Teaching a child bladder and bowel control is something every parent goes through. As a single parent, you will have a little more challenge but with patience and consistency, the goal will be achieved. Generally, when your child reaches the age of 16 months, he or she will begin to develop some level of control. Keep in mind that until that age, potty training would likely be challenging in that your child is simply not physically ready. As your child nears the age for potty training, you’ll find the child doesn’t like wearing a dirty or we diaper.
Around this time, you may notice signs of your child pulling and tugging on the diaper, actually trying to remove it. Remember, these signs are good, indicating your child is starting to understand bladder and bowel control and ready for potty training. In most cases, the child will learn bowel control before bladder control. If you notice you’re your child is waking up in the morning with a dry diaper, then he or she has started the process of bladder control.
While there are a number of options, I recommend you start with a special potty chair that sits on the floor rather than on the toilet. This way, your child will have his or her own potty chair, which actually makes the child feel grown up and special. Additionally, if the child decides to sit on the potty without assistance, risk of falling off the regular toilet is eliminated. If you have a little boy, I do recommend you purchase a deflector or you could end up with sprays everywhere.
Even if your child has finally finished potty training, regardless of age, being able to hold the bladder for more than five hours is asking a lot. For this reason, you want to make sure you provide many opportunities for your child to potty. The bottom line is that knowing exactly when or if your child has mastered bladder and bowel control is difficult. For instance, you may think your child has finally achieved the goal when an accident occurs. In this case, don’t make big deal out of it. Instead of punishing, scolding, or embarrassing the child, be encouraging.