When your baby hits the toddler stage which is from one (or 18 months old) to three years of age, this is a transitional time as the infant makes the transition to a school-aged child (you can see it as a parallel for the teenager stage being a transitional time for a school-aged child to an adult) That means a lot of changes are happening during these times.

Toddlers begin transitioning from a crib to a bed, and another big change that happens during this time is that toddlers transition from being in diapers to going into underwear. In order for this to happen, potty training has to happen which is a time that parents of toddlers absolutely dread. That is because they are terrified they will fail and that their toddlers will never get out of diapers.
It is a time that causes many parents to become anxiety-ridden. However, the good news is that there are tips and tricks that can result in potty training success. These tips and tricks are derived from Parents.com, American Academy of Pediatrics, and The Nemours Foundation.

Potty Training Success Tips

The one thing that parents need to remember before applying any of these tips that will be discussed below is to stay calm during the process no matter what. Infants, toddlers, and young children pick up on parents’ stress. Nothing will be accomplished if the parents are stressed when training their toddlers. Let’s go over the 3 main tips now:

1. Look for cues that your toddler is ready – If the child appears to be uncomfortable or unhappy while wearing soiled diapers, this is a major sign that he or she is ready to start training. Remember that not all toddlers at 18 months old or two years old are ready to get out of diapers. Some children that are not developmentally delayed may not be ready to start training until they are closer to four years old! If you attempt to train a child that is not ready to get out of diapers, you are going to fail! The child will most definitely resist. Readiness makes or breaks success with potty training.
2. Never scold a toddler that is being potty trained for having accidents – Accidents are going to happen and that is an expected part of potty training. Gently make the child aware that he or she made the accident and send a calm reminder that the toilet is for that. Yelling and scolding will only cause your child to resist and will result in potty training failure.
3. Always praise your toddler for being successful with doing #1 or #2 in the toilet – As it is critical not to scold your child for having an accident, it is also very important to praise your toddler after going in the potty successfully. Remember that kids love praise and will be more willing to repeat the same behavior to get praise again. You will want to make sure that you have plenty of rewards available as well such as special toys, and even some treats (but you will want to go easy with this as you don’t want to associate sugar with a reward too much).

Parents also need to make sure that they have plenty of underwear on hand while potty training their toddlers. Those 3 main tips will most definitely make or break potty training success. And patience is also a must-have trait during this time!