Potty training boys vs girls
PAEDIATRICIAN Dr Michelle Beckford said it is more challenging to potty train a boy than it is a girl. Therefore, she said, the most important thing is to get fathers involved in the training of boys.
“That way they can ‘follow-fashion’ and do what the daddies do,” Dr Beckford, who practices from Health Plus Associates in the Boulevard Supercentre, said.
She said while both boys and girls will do the same thing by sitting on the potty, seeing their fathers go will give boys a different perspective on the matter.
“Whether the daddy stands or sits, at least the boy will see that ‘OK, he has the same thing that I have’. And that makes it a little easier,” Dr Beckford explained.
Another important thing to note, Dr Beckford said, is that parents should not start the boys until they are ready, as more often than not they will not grasp the concept.
“You can start the girls from 18 months, but for the boys, wait until they are at least two years or so until they are ready. It could be even later,” the paediatrician explained. “They just do not take to it as easily as the girls.”
Readiness will mean that they tell you that they want to go, or they take off the diaper, or they are using enough words to tell when they want to go potty.
On the other hand, by two years old many girls are trained.
Training involves putting them on the potty every two hours, for example, to try to catch whatever comes out.
“You don’t lift them and you don’t force them or anything like that,” Dr Beckford said. “And you don’t leave them more than two to three minutes at a time on the potty to see if by chance you catch it.”
She said, too, that parents can study their baby’s pattern to see when it is their usual time to go, for example after breakfast or when they get home from school.
“The idea is to put them frequently on the potty,” Dr Beckford said. “It’s not punishment, it’s not anything that you’re going to be uptight about.”
She said another very important thing is to reward both boys and girls whenever they go.
However, never get upset with the child for not going potty when they are placed there. Also it is important that you do not compare the children’s potty training abilities.
Dr Beckford warned that if it becomes a challenge and the child seems to resist, it is best to drop the trials for a few months, then restart.
“The big thing is to not make it a negative experience,” she said. “If the child is really not ready, or they had a bad experience, or they are fighting (not to go), just leave it and then start again at some point later.”
