As your daughter starts to yearn for independence, potty training becomes a fantastic milestone that everyone wants to achieve!
The biggest potty training hurdle for parents is teaching your little girl to wipe front to back. Correct wiping technique is the most important lesson that you can impart. Unfortunately, this is easier said than done.
Practice makes perfect and there will be a lot of ups and downs along the way. Thankfully, if you follow these simple steps, your little girl will officially be keeping clean and dry during her diaperless days.
6 Steps to Successfully Teach Your Daughter How To Go Potty and Wipe The Right Way
#1: Determine Readiness
After countless diaper changes, most parents want to hurry this process along. However, you may need to slow your roll. In order to achieve some porcelain progress, it is important that you make sure that your baby is ready to potty like a rockstar!
Looking for signs of actual potty training is the first step to this whole thing. These can include announcing that they need to be changed, disappearing to go to the bathroom in their diaper, and noticing more of their diapers being dry than wet.
Secondly, you want to make sure that your child is physically able to wipe themselves. If your child cannot pull their pants up and down by themselves or they are unable to reach around behind their back, you may have to wait a little longer. It’s not uncommon for toddlers to be ready to use the toilet (after all, they are already expert climbers, so getting on and off the toilet is no biggie) but not be able to clean themselves afterward.
Finally, they need to show interest in learning the skill of wiping. As we all know, toddlers are stubborn. When they do not want to do something, they make it known. In order to achieve success, without feeling like you are pulling teeth, your little one needs to be excited about going potty by herself!
#2: Make Wiping Fun!
Rewards make everything better! Before you start potty training, let her go shopping and pick out some cool, new big girl panties! Make it known that she will get to wear these IF she can successfully go potty and wipe the right way. Tell her that she has to do a good job wiping because she needs to keep her new panties clean and fresh.
Motivation will be key in this endeavor. Therefore, finding ways to keep her excited about completing this task correctly can make things much easier.
Keep in mind — giving her something every time she goes potty and wipes can create a bit of a problem. This is especially true when you are away from home and a reward is not available. Thus, a fantastic method for success is implementing a potty chart (with wiping stats) that leads to weekly or monthly prizes. This shouldn’t always be a toy or candy. Instead, let her pick a special snack or meal, an excursion, or a night where she gets to stay up 30 minutes past bedtime!
#3: Explain The Process of Going Potty and How To Wipe
Once you have all the necessary supplies and she is enthused to go potty like a big girl, she needs to learn the terminology and the steps. The best practice is to take her with you to the bathroom when you need to go and break down the process. Remember, she has never done this before, so every step counts!
First, you close the bathroom door and open the toilet seat. Then pull down your pants and underwear. Next, sit down over the hole and plant your feet on the ground or on the potty stool. After that, go potty! This is where you pause. Let her soak in these steps and then have her repeat them back to you.
This was the easy part. Now comes the key detail — wiping. Show her how much toilet paper to pull off and how to fold it up flat against her palm. Then instruct her to wipe from front to back. Show her how to do this. You want her to get in the habit of always reaching behind her back to wipe. Otherwise, there is a chance she may slip up.
Remind her to check the toilet paper to make sure it is clean after wiping. Obviously for pee, this won’t take much. However, when going number two you want to reinforce getting a new set of toilet paper squares for each wipe until she is clean. Finally, flush the toilet and wash your hands!
Keep in mind, that for the next few months, she will likely still need help with this step. Therefore, each time you help her, verbally repeat those instructions.
#4: Help Her Understand Repercussions of If She Wipes the Wrong Way
It is not a pretty topic, but nothing about the bathroom really is considered proper. However, it is important that your daughter understands why she has to follow this key step.
While you don’t need to go into graphic detail, talk about how poop is dirty and we don’t want to touch it. That is why we wash out hands after going potty. Poop is supposed to come out of our bottoms, but we do not want it going anywhere else besides the toilet. This includes the area where our pee comes out.
