So your youngster’s in diapers and you’re in a state of indecision. You wonder if your child is ready for potty training. You worry you’ll start either too early or too late. You wish you could know if your child is capable of learning this new skill.
You can. Whether you’re a newbie who doesn’t know squat about potty training or an experienced parent who’s gearing up for a second or third (not so merry) go-round at it, there’s a way to know when your child is able to be potty trained.
Dr. Nate Azrin and Dr. Richard Foxx, authors of Toilet Training in Less Than a Day, say parents can easily assess their child’s readiness for learning this new skill. Azrin and Foxx ask parents to ask themselves the following critical questions:
1. Does my child demonstrate bladder control? Does my child urinate a good deal at one time rather than dribbling through the day?
2. Does my child have enough physical coordination? To find out, note if (s)he has enough finger coordination to pick up objects easily and if (s)he walks from room to room easily and without assistance.
3. Is my child instructionally ready? To find out, ask your youngster to point to his or her nose, eyes, mouth, and hair. Then tell your child to sit down on a chair, stand up, walk with you to another room, imitate you in a simple game, (such as pat-a-cake), bring you a familiar object (such as a toy), and put one familiar object with another (put the spoon in the bowl).
“Yes” answers in all three areas mean your child is ready for potty training. Your little one has sufficient bladder control, coordination, comprehension of instructions, and compliance with your instructions to be able to be potty trained.
My next post will cover the steps involved in the training so that if your child’s ready, you can get him or her out of diapers. And that’s the “bottom” line.
Filed under: Uncategorized
Tags: Potty Training, Preschoolers
