Mindful Phrases to Effectively Praise Your Kids

Potty training doesn’t have to be as terrifying as it’s made out to be. After all, there’s nothing more we want than to banish the diapers forever - it’s a good thing!

 Using mindful phrases to praise our children when potty training approaches is one of the best ways to help them develop confidence and bravery about such a big change.

 Here are some things to consider to keep your potty training mindful an stress-free, as well as some phrases to help you along the way. 

Approach potty training together

Keeping your child involved in the process of potty training will help them to understand that they are in charge of their bodies and have control over what happens.

Here are a few things you can say to get your child involved in the change:

“Mummy’s going to the toilet now. Would you like to sit on your potty next to me?”

“Would you like to try sitting on your potty?” 

“If you need a pee or a poop, you can tell me that you need to use the potty, I’m here to help!”

Praise your child

Toddlers are constantly seeking approval from their parents as well as trying to exercise their own autonomy. Between 2-3, children are at an age called autonomy vs. shame, so they’ll be wanting to do things alone whilst getting a thumbs up from you. This is exactly why potty training is so perfect at this age! Our kids take another step towards becoming independent, and we get to be their personal cheerleaders.

Mindful praise is so important for our children to feel confident in what they are doing. So whether your child indicates that they’ve done a pee in their diaper, sits on the potty (whether or not they do anything on it), or actually uses the potty, PRAISE!

Every step towards becoming more aware of when and how to use the potty is a means for celebration. 

Try these phrases:

 “You remembered to tell me that you have a wet diaper! Shall we take it off and try to do a pee on the potty?”

“It’s hard to remember to ask to use the potty, but you remembered this time!”

“You did a pee/poop on the potty! I know you tried this morning, but it was great practice - you’ve done it now!”

Don’t punish accidents

 Punishing accidents will have an adverse effect on your ultimate goal. When we tell our children that they’ve done something wrong or highlight undesirable behavior, we’re likely to discourage them from trying again.

Think of it like this. We’re asking our toddlers to start notifying us when they need to use the potty and to sit in one place with their pants down to do it. Let’s not forget that they’ve spent the last 2-3 years peeing and pooping whenever they felt like it...

That’s a big change!

If your little one has an accident during potty training, here are some phrases that you might like to use:

 “Don’t worry, it’s hard to make it to the potty in time! Let’s put a new diaper on and we’ll try again later”.

 “It’s ok, would you like to try sitting on the potty now?”

 Take the stress out of potty training by approaching it with ease, positivity, and encouragement, and soon enough your child will be ready to tackle the potty all alone!