2020-06-01_Mother_&_Baby

MEETTHE

EXPERT

Amanda Jenner

is the founder of

the Potty Training

Academy, author of

Potty Training Magic

(£7.99, Vermilion),

and a mum of three

P

ottytrainingis a

majormilestonefor

yourtot,andanimportantstep

onherroadtobecomingmore

independent.Butthat roadcan

be a rocky one for Mum! While

we’re sure you won’t be sad to say goodbye to

nappies, getting your child to be consistently

dry during the day can be a challenge. Relax

• our simple five-day plan from potty-training
  expert Amanda Jenner will soon have your
  little one recognising her own cues and using
  her potty all by herself.
  The summer months provide the ideal
  opportunity to kickstart your potty training,
  as your toddler won’t have bulky winter
  clothes to contend with. And now we’re all
  spending a lot more time at home, there’s
  never been a better time to give yourself
  and your little one five full days to get to
  grips with your new routine before life goes
  back to normal. However, Amanda says the
  best time to start is when your childis
  ready – whenever that may be.
  ‘Potty training isn’t seasonal,’says
  Amanda. ‘If your little one is
  showing signs of readiness, go
  with it or you will lose your
  window.’ Ask yourself: does my
  child realise when she is filling
  her nappy? ‘Insisting on a nappy
  change once it is dirty is a really
  good sign.’ Help your little one
  start to take notice of her own
  bodily functions by drawing her
  attention to it. ‘When you recognise
  she is doing a wee or a poo, startusing
  basic words to say “Are you doinga weeora

WORDS CATHERINE BALL PHOTOGRAPHY SHUTTERSTOCKpoo?”,’ says Amanda. ‘Lookout,too, forher

beingdrierforlonger

periodsrather thandrenched at

everychange,as this is a signthat she is

startingtogainbetterbladdercontrol.’

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

Once you’ve decided your toddler is

ready for potty training, it’s time to get

prepared! ‘Choose a story with lovely

pictures about potty training,’ says

Amanda, ‘and read it to her for at least

a week. Then get her involved in

choosing her potty, pants and training

seat by taking her shopping or showing

her pictures online.’ Put the potty in the

room where she spends most of her time.

Now set up a reward system and explain it

clearly to your toddler. Amanda says: ‘This is

not bribery; it is rewarding your toddler for

trying something new – and it’s key to making

potty training a success. Create a “magic box”

and some stars, and give your child one star

fordoing a wee and two stars for doing a

poo. You can use a clear jar and cut the

stars out of coloured paper.’ Also,

create a sticker chart and give your

child a sticker for trying on the potty.

She doesn’t need to actually do a

wee or poo to get a sticker, but

explain to your toddler that she

only gets a magic star when you

see something in the potty.

‘Buy some prizes and add sticky

labels with numbers on showing how

many stars she needs to win each

one,’ says Amanda. You don’t need to

spend a lot of money – just pick some

littlethings she likes. When your child wins

stars,she will feel good about herself and have

‘When we were

toilet-training Cyrus we

found a really helpful app

called Poo goes to Pooland,

available to download from

the App Store. It was a

game-changer for us!’

Aranda Rahbarkouhi, 44,

from Newcastle-upon-Tyne,

is mum to Cyrus, three

54 | June 2020 | motherandbaby.co.uk

TRAIN!

Ti me to

If your tot is showing signs she’s ready, there’s

never been a better time to begin toilet

training, says expert Amanda Jenner