How To Encourage Your Child To Sit Longer On The Potty

Fun and games are better encouragements for your child to sit on the potty than bribes or coercion. As usual, continue to create a positive potty experience and avoid any power struggles. Look for strategies that teach a active child how to slow down and an impatient how to wait. For some children these are important skills that need to be practiced, and are not their natural tendency. The following suggestions are things to do while your child is learning to tune in and control his muscles. Use them to buy your child some time to be successful but not as a distraction from his ultimate purpose.

Play "I SPY"

Describing things you see in the bathroom. End with "DO I SPY SOMETHING IN THE POTTY? YES, I DO!"


Play "I HEAR"

Describing things you hear in the bathroom, in the house, or outside the bathroom window. End with "DO I HEAR SOMETHING IN THE POTTY? YES, I DO!"


Sing one of your favorite potty songs

Or try this one adapted from
"HERE WE GO 'ROUND THE MULBERRY BUSH":
This is the way we sit on the potty,
Sit on the potty, sit on the potty
This is the way we sit on the potty
Early in the morning, (afternoon/early in the ev'ning/before we go to bed)


Customize your own "FAST BOY" story:

One upon there was a little boy who every one called "FAST BOY". He was fast, fast, fast, always running and jumping never sitting still. When he wanted to learn to use the potty, he would fly in and out of the bathroom so fast. He flew right over his potty. His mommy had to think of some way to make him sit long enough to use the potty. Fast boy's mommy called the queen of the bees, who had many fast little bees. Queen bee gave fast boy's mommy a special sticky potion that would catch fast boy in his potty. And from now on fast boy's mommy covers fast boy potty with the mixture from the bees. Do you feel it? I think there's some in your potty right now.