Watching your baby grow from a newborn baby that is totally dependent on you, to a human being that is trying to survive on its own is one of the most rewarding parts of parenthood and potty training your baby is a task that can be both fun and exhausting, depending a lot on your baby’s personality.

Some babies find it easy to obtain that type of freedom while others have a hard time separating themselves from the safety of the diaper.

In this article we’ll share some potty training tips to help you with this stage of your child’s life.

Observe Your Baby

When the child is ready to receive potty training, he will start showing signs that he is ready. Some of those signs are, staying more than two hours without soiling the diaper, or starting to show discomfort in wearing the diaper. The child is ready for potty training when she/he starts to show interest in the potty.

Most children will be ready to put these potty training tips to the test around the age of two but some will get to it earlier and some later. The maximum age for a child usually is 4 years old.

You need not worry if your child does not start to show interest for the potty before the age of four but after that age, it is advisable you consult with your doctor just to make sure your baby is fine.

Read About It

There are many books available on potty training tips to help you with this task. There are also books with images to help in potty training. The books have pictures of potties and babies going potty. Those images will encourage your baby and wake his curiosity for the subject. Talking about it and showing him the potty and other babies going potty is an awesome start and a very useful potty training tip.

Showing him how to do it is also a good idea. A parent of the same gender should allow the child to see him in the bathroom so he knows it’s a normal and recommended behavior.

Reward Your Baby

When he starts showing the first signs of wanting to go potty, encourage him; don’t try to delay this process. You might want to use items such as toilet chairs and diapers that will make the baby feel the wetness, thus making it uncomfortable to use the diaper. Reward systems are also great ideas; make a board and give your child a green sticker every time he goes potty and a red one when he does not go.

Make sure he understands which patch is the good one and when he gets , say, three green patches give him something he really likes like a small treat that he is not usually allowed to eat.

I hope that the above potty training tips have helped you in this exciting phase of your child’s development. We leave you with the suggestion to take it easy and do not stress out your baby or yourself. Putting too much pressure in the process will only be harmful so make it fun and simple and you’ll both be fine.

Katrina Baldwin is a successful single mom to her two sons, one of whom is just moving out of his toddler stage. Having been through the experience twice now and having gone through the frustrations of finding supportive and helpful advice on surviving this stage of her children’s life, her passion is to share her experiences and support others.

More information is shared at Parenting Toddlers.