Potty training is an event in a toddlers life that can really be challenging, not to mention the lives of his parents! Many times potty training is looked upon with dread and children can pick up on this. Also, there are many problems that can arise during potty training that have easy solutions. Dont despair, the following tips are some you might find handy when potty training problems arise.

Start When Your Child is Ready
Many times parents begin potty training on their own schedule rather than the childs schedule. This results in the child totally avoiding the potty and anything to do with it, temper tantrums, hiding, and other actions. If you have started potty training and this is the response you receive then the best thing you can do is take a break from potty training. Your child is not ready to use the potty and forcing the issue only causes more problems. When your child is ready to use the potty he will let you know and then you can begin again.

Dont Punish or Scold
If your child has accidents or is regressing with his potty training your first reaction may be to punish or scold your child. You dont want to clean up pee and poop every single day and after a while of doing so you can easily snap at your child. However, you need to be very careful to avoid this because you want your child to have a positive potty training experience and not a negative one.

What should you do in these situations? Always be calm, level headed, and very direct with your child. Say, you wet your pants. It is ok to have an accident while you are still learning, but remember that pee goes in the potty. Being calm and matter of fact about the situation will let your child know that you love and support him and that its ok that he is not perfect. You may have to exert some serious self control in order to do this, but it will reduce potty training problems in the end.

Reward Your Child
Rewarding your child for successful trips to the potty is often good motivation to keep the potty training process going. Also, a reward can keep little temper tantrums and other power struggles from arising. So, if you are having trouble potty training your toddler consider offering prizes or awards and see if that helps the process along.

Take a Break
Sometimes the best advice for parents who experience problems while potty training is to simply take a break. You dont want to pressure your toddler too much and if problems keep arising then a nice break will give you some relief and allow your toddler a bit of time to mature and change his mind about using the potty.

Potty training all by itself is a pretty big job yet many parents realize that hygiene must be taught simultaneously with potty training. This just adds more to the list of things to learn for your toddler and can make the process seem a little more difficult. However, teaching hygiene when potty training is really not so difficult. In fact, the following tips may make it even easier for you to teach potty training and hygiene at the same time.

Create Steps for Your Child
If you teach your child all of the steps to potty training you may expect him to remember them all right away. However, this is not always the case and you may find yourself constantly reminding your child of what he should be doing. This is not empowering for your child who wants to feel in charge of the potty training and like he is a big boy. So, the best way to ensure your child is learning how to wipe and wash hands is to create a poster with all the steps. Using pictures for the steps will help your child visualize what comes first, second, third, and so forth and so on.

You may think this sounds funny, but you are teaching your child a new skill and it takes time to learn. Also, this skill has several parts and they are hard to remember. Proper wiping and hand washing can easily be forgotten when the child is excited about going potty and receiving an award for his efforts. You will want to hang the potty training poster in the bathroom in direct eyesight of your childs potty. This might not go with the dcor, but it is worthwhile if it helps your child learn the steps properly.

Be a Good Example
While your child is learning to potty train it is very possible that he/she will be interested in watching you go to the potty as well. Dont be ashamed of the process because you dont want to make your child have a complex. Instead, let him watch and always be sure to wipe and wash your hands after flushing the toilet. If you set the example your child will more than likely follow it. A hand washing song might work too if this part is easily forgotten.

Offer Gentle Reminders

You will more than likely need to offer gentle reminders to your child regarding wiping, flushing the potty, and washing his hands. This is just like any other new skill your child learns so think of it that way. You might also like to say that after your child has flushed the toilet and washed his hands that he may pick out a prize. This little motivation can go a long way and really help your toddler get the hang of hygiene and potty training at the same time.

When you are potty training your child you may feel relatively confident in your home where you can easily clean up accidents or get your child to the potty in time. But, what should you do when you are in public? How are you supposed to respond to your childs cries of needing to potty when there is no potty in sight? There are so many scenarios that can occur when you are in public with a potty training toddler that it can truly feel overwhelming for some parents. As a result, families tend to stay in more during the potty training days. However, this does not have to be the case. You can be in public with a potty training toddler as long as you are prepared beforehand.

Consider Pull Ups
I know that you have told your child he or she will only wear big boy or girl underwear while potty training, but perhaps you could have a little bit of leeway in this rule. When you are out in public, like on an all day shopping trip, putting your child in a pull up will not set him back yet it will keep you from distressing over whether your child needs to pee or poop and if he has already done so. You will be much more relaxed and your child will be too, as a result. You can simply ask your child if he needs to go potty every hour or so and especially after drinking or eating. The pull up does not have to be used on a regular basis or short public outings, but the longer outings will be more enjoyable for everyone with a pull up on the potty training toddler.

