There are several approaches to potty training and you have to choose the process that works best for you. What I will discuss is my personal experiences with potty training as a parent and as a child care provider. I don’t want to stereotype that girls potty train faster than boys because that is not always the case.
The first physical sign that a child may be ready for potty training is that their diaper will be dry overnight. As soon as you recognize that your child is waking up with a dry diaper, the first thing that I would recommend is to immediately sit them on the potty. If you sit them on the potty consistently every single morning, they will successfully urinate in the potty.
As soon as you cheer for them and show your excitement they will understand that their “pee-pee” goes inside the potty. Years ago I would’ve said that they need to practice on the potty before using the actual toilet. But over the years I have come to realize that there are children who do not mind potty training right on the toilet seat. Using a potty seat that can be inserted right on top of the toilet will work just fine.
Many parents find this to be a much smoother transition and it eliminates the need to continuously have to clean the potty. For boys, I would also recommend getting a stool because the sooner you can teach them to stand, the better. It is a hard transition when they start the potty training process seated although it is an easier transition for bowel movements.
I think this is why the process for boys can be a little tricky. The reason why I say that boys should potty train standing up is because you don’t have to worry about whether or not they point down well enough nor will you have to worry about whether or not the urine will go sprouting everywhere if they are not pointing downward correctly while they’re seated on the potty. You can eliminate all of that worry completely if you start them by standing up.
When teaching a boy to stand, this is one situation when I would recommend an actual potty. But if your toilet is not too high and they can be successful with a stool, then by all means you can go that route as well!
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