What is toilet training
exactly?
Toilet training should be regarded as a key milestone
in your toddler’s life because it is a giant step towards
becoming more independent. However it is not a skill
to measure your child’s intelligence or to compare it
with other developmental areas such as talking or walking.
It is quite a leap from diapers to underwear, when you
think about it.
A lot of changes occur when your child is in underwear
- everything from the way he walks, runs, sits, plays
becomes different. In essence, toilet training is the
process of weaning your child off diapers and eventually
using the toilet to wee-wee and poop.
Up to the age of 18 months at least, your baby has no
voluntary hold over his bowel and bladder muscles. With
time as he grows and with your patient guidance, control
of these muscles will develop. The first mission is
for your child to learn to pee in the potty, then to
hold the pee until he gets to the potty.
After that both your child and you will work on her
staying dry and getting off the diaper and unto underwear
during daytime. And only after that comes the next stage
of getting your child comfortable for pooping in the
pot. Again, along with muscle control, your child will
need to have other skills in place such as physical,
communication skills etc. Undoubtedly, it can be a cumbersome
process since it involves a few phases.
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