potty training {part three: parent directed approach}

Disclaimer: As in all parenting advice I give, you should always do what you feel most comfortable with when it comes to anything with your child.  Just because someone swears by one method, does not mean that will be the best, only way it will ever work for any child, anywhere.  Take the information and tips given and adapt them if you need to what works best for you, your family and, of course, your child.  I am a strong believer in mommy-sense!

link

 I'll be honest.  This approach by N.H. Azrin and R.M. Foxx in 1971 to potty training was originally developed for "The Institutionalized Retartded." However, since then, parents have been intrigued by the idea of having their littles potty "trained in a day."  The "in a day" aspect is HIGHLY subjective and dependent on the child, the environment and so much more.   

Side note: as a rule of thumb, if any program is promising a major behavior change in just a day or two, it is probably full of you know what.  

Back to Azrin and Foxx.  I will just be pointing out the basic steps to a parent directed approach to potty training.  If you are interested in the full procedure, you can find the book here.

Again, the child needs to be physically and psychologically ready to be potty trained (refer to when to start).   

Their method includes:

• Administering more fluids in an effort to increase the need to go to the bathroom as well as "elimination alarms" alerting when accidents occur

• Scheduled potty visits-depending on the child, it could be every 15 minutes or every hour.  Starting with more frequent visits, then gradually increasing the amount of time between visits once the child has demonstrated they can remain dry.

• Rewarding with food, drinks, praise, hugs and attention when the child uses the bathroom.  Really, whatever is reinforcing for the child.  

{I am not a huge advocate of food as a reward, but if you feel comfortable with that, do what you need!}

• Having the child clean up their own accidents as a natural consequence for not using the toilet.  The idea being that it is easier to use the potty than it is to not use the potty.

They also included some modeling to show the use of the toilet and how to complete the task. 

Again, the lure of having your child trained quickly draws many to this approach.  In my experience, this approach is best when the child's nature needs a little more structure and clear cut "rules."  

This might also be the way for you if you are a person who likes control.  It also requires a bit more dedication during the training time. 

Take what you like, tweak it to you and your child's needs, have a little humor, patience and love.  This is a time when finding the joy in imperfect parenting is a really useful tool!

references:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1310676/pdf/jaba00072-0020.pdf
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3307553/