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1) Make sure your child is developmentally ready.

* Are you wanting to potty train because somebody told you you should?

* Is your child able to tell you when they have gone to the bathroom? Do they show an interest in the potty? Do they have some dry diapers?

* You are in for one of the most frustrating times in your life if your child is not ready for this.

2) Are you ready for this experience?

* Patience and time are going to be required.

* Nobody learns well under stressful circumstances so you are going to have to create the proper atmosphere for your child.

3) Make the potty accessible...

* Out of sight = out of mind...so put the potty out in the open, in a high traffic area.

* Would you want to be sent to the corner? This is a new life skill, not a punishment so the process should be openly accepted by everyone.

4) Find their currency...

* Depending on whom you ask a reward system is otherwise known as positive reinforcement or bribery.

* It must be valuable to your child and small enough not to bankrupt the family.

* My daughter's reward was Smarties; for trying she got 1 Smartie, for peeing she got 2 Smarties and if she had a bowel movement she got a whole (small) box.

* Once the routine is established start to wean them off the reward with praise instead (remember to avoid criticism).

5) Stay in one place, do not go out...

* Clear your calendar. When establishing a new routine it helps to keep some consistency...stay at home.

* 1st you get them to understand when they need to go potty...and actually get there in time.

* Next you can work on having your child recognize they need to use the potty and wait until you can find a washroom.

* There are lots of activities you can still do; it just takes a little creativity. Lots of company could be a distraction, so please be aware of that fact.

6) Ditch the pull-ups...

* Put away any form of diapers...that includes pull-ups for the immediate future.

* How it feels to go to the bathroom is something your child needs to experience.

* I had my daughter in a dress with no panties for the first couple of days. I believe having that experience helped to speed up the learning curve.

7) This is not going to be a mess free transition...

* There will be accidents especially right at the beginning, so do not lose your temper.

* So take precautions, avoid the really expensive living room carpet and instead play on the tile.
Set the timer...

* If you use a timer you will not be the nagging parent, and you will not have to watch the clock all day.

* Every twenty to thirty minutes have the timer go off.

* Once the timer goes off it is time for your child to try to go potty. A long enough try time could be 30 seconds to one minute. Do not have them sit there until they are successful.

Getting out of the house...eventually...

* Once the need is recognized by your child then you can start taking small short field trips. Remember to pack a couple changes of clothes.

* For longer trips it is OK to go back to the pull-ups especially if your child develops a fear of public washrooms (that's another article).

* If you start and after a couple of days things are not going well consider taking a few weeks off and then trying again...after all there is no exact timetable and everybody learns at their own pace.

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