If you're in the midst of potty training your child, you have a lot on your mind. Does she really need to go again, thirty seconds after she said she needed to go -- and didn't? Should he wear pull-ups or underwear? Is she ready to go all night without a diaper? But in the midst of all this, there's something else to think about: cleanliness while you potty train your child. Successful potty training goes a long way toward keeping your home and environment cleaner, says Donna Duberg, MA, MS, an assistant professor of clinical laboratory science at Saint Louis University. "The longer a child is in diapers, the more opportunity they have to get their hands into a dirty diaper," Duberg tells WebMD. And getting kids out of diapers helps reduce the rashes and abrasions diapers sometimes cause, while keeping disposable diapers out of the landfill -- and their bacteria out of the ground water. So assuming that your child is ready for potty training, how do you keep everything clean while he or she is learning?

With Potty Training, It's Location, Location, Location One handy trick can help keep germs at bay and drive the potty training message home at the same time. "Once your child starts toilet training, do all diaper changes and everything else in the bathroom," says Constantinos Kintiroglou, MD, a New Jersey pediatrician. "That sends the message that this is the place where this sort of thing happens, and you will also run into fewer problems with cleanliness in the rest of the house." Have a potty chair or child seat for an adult toilet in multiple bathrooms, so you don't have to rush to the one bathroom that has the right facilities for your child when the need to go is urgent. That can reduce the number of "halfway there" accidents and the need for cleanup. The Potty Training Potty Itself Potty chairs these days come in all varieties -- some literally have bells and whistles. But they haven't invented a self-cleaning potty chair yet. So whether you have a potty seat or an insert for an adult toilet, it will need to be cleaned regularly.

Urine is, in fact, sterile, so if your child has just urinated, you may only need to dump the receptacle out in the toilet, rinse, and wipe with a cleansing wipe. But since fecal material can contain bacterial and viral germs, the potty should be cleaned more thoroughly every time your child has a bowel movement.racing game chair uk "Spray all [potty] surfaces with a 10% bleach solution, and let it soak for at least ten minutes," says Duberg. buy royal throne chair"Then be sure to wash and rinse thoroughly with hot, soapy water, because you don't want any bleach remaining on a surface that children or pets might put their mouths on."glass table and chairs for sale in kent Don't forget about the area around the basin, too: lids, armrests, and seats. kitchen table chairs with casters

Those should be cleaned just as you'd clean the receptacle itself. Don't use basin, tub, and tile cleaners to clean potty training chairs, says Duberg. "Most of those are plastic, and these cleaners are meant for porcelain. chair cover rentals melbourneThis can lead to pitting in the plastic surface, allowing bacteria to work its way in."cheap tub chairs ireland Potty chairs, training pants, and other bathroom-related items should always be cleaned in the bathroom or laundry sink, never in the kitchen or anywhere that food is prepared.rent table and chairs austin Modeling Good Potty Training Habitshanging egg chair from china Model clean bathroom habits for your child: wash your hands thoroughly every time you use the bathroom yourself, and make sure your child does as well. buy ergonomic chair online

Keeping fun pump soaps handy in the bathroom can encourage hand washing. To ensure that they wash long enough, they can sing a favorite song, like "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star," or "Happy Birthday," while they're washing. What if your child has an accident while wearing "big kid underwear" or training pants? Again, urine is sterile, so if the pants are only wet, you don't have to run a wash load right away, says Kintiroglou. But if they've had a movement in their underwear, the pants should be rinsed immediately in hot water and then put straight into the washer for washing at your hottest setting, with bleach. "Even if they've been thoroughly rinsed, pants that have had feces in them shouldn't be left sitting in a hamper or wash machine without being washed," Kintiroglou tells WebMD. "Children, especially if they're in day care, can be carrying various strains of gastroenteritis like rotavirus in their feces." While your child is learning to stay dry at night, it's a good idea to keep a plastic sheet on the bed in case of bed-wetting says Duberg.

"This helps to prevent urine staining the mattress, and again, although urine is sterile, it is a good culture medium for other bacteria." The best way to keep your child and home clean while potty training, says Kintiroglou, is to model clean practices yourself. "Children are very observant of what we do," he says. "If they see you closing the lid when you flush, washing your hands, using good bathroom habits, they'll learn that this is part of the process."After about 2 weeks of potty training, I’m delighted to say that our 2¾ year old Griffin is diaper free. While in retrospect, it seems easy; there were moments during this process, that I was thinking “this is harder than getting him to sleep through the night!” So, I wanted to share some potty training tips I learned through the process in hopes that it helps you and starts a dialogue. Before you begin, be sure to see my earlier post, When To Potty Train Your Child, as it’s important that your little one is showing signs of readiness before you begin potty training.

This will make everyone else’s lives easier, gentler and happier. Assuming your child is showing signs of potty training readiness, let’s dive into some tips that can help you potty train your child. As I stated in first video, tell your child that you’re going to start potty training at least a week before you start. This will help prepare him emotionally for the big day. You can have him or her pick out their potty as this gets them more invested in process. I also recommend getting a couple potties so that you’ve got one in most areas of the house. We used this one by Bjorn and this other one by Bjorn. Yes, it costs a bit more than just one, but I found it was important to make it easy for the little one to find and use a toilet while potty training. Get plenty of underwear and let the child pick out. I bought 20+ so that I wouldn’t have to do laundry everyday. I kinda thought of it like cloth diapers. I wanted a good stash so we could easily recover from accidents without having to do a ton of laundry.

