If you are a proud parent of a 2-year-old boy, now is the time you’ll need to learn all the potty training tips you can find. The age between 24 and 32 months is the perfect time for teaching your toddler how to use potty, researchers from Robert Johnson Medical School proved this. Their study also indicated that timing is the most important element of training success. This thought is corroborated by other researchers.
A team from Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center determined that children who started training before the age of two had more daytime wetting and constipation problems as they grew older. Belgian researchers also determined that children who start potty training after 32 months of age are more likely to develop daytime incontinence and urinary tract infections in the future.
5 Effective Potty Training Tips for 2-Year-Old Boys
1. Develop a training schedule
Having a set daily schedule is one of the most important tips on how to deal with for a 2-year-old boy. Toddlers need their routine and the most efficient way to potty train is to make it a part of their routine as well.
Note that you have to set up this schedule based on your own as consistency is paramount. If your child is in daycare, develop a training schedule that can be followed there as well.
2. Start with sitting on the potty
In many cases, urination and bowel movements come at the same time for toddlers. That’s why when potty training a 2-year-old boy you should start with teaching them to sit on the potty.
Note that your son shouldn’t sit there too long, only about 15 minutes max. Once he has the basic procedure mastered properly, you can introduce standing urination training. It’s very important not to rush this step and let your child get comfortable with going on the potty by themselves first.
3. Teach by example
One of the essential potty training tips that many parents choose to ignore is taking their son to the bathroom to let them ‘see how it’s done’. It’s very important to understand that there’s no place for embarrassment here.
You should know that toddlers learn by mimicking the actions of the people around them. That’s why you should give them that example instead of trying to explain what to do and how.
4. Make training fun
When your boy gets to the ‘pee standing’ stage, you can employ some more original potty training tips. Motivate your kid by turning the experience into a ‘target practice. This will also work to help train his actual aim.
Leaving a few pieces of O-shaped cereal in the potty for your son to aim at. This will result in a few messes before he gets a hang of it, but potty training is never clean.
You can also use various ‘magic stickers’ that are empty but will show some image when your boy pees on them. These stickers are reusable for up to six weeks, but you might need to change them more often to get different images and keep your kid interested.
5. Give extra motivation with cool underwear
One of the hardest challenges parents face is making their kid want to learn how to use potty. Do not forget that for a child this is uncomfortable and they see no point in the change.
So it’s up to you to give them something that’ll make the extra effort worth it. Stocking up on cool underwear that your child will want to wear can do the trick.
6. Use suitable aids
Does your toddler love cartoons? Now is the time to teach him that YouTube videos can be educational as well. Everyone Poops by Taro Gomi is a great place to start.
Once Upon a Potty by Alona Frankel is a children’s book every parent should read to their kid. It’s a very children-friendly guide to potty training and modern editions even have dolls included.
7. Don’t forget about the praise
You have to encourage your 2-year-old to succeed in potty training and nothing does this better than sincere praise. The most important part of any training is to make it enjoyable, so your child starts to associate going potty with a positive experience.
Praising him and heaping on love and attention after every success gives that necessary positive experience.