Know Where the Restrooms Are
When you are out in public with your potty training toddler you will need to know where the restrooms are. This saves you some time when your toddler announces he needs to go potty because you dont have to ask or find the restrooms because you already know where they are.

If you are at a restaurant ask the server to seat you near the restrooms. This means that when the need arises you are close by.

Dont Panic
Most moms who take their potty training toddlers out in public on a regular basis will experience at least one if not more accidents. Just relax and try not to panic. You remembered to pack an extra set of clothes, underwear, even socks and shoes so you are ready to clean your toddler up and keep on moving.

Final Thoughts
The most important thing about being out in public with your potty training toddler is to be ready for anything. If you are anticipating trips to the potty, know where the potty is, and have all the necessary supplies then you will probably get through the public outings with no problem. Just keep in mind that if an accident occurs it is no biggie.

Temper tampers are just part of toddlerhood. In fact, most toddlers have temper tantrums on a semi regular basis. This behavior is certainly undesirable and needs to be corrected, but how do you do so? Also, how do you not only handle temper tantrums but potty training at the same time? This can be a very difficult situation for parents who dont know what to do or how to keep their children from acting out, especially during potty training.

Why do Tantrums Occur?
Most frequently children have temper tantrums because they do not have the vocabulary to adequately express themselves. The result is a temper tantrum that parents dont know how to handle. Most of the time your child has a temper tantrum because he/she wants to express some feeling or emotion and cannot adequately do it with words. Other times tantrums occur when the childs needs are not being met or there is excessive pressure.

If a tantrum does occur make sure you back off and stop pressuring your child. Allow your toddler to calm down and then talk to him about his feelings. Ask him yes and no questions so that he can respond to you without having to vocalize too much. Doing this will help you clear up some of the problems and let you know how your child really feels.

Potty Training and Tantrums
Potty training is a well known hot button with many children and more often than not your child will have a temper tantrum during the potty training process if he is not ready or simply cannot vocalize his feelings. If your child is having frequent temper tantrums during potty training you need to acknowledge your childs feelings although you may not know exactly what they are and simply back off from potty training for a while.

It is very likely that your child is not ready for potty training, whether psychologically or physically or both. So, keep this in mind when tantrums occur. You dont want to push your child during the potty training process and if emotions are running high with your child you will simply need to give the potty training process a break.

When to Start Potty Training Again
It is a good idea to start potty training again once your child has developed more of an interest in the process and can express through words that he needs to go potty. Children need to be in charge of the potty training process, not parents, and when this is the case fewer temper tantrums will be seen and the potty training process will go much smoother.

For many parents the potty training process is supposed to start the summer of your childs second year. This is a belief that many parents hold although it is certainly not the best method of beginning potty training. This belief, too, is probably the reason why so many parents have horror stories about potty training. They pressure their toddlers to potty train long before they are ready which gives rise to the child completely resisting potty training. So, what can parents do when their child is totally resisting potty training? Some of the answers are below and they may be a bit surprising.

Hand Over the Reigns
This may sound a little crazy, but if your child is totally resisting potty training then you need to hand over the reigns. That is correct, you need to stop trying to train your child to use the potty and forget about pressure and punishment. Let your toddler know that the potty is there waiting and it is only your childs so when he is ready he can give it a try on his own. Tell him you wont pressure or ask him to use the potty again, but when he feels like a big boy and wants to use the potty like mommy and daddy then the potty is ready and waiting.

Frequently letting your child be in charge of the potty training process is enough to get the training started and your child potty trained. While you are pressuring and forcing your child to use the potty you will likely see resistance and power struggles. Dont allow this to happen to you. Instead, simply back off for a few months and let your child take control.

Your Toddler is Not Ready
Another reason why toddlers resist potty training is because they simply are not ready. This is a hard pill to swallow for many parents who think all children are ready at the age of two no matter what. This is simply not the case and should be eliminated from all parents thoughts. When your child is ready to use the potty he will let you know so just take your cues on potty training from your child. You will find the process to go smoother and faster by doing this.

Final Thoughts
Resistance to potty training is normal and many children go through this. Just realize that when resistance to potty training occurs you need to completely back off and give your child a chance to regroup and decide on his own when he wants to use the potty. Be patient and never forceful, the time will come when your child is potty trained!