How To Potty Train Your Baby

How to potty train

I dont need this now!I'm a big boy/girl

Hello again. It only seems like yesterday you were reading my first blog on overcoming the first challenge of parenthood; getting baby to sleep through the night!

Now the next challenge, that will again, like good sleeping, make a major convenience change in your life,not to mention the great reduction in costs, is potty training; known to some people as toilet training!

Baby's potty training is one of those milestones in your child's life - it can be an incredible bonding experience between the child and his / her parents. It's also an important step in the development of the child because for the first time in the baby's life, he / she will have a feeling of independence and responsibility. Once potty trained, your baby will be responsible for taking themselves to the potty to do their business.

The Right Baby Potty Training Age

Decades ago in the 1960's, 80% of all babies were potty trained by the age of 18 months. Today, the average is closer to 36 months (3 years) - in other words it has almost doubled in a shade under fifty years. The technology of the modern diaper is largely to blame because they are now so absorbent that the baby can hardly feel any discomfort when an accident occurs and therefore has no reason to want to get out of diapers. Back in the old days of the cotton diapers, it wasn't comfortable and you'd soon know as a parent if the baby needed changing!

It's important for parents to realise that potty training is a huge step in the development of a child and to delay potty training to three or four years into the child's life may hamper the baby's development. Generally speaking the baby is ready for potty training by the age of 18 months. This means that he / she is physically up to the task, can communicate, can follow simple instructions and is having regular soft formed bowel movements.

Apart from these crucial signs, there are other signs that will give you an idea of how ready the baby is to be potty trained. I call these "nice to have" because they aren't fundamental but if present it means your job of training the child will probably be a bit easier.

Nice-to-Have Baby Potty training Signs

I've already mentioned that the baby must be physically able to pull up / down pants, communicate, follow simple instructions and have regular soft formed bowel movements but you should also look out for these nice to have signs as well:

- Does the baby imitate any actions that you or a partner does?

- Is the baby showing signs of wanting some independence?

- Does the baby show any signs of understanding when he / she needs the toilet?

- Does the baby show signs of discomfort after an accident?

If you answered yes to any of those points then that's a very good sign!

How long does it take to complete the baby potty training?

The amount of time it takes to potty train a baby varies greatly. Some children just simply learn faster than others. The average training time is somewhere between a couple of days and a couple of months.

There is hardly any difference between boys and girls when it comes to potty training although studies have shown that girls are generally slightly more receptive to their potty training and learn slightly faster. However, girls are also at more of a risk to infection so make sure you look out for painful frequent urination or abdominal pain. If you see any of those signals then take her straight to the doctor for a professional medical opinion.

High level overview of the Baby potty training process

When you have established that your child is ready for potty training the first port of call is to buy the necessary equipment. You have the option of child sized potties or even a special child-sized seat for the toilet. It's also possible to pick up some kind of picture book or DVD to capture the child's interest. One famous toy that seems to be popular amongst the kids at the moment (although not amongst the parents because of its high pitched annoying tone) is potty Elmo - based on the character from Sesame Street. These training aids can help captures the child's interest but shouldn't be relied on too heavily.

Next it's all about introducing some kind of routine to the baby. So it's advisable to take him / her to the toilet or potty to get the baby used to it and to make sure that the baby isn't scared or intimidated. This should happen over a period of a day or two - just keep making regular trips to the bathroom until the baby is comfortable with the surroundings. Explain the purpose of the toilet and what people use it for.

The next step is to ditch the nappy and explain how and why adults undress before going to the toilet / potty. Physically show the baby where the excrement should go by taking the nappy over to the potty and putting it in. Next you'd explain that the baby is responsible for going to the toilet and make sure that the baby understands that he / she can go to the toilet whenever is required. This is the first time the baby has ever had independence and responsibility and is a defining moment a child's development.

Finally, when all else is sorted, you can resort to night training. Be warned that it can take another couple of years for the babies to master the art of understanding when they need to go to the toilet whilst asleep. Accidents will happen but handle them gracefully and definitely don't punish the child.

A Tip To Speed Up your Potty Training

It is very important to understand child psychology when potty training so that you can develop a desire in the baby to be potty trained. When you can establish this desire, the potty training process can be achieved in a lot less time than average. In fact, most parents feedback that they managed to get their child trained in a couple of days using these child psychology techniques. Whilst a full explanation of these techniques is out of scope for this article you can read up more about them in a guide called HEART Potty Training.

The change in your lives on successfully completing potty training is a major step from having a baby/toddler in your family to having a little person.This little person does not need the expense, bulk or disposal difficulties of diaper luggage on family trips.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Selin_Aydoshan

How To Get Baby Sleeping Through The Night

    

How it's meant to be!

We all love our babies! ----right ?

We get great ENJOYMENT from them ----right ?

