When we started potty training our daughter, there were a few things that were a given but others that weren’t so obvious so here are my top picks to stock up on to make the process a lot easier for all involved.
Image courtesy of Pixabay
Family toilet seat with inbuilt toddler seat: While a potty is an obvious piece of kit to have in your home when you get around to this milestone, one product that might not be on your radar is a toilet seat with a toddler seat built into the lid. Rather than putting a separate toddler training seat over your existing one, the smaller seat sticks to the lid of your adult toilet seat with a magnet and can be pulled down when needed for your little one. Portable toddler seats don’t always fit snugly on every toilet seat, meaning they wobble around and give your toddler extra stress they don’t need at this time. Make them feel as comfortable as you can by giving them something stable to sit on.
Pants, pants and more pants: One pack is NOT enough, your little one will probably have numerous accidents each day and the washing machine won’t keep up so buy a few packs of pants. There are never enough clean pants in the world!
Small treats: While you don’t want to give your toddler anything too substantial every time they use the potty, you need to incentivise them with a small treat when they do go in the right place. You could break up an oaty bar into several pieces, give them segments of fruit or a toddler friendly savoury snack for each successful use.
Activities: Any potty training book worth its salt will advise you not to use the TV as a means of entertainment while potty training. Toddlers tend to switch off while having screen time and are more likely to wet themselves. Get in a stock of colouring books, reading books, toys, puzzles and games to keep your little one occupied which will give them a better sense of when they need to go as each of these activities encourages more present play.
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Puppy pads: Much cheaper than bed pads, these are ideal for if you are precious about your floor. There will be a lot of accidents happening on your carpet, laminate or wood floor, so if you want to protect it, use these to prevent anything penetrating the floor covering or soaking into it. Just remember that if you do have a slippery floor- secure the pads down with some tape to prevent your little one from tripping and falling. If you have any left over, you can always pop them on your toddler’s mattress for when you take their training pants away at bedtime.
Juice: Make sure you have your toddler’s favourite juice in plentiful supply prior to potty training. You want to encourage them to drink a lot so they will pee a lot and get the hang of things faster so they are more likely to do this if they have their favourite drink to hand all the time.
Cleaning and washing supplies: With all the preparation in the world, you toddler will probably still go where they shouldn’t so be sure to have plenty of gentle cleaning supplies, cloths and washing tabs or powder. Your home will never sparkle as much as when you are potty training your toddler as it will get cleaned on a much more regular basis! And your washing machine will be given lots of exercise too!
To all the parents out there who are about to potty train your toddler- good luck!
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