Take up any rugs in the house. I only really took up one rug where he played a lot. I didn’t do any of the rugs upstairs because I kept him in a contained area to make it easier on everyone. The key is to roll up any rugs where he/she might pee on. Some people put a tarp down. Cover the areas where you’ll be focusing the potty training.While some more evolved souls may not use any form of encouragement or reward, I did. And it helped HUGE. I started with natural treats like fruit-flavored lolly pops and organic dark-chocolate, and so forth. I told Griffin that every time he went on the potty, he would get a treat. This was a total bomb. First few days, Griffin had like 2-4 accidents a day and I was getting frustrated. He wasn’t into it. And I wanted to quit. Then I realized that I wasn’t tapping into what motivates him. Now, food always motivates me, but not my child. I was viewing it through my eyes. It’s all about toys. My son is a master collector. He has little animals, dinosaurs and literally walks around with 2-3 figurines at all times.

Ah, this is what motivates him. So, we went to toy store and picked out a few things he was totally excited about. I explained that this was for potty training. We got home and I put them in a basket. Every time he went pee or poo on the potty, I let him pick one toy out of basket. At the end of the day, we returned all the toys to the basket and started again the next day. Worked like a charm. He didn’t have any more accidents for the rest of the week. As much as we’re trying to teach them to feel and honor the urge to go, we also want to work with them. So, I put Griffin on the toilet every 20 minutes during the first week of potty training, especially after meals! I would also monitor liquids so that he wasn’t downing 2 cups of water first thing in the morning… unless he really wanted it and then I’d put him on the toilet every 15 minutes. After about a week, I put him on every 30 minutes. Soon, he  was telling me when he had to go. I still have to practice this today.

If it’s been too long since he’s gone potty, I’ll encourage a pit stop. Some parents get potty watches that cue regularly or they set timers. Whatever works to remind everyone it’s time to go during potty training. As part of this, keep your schedule simple that first week. You don’t want to be running tons of errands and I’d actually recommend staying at home most of that first week if you can. You also want to be sure that they are dressed in easy toilet access clothes such as elastic waist shorts/pants or skirts. This makes it easy for them to get on the toilet fast and avoid accidents during potty training. I found a simple “good job!” or “doesn’t that feel great?!”  or “I like how you’re listening to your body” was the right way for me to honor any potty accomplishment. If I make too big of a deal, Griffin looked at me funny. He would also use it as a bargaining chip because he knew that I was so attached to the outcome. You don’t want your child to tie their ability to pee on the potty with his/her self-esteem so keep it light.

The more relaxed and casual I was, the better. I also acted very confident in my child’s ability during potty training, which helped the entire process. Almost every child will have accidents during potty training. Even now, Griffin will have the occasional trip up, especially if we’re outside or playing with water, but accept that this is a normal part of process. I do take a moment and acknowledge the accident, and we talk about where pee belongs… in the potty. Then we quickly change and move on. Kids love fun and you can make just about everything a game. Having the toy prizes was enough for Griffin but some parents find creating a potty song was a great motivator and made it fun. Singing can transform just about any chore or task! You can also put Cheerios in the toilet and have your child aim for them (if he’s a boy) as a little game. Some moms put food coloring in toilet water which excited some kids to go. Some parents make up a little potty party. Be creative while you’re potty training!

Some kids do great with peeing on the potty but are terrified of number 2. If that’s the case, you’ll have to dig deeper and find a way to make it safe for them. Try talking to them in a cuddling moment about their fears and see if you can pinpoint them. One mom said that her son felt that he was losing a part of himself by flushing poop down the toilet. So, she got an anatomy book and showed him how the process happens. This clicked with him and took way the fear. Some children get too impatient. So give him/her a toy or read a book to them while they’re on the toilet. Another idea is to have a potty-trained friend come over. Peer pressure is powerful and if they see another little kid pooping on toilet, they will be more apt to imitate. Lastly, consider having the other parent try if all else fails. Sometimes, it works as a fresh approach. Have daddy and child go take their poops together and see how it goes. (Oh, the things we do to potty training!) Many parents report successful potty training by letting child be naked for a weekend and the whole family has a stay-cation at home.

Kids are usually less apt to have accidents if they can actually see the pee or poo coming out of their body. By letting them be au natural, they are more in tune with their bodies, rhythms and body cues. If weather permits, you can go outside and let them play in the backyard naked. This will free you from constantly cleaning up accidents during potty training. Now, they won’t master these tasks till they’re older but starting the routine now will help the transition. Let your child try to wipe first and then you finish. Get footstool so it’s easy for child to turn on faucets and start washing hands. By teaching this pattern during potty training, you’re setting up good rituals that will continue as they get older. Some kids are afraid of the automatic flushing toilets in restrooms. And you don’t want this to get in your way of potty training. You can put a “Post It” note in front of sensor to block this feature and then just take care of once child is done and out of stall.

Some kids are afraid of big toilet seat so bring a portable potty or you can try disposable toilet covers with their favorite character on them. (You might want to have some extra cloths in your purse too as some kids are afraid of the electric hand driers :).) Some moms fully potty train and don’t ever put on a diaper again. I decided to put one on him at nap and nighttime; because frankly, I value my sleep immensely. I didn’t want his sleep times cut short because he had to go potty. Having said that, I would say 90% of the time, his diaper is dry when he wakes up from nap and 80% after nighttime sleep. Sometimes, I keep his underwear on for naps and he does great. We’re getting close to dropping his nap and moving him to big boy bed so I will put him in underwear 100% then. This way he can get out of bed and go potty in middle of night if need be. Point is, you can potty train your child 90% of the time and enjoy the freedom and ease of not having to change dirty diapers.