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Potty-training
As parents, wouldn’t we be proud to have well-behaved children, those who are properly trained in using the toilet and do not create feelings of despair and embarrassment to their parents at the most inappropriate time? This is when potty training comes in to make a difference. How exactly does one train the child? It has been found that most children start using the potty early if their parents make them understand the importance of hygiene and more importantly if the ambience of the bathroom is friendly and appeals to the child.
Very young children have their own bodily schedule which most often leads to uncomfortable situations for the unsuspecting parents. While nothing can be done to change this routine, it is necessary to bring in a certain discipline and schedule, as the child grows a little older. The first three years of a child's life is the perfect age to commence potty-training. Potty-training should not be aggressive or left to the whims and fancies of the child. What works most often is the common sense approach. The ideal time for potty- training is when the child is able to sit comfortably with support (usually around ten months of age). However, as each child is unique in his/her own way, this can vary from child to child. By the age of three, most children are ready to graduate to the ‘adult potty’. Today there are many products that can help make the bathroom safer for the toddler to use from both the hygienic and the safety perspectives. These include anti-skid tiles, anti-microbial seat covers and stainzfree surfaces that do not allow dirt to accumulate on the product and also keep away any harmful bacteria.
After the child is properly trained to use the potty, it is essential that the child be taught the importance of hygiene. By the time the child is three years old, he should be taught personal hygienic habits like washing hands after using the toilet. He also needs to be taught to wash his hands before a meal and to stay away from unhygienic toilets, soiled towels, dirty door handles and the like. During the initial training phase, the parent must accompany the child to the toilet in order to show him how to use the faucet and teach him to wash his hands with soap. The next step is to encourage the child to go by himself/herself to the toilet while making sure he/she practices the rules of cleanliness and hygiene that he/she has learned. Thus the child learns how to use the toilet independently without any help from his/her parents.
As a Pediatrician my experience has been that children who have frequent attacks of gastroenteritis, typhoid, eczema or even skin diseases are those who are not properly trained in hygiene. Most cautious parents ensure that their children use the toilet at home before going on long trips in order to avoid using the toilet in public places like hotels, railway stations or shopping malls. However, since this is not always possible, children need to be taught how to use bathrooms at these places with utmost care and hygiene. Thus the concept of potty training is a very essential one that cannot be ignored. It benefits not only the child, but also the parents as it reduces the tension faced by the parents while dealing with children who have not been potty trained.
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Bathrooms with stained seats, poor ventilation and bad flushing mechanisms most often scare the child and create a permanent block in the child’s mind. This leaves a scar, so much so that the child would rather stain his/her clothes or diaper rather than go through what could be a terrifying ordeal in the bathroom. A child-friendly bathroom with stainzfree products is perfect for parents who are trying to potty- train their children.
One point that must be kept in mind while potty training the child is that each child has a unique personality. Comparing the child with older siblings, cousins and friends can lead to frustration and stubbornness on the child’s part. Since children are temperamental and moody it is essential that parents face the ordeal of potty- training with good humour and common sense. Make the child realise that going to the potty is a normal thing. Show them pictures of other children sitting on the potty or toilet, this will make them understand the commonness of the potty thus making it less alien to them.
