Using a free potty training chart is a smart way to help your child visually track their progress as they adjust to the demands of potty training.
Here are 4 tips for using a potty chart that will help keep this training aid fresh and useful.
1. Use rewards.
Most parents understand that using small rewards helps get their toddler excited about the potty process. For a toddler, potty training is like play, and you know how quickly toddlers get tired and lose concentration when they play.
Small rewards like candy and stickers are perfect to start. Some children are happy with these and continue to use them during potty training.
However, many children get bored with the same small prize, and when that happens, you’ll need to be prepared to shake it up a bit and use something different, at least temporarily.
Try small rewards like reading a book together, coloring a picture together, doing a “big kid job” (like spreading napkins around the table); you get the idea
Just remember to keep these prizes small; once the child is further along in his training, he can add longer goals and larger rewards.
2. Start slow.
At first, you’ll want to place a sticker on the chart for each and every success.
Did your child voluntarily come to the bathroom when told? He gets a sticker.
Did he take off his own underwear? She gets a sticker.
Certainly peeing and pooping has stickers, and lots of praise!
As your child gets more practice, you can change the tables and requirements. A sticker for pottying alone without mom’s help is a well earned sticker.
3. Choose your graphic.
There are many free potty charts online. Take your time to gather several of them. You will notice that some are designed for beginners and others for more advanced children. The truth is, while 10 potty charts may look the same to you, they may be completely different to your child, and each one makes an exciting treat for the week.
You can also use different characters or colors from day to day or week to week just to keep your toddler interested in the process. Place the potty graphic where it will be prominently displayed and where your child can reach it. Make it a source of pride for your child and encourage him to share her achievement chart with others.
4. Make it a team effort.
One trick to keep a bored toddler interested in their potty training chart is for you, mom or dad, to use some sort of chart as well. Place your chart next to your child’s and let him watch you add stickers as you go about your day’s work.
Also, if your toddler uses charts for other activities throughout the day, the potty chart will become an automatic tool that makes sense to him. This can benefit him in many ways besides potty training.
Effective use of the potty training chart means incorporating a variety of charts and rewards, as well as extending the chart’s use to other people and activities. Used this way, the potty chart is a great tool your child can use to really see her progress and stay excited about the potty training process.
Which is exactly what you want.