“Doing it right is more important than doing it fast” – Dr. Steve Hodges
Here are 7 tips for potty training, the right way.
Do not start training if your child is constipated! That means they should be having MULTIPLE mushy, soft bowel movements EVERY day before you start potty training. Your child should not be having log-type stool, or rabbit pellets. That is a sure sign of constipation! Don’t make pooping harder than it already is 🙂
Take away the expectations. Putting a deadline so your child can attend __, commonly leads to children holding onto stool. This leads to the loss of urge, and much bigger problems (literally). When a child loses the urge, it creates a large accumulation of stool in bowel, which pushes on the bladder and leads accidents.
Age matters. Potty training should occur ideally after three but NO earlier than two. According to Dr. Steve Hodges, children potty trained under the age of two have 3x the amount of risk of developing bet wetter. Often these children become chronically constipated.
Set them up for success. This means giving them a foot stool. It helps them learn to relax and control their pelvic floors to help facilitate a bowel movement, and fully empty so accidents don’t occur later.
Refer back to number one! If your child’s poops become dry or pellet like you NEED to treat the constipation before resuming training. Can you tell this is important?
They shouldn’t hold their pee either! Allowing kids the freedom to pee every few hours and not holding it in keeps the tissue stretchy and compliant as the grow. “Chronic pee holding thickens, shrinks, and irritates the bladder”.
Diet it key. Plenty of fruits and veggies help ensure adequate nutrition and hydration while fighting off constipation. In case you need to hear this “highly processed foods, such as goldfish and chicken nuggets foster constipation”.
Have questions? We offer free consultations for pediatrics too!
(information adapted from bedwettingandaccidents.com)