Pressure To Potty-How To Cope With Pressure From Family And Friends And Help Your Child Achieve Potty Training Success

Moms and Dads get bombarded with parenting advice from every direction. From play groups to magazines, from families to co-workers, parents constantly feel pressure for their little one to reach developmental milestones. Potty training is no exception, especially since approximately four million toddlers will share this milestone this year alone. Many family members or peers are often quick to prescribe the "correct way to train" or to dictate the "proper age" for a child to start training, but paying attention to your child's cues is the best way to ensure success.
To help make the potty training process easier, the PULL-UPS® Potty Training Partners (PTPs), a dedicated panel of child psychologists, pediatricians and parenting experts, offer their tried-and-true tips to parents.
Focus on the Positives, from Potty Training Partner Jan Faull
"Parents often benchmark their child's successes by comparing their progress to other potty training children-whether he or she has begun, mastered or completed training," said Faull. "Your task as the parent of a unique potty trainer is to focus on the smaller victories that have been achieved by your child-even the littlest things will help your child ultimately master potty training."
Faull says to celebrate when your child shows interest in the bathroom or even knows that he or she is wet. Once your child is a little further along, be proud of him or her for successes such as sitting on the potty on his or her own, or even pulling on and off PULL-UPS® Training Pants and clothing independently.
Try Training Using Different Learning Approaches, from Potty Training Partner Jen Singer
Friends and family are quick to tell you what the "right way" to potty train is and pressure you into trying different methods, but remember what works for one child may not be right for your child. "Every child is different in how they learn potty training. My two sons took to training in their own way and time," said Singer.
The brand that invented the training pant now offers new solutions to make potty training easier for parents and toddlers:
• PULL-UPS® Training Pants with Cool Alert™ have a special coolness zone inside of the pant that helps toddlers feel cool within seconds of becoming wet to help them learn to stay dry.
• PULL-UPS® Night* Time Training Pants have extra absorbency for maintaining potty training consistency at night.
• PULL-UPS® Training Pants with Learning Designs® now have more vibrant underwear with graphics and designs that fade when wet inside and out of the pant to help toddlers learn to stay dry.
And all PULL-UPS® Training Pants have Easy Open Sides for Mom...just in case!
Remember the Simple Stats, from Potty Training Partner Bernie Dorsey
If the pressure from others or a preschool deadline is still making you feel like your tot needs to rush the potty training process, Partner Bernie Dorsey recommends taking a step back and remembering a few basic potty training facts that prove every child will learn in his or her own way and time.
"On average, most children take at least eight months or more to complete potty training, and even with success, most children still have setbacks," said Dorsey. "Whether your child starts first or finishes last, helping him or her achieve potty training success in a way that's most natural and comfortable is what should guide your process all along. There are also plenty of preschools that accept kids who wear training pants."
Parents need to remain patient as well as stay informed in order to help their child succeed.