by Constance Ruth Clark

Created on: June 23, 2009   Last Updated: June 25, 2009

Congratulations! Your child is a toddler and has started walking and talking and getting into everything within hands reach. Somewhere between fishing your child out of the toilet they think is just a big bowl of water to splash around in and rolling up the toilet paper yet again unwound for amusement you realize that it might be time to show your child what those items are actually used for. The joy of potty training has begun. For some this will be a quick painless process with no accidents on the floor. For the rest of us it's going to take a little longer, so don't expect it to happen overnight.

Your child's age is not really the determining factor when it comes to readiness. Kids can be as young as 15 months and fully trained while others are almost 4 before they make the transition. Part of it is being ready, but there is just as much work required on your part to make it happen. You have to be the coach, cheerleader and opposing team all in one.

The first step in determining if your child is ready requires a little work on your part. Oh who am I kidding, the whole process requires a LOT of work on your part! I truly admire these parents whose children hate diapers so much, they train themselves. While I know this does happen, we aren't all quite so lucky. So step one is figuring out how long your child stays dry and if they're dry when they wake up from a nap. If your daughter is like mine, she can stay dry, but does she? Well, that is another story.

Next is getting your child interested in the potty. Parents can use many methods to make this happen, but what worked best for my daughter was a combination of books and movies. I used the book and DVD "Once Upon a Potty" for girls by Alona Frankel which actually shows what happens when you use the potty. Most books and movies show the kids sitting on the potty, but not the end result and ultimate reason for using it. I found this really helped her connect the dots. Her next action was to drag that potty right into the Living Room and use it while watching the movie. I'm not saying this will work for your child, but it's what worked for mine!

Once your child is interested in the potty and sitting on it the next step is helping her to continue being successful by encouraging her to use the potty 15 - 30 minutes after drinking or eating anything. Again, lots of work on your part, but if you keep with it, you'll start to notice better results. At first your child may not make it even that long still dry,

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