Is Your Child Really Ready For Potty Training?
A generation ago, it was common practice to start potty training at 18 months to two years old. Hardly anyone waited longer than that to start. However, looking back at how potty training went back then, you can see that it relied heavily on the parent being trained to take the child to the bathroom at set intervals, and not so much on whether the child was ready to use the potty or not. If you start too early, and your child isn't really ready, when you miss a scheduled bathroom stop, the likely result is wet or dirty pants. Some kids will learn quickly at that point. Others will not.If you switch to disposable training pants for potty training, these can be as expensive or more expensive as diapers. If your child isn't quite ready to be potty trained and ends up wearing more expensive training pants for a longer time, you could end up spending more money than if you waited a few months for more signs of readiness. If you intend to switch right to cloth pants, the monetary cost may not be an issue, but the value of your time spent cleaning up messes and doing additional loads of laundry may be.
What's Your Potty Training Plan?
Having a good idea of how you plan to approach potty training from the start can help you save money, too. When you're unprepared, you may feel that you need to buy more products to help you figure out what to do or to overcome certain potty training problems. Of course, not every plan will go perfectly - they never do when toddlers are involved! Taking a look at different potty training methods and products ahead of time will give you ideas of what is out there, though, and will reduce the chance that you'll buy one product and then run across something else that would have been a better use of your money.What Potty Should My Toddler Use?
The tiny plastic potty chair seems like a must-have item for potty training, but honestly, it's not. If you'd like to save some money while potty training your toddler, you can skip the plastic potty and have your child learn to go potty on the regular toilet. An inexpensive potty training seat that fits on top of the regular toilet can help prevent fall-ins. These potty training seats can usually be used until a child is ready to head off to school, just to make the toilet seat more child-size, so the cost is spread over a much larger time than that of a toddler potty.If you do decide to buy a toddler potty, maximize your purchase by choosing one that also becomes a potty training seat or converts to a step stool. Most of the time, toddlers do not use the potty chair for very long, so spending much money on just that one product may not be worthwhile if you're budgeting carefully.
Disposable or Cloth Potty Training Pants?
Using disposable potty training pants is certainly less messy, but can be as expensive or more expensive than diapering. Thick cloth potty training pants are messier and lead to more laundry, but are cheaper than disposables. Cloth training pants are thought to result in a shorter potty training process because toddlers can feel wetness more when they have an accident. Your family's lifestyle, as well as your budget, will play into your decision on which to choose. If you're out of the house constantly with your toddler, simply switching to cloth pants may not be an option if you won't have access to places to clean up inevitable accidents. Remember, too, that cleanup could involve cleaning car seats, couches, carpets and many other things. When choosing what types of potty training pants to use, careful consideration of your family's lifestyle might help you decide whether the cleanup costs might outweigh the savings of going right to cloth training pants.Potty Training Books and DVDs On A Budget
Many parents today use DVDs and books to help teach their toddlers about potty training. These can be really useful for some kids! When you're trying to potty train on a budget, remember that books and DVDs aren't required for potty training, though. Free options in this category include making up your own stories and songs with your toddler or checking out books and DVDs from the library. For lower cost options, you can often find potty training books and DVDs on eBay or at garage sales.Saving Money On Potty Training Charts and Stickers
Some potty training DVDs come in sets with charts and rewards stickers, so that may be something you want to budget for. However, you can also consider making your own chart and choosing special stickers at the store with your toddler to help mark his or her progress. There are also many free potty training charts, posters and activity sheets you can print for free from the internet.Special Potty Training Soaps and Wipes
Several companies make moist toddler toilet wipes that are handy for potty training because they do a better job of cleaning than a dry wipe. These potty training wipes are flushable and not too expensive. However, just like toilet paper, you'll want to carefully supervise the use of the moist toddler wipes. Not only can a whole package of them clog a toilet, but the packages are a bit more expensive than toilet paper, so letting a toddler try to flush the whole box is a slightly pricier mistake.Special toddler hand soaps are similarly budget-friendly. They aren't much more expensive than other types of soap, and usually come in a container that is easy for small hands to operate. Again, though, it's only budget friendly if you supervise. It's fun to pump out the foam and it smells good, so toddlers will want to enjoy this newfound freedom. I once lost a new bottle of foam soap because my daughter thought it made great Barbie shampoo.