Well to be honest, not as much and as often as we would like!

Why?

SLEEP, or LACK OF IT!

I have looked out of the bedroom window at 2 in the morning and felt I was the only person awake in the whole world, besides baby!

It is so unfair on you and the baby! You would both enjoy each other more if only you could get some sleep!In my experience it is the overwhelming subject if you ask new parents their impressions of early parenthood. This series of articles offers you some insights into getting you and your baby your fair share of the precious commodity, SLEEP

Having problems with getting your baby to sleep through the night is very common. In fact this is due to our issues with having to listen to our babies crying, rather than the child's issues with sleep.

When your baby is born there is an instant bond and the urge to protect them at all costs. We,as parents, see crying as a sign that the baby needs something, which is true, so when the baby cries we run to them to 'fix' their need. The problem is that when they are tired and we go to them fussing we actually stop them from getting the sleep that they need.

So first you need to re-program yourself as a parent to provide your baby with the sleep they need and this means leaving them to cry a little.

So having said all that, here are our 3 top tips to guarantee your baby sleep through the night...

1) Keep a routine - put your baby down in the same place and keep the same routine, as in what you do and what you say i.e. night night, sleep well, see you soon etc...

2) Provide them with things that they can use as their 'security blanket' - children usually choose their own security blanket/muslin/teddy, but we can help them along by putting something in their bed that is always there. I used a muslin because it was easily replaceable and easy to carry around, but you can use whatever you feel is best or cute, aslong as it is safe for babies. Make this part of the routine, giving their their teddy or whatever you have chosen. (Always try to change these items every so often so that you are not in trouble should it get lost or damaged)

3) Do not worry about noise outside their room/sleeping space - keeping the noise down when a baby is sleeping is bad because if then there is a noise the baby can be woken with a start and may even become scared. So theoretically you should be able to pass the hoover outside the baby's door without waking them. This means that no only can you continue with your life when your baby has gone to sleep, but you also do not have to worry about other children making noise or having friends and family over.

FOR INFO from Malcolm: My 13 month old son once slept soundly in the middle of a Welsh wedding party where 2 dozen inebriated guests gave many, many loud renditions of "Lloyd George new my father, father knew Lloyd George."! If you are "musical", those are the only words and they are sung to the tune of "Onward Christian soldiers". (Try it and enjoy!)

Remember that newborn babies need frequent feeding and sleeping through the night may not be possible until the baby is three month's old or later. Some babies only start sleeping through the night at a year. Once your baby is no longer waking for a feed these these three tips will ensure both you and your baby a peaceful night's sleep. These tips will work however for getting your baby to sleep at night time even before they are ready to go the whole night without a feed. Should they wake for a feed repeat the three steps when they are finished and they should go straight back off.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Anais Oller

More on the benefits of MUSIC:-

There is an old old saying that "music doth soothe the savage beast". Now don't get all upset, I'm not saying your baby is a savage beast, heaven forbid! The point is that music is so beneficial to humans and animals alike. From the beginning of human kind it would be safe to say that one of the first things they ever did was to have some form of music.

You've probably seen videos and CDs for babies. The question remains, do you really need it? It is strictly an individual choice. There is no doubt that music is soothing to anyone, with one exception, that hair brained new music that would upset the devil. The type of music you choose should be music that is relaxing, pleasant, low key with no loud passages. There are some theories that classical music can make your baby smarter, and exposing your baby to music is part of what we do to introduce them to all the sights and sounds of their world.

What Sounds Would A Baby Like?

Music can definitely help calm your baby down and put him in a restful state at bedtime or nap time. Nature sounds are a favorite such as ocean waves, waterfalls, rain drops,a gently flowing bubbly brook and birds songs are all sounds that are natural and we as adults find relaxing and so will baby.

When Baby Matures

As your baby matures or when your baby is awake there is an abundance of nursery rhymes or music from kids' movies that can stimulate his senses. Simple and rhythmic music with voices tuned to a baby and his understanding that he or she can relate to are good.

White Noise

So called white noise is non irritating to a baby. How may times have you seen babies sleeping through all kinds of clamor and noise. It always amazes me to see a baby sleeping in his seat in the supermarket. oblivious to the sounds around him. I wish I could sleep like that! Fans in a baby's room are a mild stimulus (not directed right at the baby), or from sound CD recordings of white noise are restful. You don't need to create an artificially silent environment for the baby, however, since that can make it harder for them to get to sleep. The normal household sounds are something that your baby will relate to as a normal "hum" of activity is something they will grow into and they will accept readily.

This is a great time for you to explore all the types of music and observe what the effect is on your baby. Your baby will let you know in his or her own subtle way what is and isn't pleasing. The same music that's helping your baby get to sleep can help soothe your own nerves and provide a wonderful time of bonding and restfulness for you and your baby together.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Robert_Dixon