Potty Training with Dr. Phil
As our children grow from helpless babies to active toddlers, parents soon begin to consider the pleasure of not having any more diapers to change. While there are many methods for potty training, one that might be worth considering is Dr. Phil's method.
Begin by getting a doll for your child that you can use to teach her to use the toilet. Get your child to give the doll a name. Once the doll is named offer it a drink. Shortly after drinking have the doll “walk” to the potty chair, pull down its big kid underwear, and have it go potty. By showing your child the routine in a fun way she will be interested in learning more about the whole process.
With your child's help throw the doll a huge party once it “succeeds” at using the potty. Make the party a big deal by blowing up balloons, serving cake and wearing party hats. Praise the doll and make a big deal about its success. While holding the party let your little one know that she too will get a special potty party once she successfully goes to the bathroom in her potty.
On the day you plan to start toilet training toss out all the diapers. By doing this you remove the temptation to go back to diapers and you also show your child that there are no diapers to fall back to. Then take out some new big kid underwear and put them on your child. Make sure that she has her potty training doll set up with big kid underwear too.
Because you want to maximize the chance that your child will succeed at using the potty you should offer her plenty of fluids. This will fill her bladder and make her need to go more often. Continue offering her a drink on a regular basis to help give her the best chance possible to be successful.
Every half hour ask if your child needs to use the potty. If she should happen to forget and wets herself, don't punish her, but instead encourage her to practice by walking to the potty and sitting on it ten times. This will give her body a chance to build muscle memory so that when she is ready to go both she and her body knows what to do.
When your child does succeed it is time for that promised potty party. Bring out the cake and balloons. Wear party hats and get her to call her favorite cartoon character or superhero to announce her success. Make a really big deal out of her success. Keep up the regular offers to use the potty and praise each attempt.
By following his guidelines Dr. Phil believes that any child can learn to use the potty in a day. Of course you will need to be consistent and continue to praise your child's efforts, but with a successful beginning you are one more step on the way to a diaper free child.