Training your child for success using a potty training chart

 

Using a potty training chart is often the best way to help your youngster keep on track with his or her progress while adjusting to the demands of toilet training. Potty training your child can turn out to be an extremely daunting task. Some parents find positive reinforcements and rewards as significant sources of motivation for their children during this process. While potty training your youngster, it is extremely easy to get frustrated and angry. However, you need to remember that there is no better way to teach your child a new behavior than through patience, continuous support and praise.

When potty training your child, it is extremely important that you take every possible step to make this process easy and fun for both you and your child. The last thing you want is a strong resistance and even backtracking on your efforts and progress. Therefore, coming up with a reward system, reinforced with an attractive and colorful potty training chart may be all you need. With this, you can reward your child with a mark or a sticker on the chart every time he successfully uses the potty. Once your child has reached the top of the column or the end of the row, consider rewarding him. This reward can be in the form of taking your child to his favorite fun spot, getting a special dessert, a new coloring book or anything that is interesting and motivating the child.

Motivating your child with the chart

Potty training can be fun, especially when you figure out how to get your child excited about the process. You need to do all you can to get the child interested in learning how to use his potty. For this, you need a potty training chart that is designed to fit your child. Whether the chart is plastered with your child’s favorite cartoon characters or covered in stickers, the idea should be to use the chart as a motivational tool. At the same time, you need to be consistent throughout the training process. Ensure that you give rewards consistently to avoid confusions while motivating the child to work towards the goal.

To make the training process fun, consider laminating the chart. This will protect it from bathroom moisture. Pin the chart up on the wall while keeping it within the child’s reach in order to help him mark off the days when the child achieved some accomplishments.

Tips for success with a potty chart

Here are four tips that you can use to keep potty training fresh, fun and engaging to your child.

i. Have a reward system

Coming up with a basic reward system can help your child get excited about learning how to use the potty. To the child, potty training is like a game, and he can easily tire and lose focus. Therefore, small rewards like stickers and candy bits are excellent for the start. These rewards will motivate the child to continue using the potty until he masters it.

However, some children get bored with the same reward over time hence you may want to come up with different kinds of rewards. With creativity, you can come up with various rewards such as coloring a picture together or reading a book together. Just remember to keep the prizes small at the beginning; and as the child advances in training, consider introducing longer goals and bigger prizes.

ii. Start off slow

At the beginning, be sure to reward your child for every success. For instance, reward the child when he willingly comes to the potty. As the child advances, it is advisable that you change the chart requirements.

iii. Make it a team effort

One of the best strategies of keeping the child interested in his potty training chart is for you, the parent, to have some sort of a chart too. Have your chart next to your child’s and let him watch you add stickers as you accomplish your daily chores. Better still, if the child uses charts for other activities he does during the day, the training chart will become an automatic tool that is remarkably sensible. This can be beneficial to him in many ways besides toilet training.

iv. Choose the right chart

There are hundreds of free charts online as well as in children’s bookstores. Take your time to gather as many charts as you can. You will notice that some are designed for beginners while others are meant for advanced children. To make the training more fun, consider using different colors from day to day or week to week. Make the chart a source of pride for the child, encouraging him to share his accomplishment with others.  You could also make your own with your child, some children respond to one they’ve helped make them selves better.

Effective potty training chart usage means integrating a range of charts and rewards. It also includes extending the chart usage to other activities and people. When used this way, this chart will become a powerful tool that your child will use to monitor his progress while staying excited about the entire training process.