While we might be jumping ahead of ourselves a bit, we do feel like we should address the best ways to use the regular toilet during toilet training.

When your child wants to use the big potty, he or she is exerting independent tendencies, and you can encourage this tendency.  It will, however, take some attention on your part, too!

It is perfectly acceptable to have your child learn to use the toilet without any special equipment. Obviously, the longer you wait to train your child, the bigger he or she will be and the more likely able to sit on an adult seat without any aid except possibly yours.

Remember the adult toilet can seem like an abyss to a child. But certain techniques can make a child feel more secure.

Teach a boy to urinate sitting down backward on the toilet, straddling it, and pointing his penis downward. If he is distracted while standing, he might forget to aim.

Teach a little girl to sit sideways or backward on the big toilet. A little girl should also “sink” her bottom low enough so urine does not go through the seat ring and bowl rim. In the beginning, removing underwear and pants will lessen chance of them getting wet.

Hold your child securely on the seat’s edge yourself.  They trust you anyway, so having you there with them will give them the sense of safety that they really need.

Now that we’ve covered tools you can use during potty training, it’s time for us to look at what time is the right time.