All God’s Children

Yes, you read the title correctly. It is possible to get your child out of diapers and into underwear in one day. Actually, I am being a little conservative. Toilet training can be accomplished in less than a day.

"Toilet Training in Less Than a Day" was written in 1974 by two psychologists, Nathan H. Azrin and Richard M. Foxx. They take a practical, no nonsense approach to toilet training that is worth considering. But more importantly, it actually works. Your goal is to teach your child to eliminate in the toilet rather than in his diaper, pull-up, or other underwear.

If your child has no physical or mental disabilities that would delay toilet training him, begin looking for readiness signs when he or she is around 17 or 18 months old. I know a family whose seven children were all toilet trained between the ages of 17 to 25 months by using this method. Look for these readiness signs:

Your child

When your child begins to exhibit these signs it is time for you to begin toilet training. Use this window of opportunity to benefit your child and you -- big boy or big girl pants for your child and no more diaper changing for you.

Do this pre-training routine to prepare for the big event. Every time your child wakes up dry, place him on the toilet and encourage him to urinate in it. Smile and offer words of encouragement while you hold onto him as he sits on the toilet. Do not scold, frown, or punish him in any way if he does not urinate at this time. Praise and reward him if he does. At this point you are simply getting your child comfortable with sitting on the toilet.

Some toilet training methods encourage using a potty chair. I do not recommend getting one. You risk making the child potty chair dependent. I believe it is better to train your child to use the regular toilet since that is the standard. If you think your child needs extra security, purchase a seat spacer that fits over the regular sized toilet.

1. Have the necessary supplies on hand for the training day You will need several cloth-type underpants for your child. Boys like ones with characters on them. Girls like frilly ones. Have treats on hand to reward your child each time he successfully uses the toilet. They may be anything your child likes to eat. Have plenty of liquid for him to drink throughout the day. Juice, fruit drinks, and water are good choices. You want to give your child enough to drink to fill his bladder so he will need to empty it.  
   
2. Set aside an entire day without distractions so you and your child can be together. This is extremely important. If you have other children, send them to a relative or friend's house for the day. Another option is to have the parent who is not training the child take the other children on a day trip. Do whatever it takes to free up your schedule so you can devote the entire day to training your child. Failure most often occurs because parents do not take the time to properly train their children. Consider the time spent as liberating. You are liberating your child from messy and uncomfortable diapers, and you are liberating yourself of diaper costs and time spent cleaning your child's messes.

3. Tell your child the night before the big day that tomorrow he will no longer have to wear diapers. Children like to know what's going to happen. Telling your child will help eliminate potential feelings of anxiety. Children like to feel that they are part of the plan. With excitement, show your child the new underpants he will be able to wear starting tomorrow morning.

1. When your child awakens in the morning take him to the toilet to urinate. Do this even if his diaper is wet. Remind him that today is the day he is going to wear regular underwear. Clean up your child as usual but instead of putting a diaper on him put on the new underpants and an undershirt -- nothing else.
   
2. Go through your child's normal daily routine. Feed your child breakfast as usual. The only difference is that you are going to be with him throughout the day encouraging him to eliminate in the toilet and not in his pants. Remember you and your child are the only ones in the house. See that the other family members have someplace else to go.
   
3. Check your child's pants for dryness. You will want to do this every three to five minutes. Tell your child that dry is how the underpants should feel. Let him feel the dry pants.
   
4. Give your child plenty to drink. You want to encourage him to urinate so offer liquids often. He probably will not drink much at any one time but little amounts taken at your encouragement will serve the purpose.
   
5. Using the toilet.

6. Give your child a treat if he eliminated in the toilet. Only give your child a reward if he was successful. Do not scold or punish him if he was not. If he asks for a treat but did not eliminate in the toilet tell him that he will get one when he does. Use words for urinating and having a BM that he understands.
   
7. Repeat the above steps until your child is successful at eliminating in the toilet. Do not become impatient with your child. Do not scold, ridicule, or belittle him if he wets his pants. Simply clean him up, put another pair of underwear on him, and begin again. Repetition and review are important parts of learning. Keep repeating steps 2 - 6 until your child gets it.
   
8. Once he gets comfortable using the toilet lengthen the time between setting him on it. Begin this phase if your child has eliminated in the toilet and has not wet his underpants. Every fifteen minutes ask your child if he needs to use the toilet. Remind him that you have another treat for him if he does. You now want him to learn what it feels like when his bladder and/or bowels are signaling that they need to be emptied without you having to tell him. Even if he says he does not have to go, set him on the toilet every thirty minutes.
   
9. As the day progresses your child should get the feel of when he needs to use the toilet. Let your child go about his daily routine while you keep a close eye on him for indicators that tell you he needs to use the toilet. Often you can tell by a change in behavior, wanting to go hide, grabbing his crotch area, or a sudden change in his facial expression. Ask him if he has to go. Tell him to tell you when has to go. Reminders help reinforce what his body is telling him.
   
10. Give your child only sips of liquids after the evening meal. You want to get your child ready for bed so reduce the amount of liquids you give him. Do not put him in a diaper at night. You want your child to know that the underpants are here to stay. If your child's mattress does not have a plastic covering over it you will want to put one over it for protection should your child wet the bed at night. If the bed is wet in the morning change it and your child and get him to the toilet.

Consistency is the key in teaching your child to use the toilet. Do not lose hope. If you watch for the readiness signs and capitalize on them you and your child will have a successful toilet training experience.

For a more detailed explanation of how to use this technique, look for the book Toilet Training in Less Than a Day by Nathan H. Azrin and Richard M. Foxx at your local bookstore or in your public library.

If this report helps you, feel free to forward it to someone else.

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