Week 5 Potty Project: Redirect Your Attention

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First read this week's potty lesson, then move on to the project below.

Week 5 Potty Project

Children seek parents’ attention. Changing diapers is typically a time when parents focus lots of attention on their child, talking, singing, and the like. Now is the time you need to conscientiously shift your attention from when you’re changing diapers to when your child is sitting on the potty.

Change diapers quickly, without much interaction. When your child is sitting on the potty practicing, sit next to him, read a book, talk, or make up a special potty song or story. With this approach, your child, because he loves your attention, will want to spend more time (no more than five minutes are required) on the potty rather than on the changing table.

Week 5 Toilet Training Tip

Watch yourself so that prepping for potty training does not become more important to you than to the child. When parents are too gung-ho, children often balk.

Your goal is to cultivate your child’s interest in toileting so that he will perform on his own maturation timeline. It’s a fine line parents walk as they coach their child to become familiar with and eventually use the toilet.