty chair made of light materials is the best choice for traveling. It is good to buy the potty chair early and encourage your child to sit on it before being nervous when the time comes. This also helps build familiarity and makes things easier.
Footstool
Some boys already prefer using the main toilet. In such cases, you may wish to choose the “potty seat” over the potty chair. Designed to sit on toilets and other large objects, these footstools allow your toddler to comfortably sit on them. This makes it faster for your child to transition. One problem is that they might fall into the bathroom.
When your child uses the adult bathroom, ensure he has his feet firmly held in place with a footstool. It may also assist him with reaching the sink to clean up. Some common mistakes boys make accidental splashing or near misses when they learn to urinate. Potty chairs are often designed with splash guards so that mess is avoided.
Clothes
Once you start potty training, you may want to switch your child’s clothes to those that can be taken off quickly. Training underwear that could be easily taken off will boost confidence while reducing the likelihood of accidents. Parents who have taken their sons to get their first pair of underwear have seen great results.
Soap and Targets
Toilet targets will teach your boys to aim while standing. They make training fun. You might want to consider getting a target for the adult toilet too. Also, get a soap dispenser that is not difficult to use. If you need some motivation, buy children’s toys that look like their best-loved cartoon character.
Conclusion
After your child uses the potty, give him some tissues to clean himself. Teach them how to clean from the front to the back, thus helping them avoid urinary tract infection later in life. You can also allow him to flush. Before you pull up his pants, check the pants. Congratulate him and tell him he can use the potty when he wants to.
It is good you encourage your child to play naked when close to the potty before training. You can have him sit on it without necessarily using it as this will help them feel less anxious when next they want to use it—making your child use the potty before bed is a great habit to teach them. However, it might not prevent them from accidentally doing it on themselves when they sleep. Potty training your boy can be fun and easy without being messy and uncomfortable. Always ensure you celebrate their successes to encourage them. Celebrate their first successful use of the potty, their first weekend with no accidents, and the first time they urinate without messing up themselves.