Let her know that unfortunately, if she were to do this step wrong, then bacteria could get into that area and there is a chance that she could get sick. This could make her pee feel hot or it might hurt to go potty. Remember you do NOT want to scare her. Explain that this can be fixed with medicine, but it is better if we don’t mess up. Most importantly, tell her that if these things do start happening, she always needs to tell mommy and daddy immediately so that they can get it fixed.
Finally, this is new to her. Know that there will be a slip-up or two. Therefore, it is also imperative that you watch for signs of infection. These can many times be hard to spot so always keep the possibility of a urinary tract infection in the back of your mind. If this were to develop, along with discomfort while urinating, she may complain of pain in her lower abdomen, spike a fever, and she will likely make more trips to the bathroom.
#5: Repeat, Repeat, Repeat
Repetition is key when it comes to children learning a new skill. Hence, before she starts going to the bathroom by herself, let her continuously see you execute the process and regularly explain it to her. Additionally, there are lots of books on the market that explain how Everybody Poops and detail how to use the toilet. Read these books to her! The more you normalize the act of going to the bathroom, including wiping, the easier the transition will be.
Moreover, have her practice wiping front to back on a doll or stuffed animal. Once she grasps this, the final step before letting her take control is to conduct a test run!
#6: Practice Makes Perfect
While the concept of going potty correctly will likely set in quickly, the actual skill can take anywhere between 3 to 6 months to fully master. Supervision and practice are the biggest tools you have in your arsenal. When mistakes arise, calmly address the error and how to fix it. Make sure they understand the problem that occurred. This will help to prevent it from happening again.
Finally, never rush the process. This can lead to your child skipping or forgetting steps. This is a colossal milestone! Be patient and know that the end justifies the means.
Here’s a great video with an idea that will let her practice her wiping through play:
Frequently Asked Questions on Teaching a Girl To Wipe
Is it better for my daughter to wipe with toilet paper or bathroom wipes?
Bathroom wipes are essentially the same as baby wipes. The only differences are that they are flushable and many are not hypoallergenic. However, they do achieve the goal of getting a clean tushy a bit more effectively than toilet paper. For big messes, these can be a good option. However, just like rewards, they are not available everywhere so make sure that your child does get accustomed to toilet paper as well.
If you do choose to use bathroom wipes, consider cutting them in half to cut down on waste. Your little one’s little booty does not need as much material to get back to the status quo and the last thing you need is a clogged toilet!
When is it a bad time to start teaching my child to go potty?
It may be second nature to you, but when you really think about it, going to the bathroom and making sure to wipe correctly actually involves a lot of logistics. This can be overwhelming to your child on a good day. Therefore, if your daughter is going through a lot of other changes in life, sometimes it is best to postpone this essential life lesson.
Distractions can include a new routine, transitioning to her big girl bed, the arrival of a new brother or sister, or starting at a new school. You want to avoid creating a negative connotation with this activity. Waiting until there is nothing to impede her focus can better guarantee that she recalls steps and wipes correctly!
How much toilet paper does my daughter need to use to wipe after going potty?
Another important detail to stress is how much toilet paper is necessary to get clean. Too little and you risk a mess on their hands. Too much and you have the chance of a clog. A fantastic guideline to give them is to measure out enough to stretch from their elbow to their wrist. Reinforce that she should never crumple the toilet paper into a ball. Rather, she will want to fold the sheets up to provide ample coverage and durability.
If this is not enough to get clean, then she can repeat the process again. However, remind her that sometimes it is best to flush and then re-wipe to ensure a clog-free toilet. Finally, if your little one is a bit overzealous, even with this guideline, consider taping a strip of paper to the wall. This can serve as a marker for where she is not allowed to pull the toilet paper past.
My daughter was doing so well and now has started to regress. What do I do?
First of all, don’t overreact! Many times your child will forget steps because they are stressed or in a hurry to get back to whatever fun is happening in the other room. This is one of the main reasons why your presence in the bathroom and the verbal repetition of steps is so important. As mentioned earlier, potty training takes an average of a quarter to a half of a year to master.
Even after this magical moment, it is best to do random checks on their method of wiping.
Moreover, when laundry day rolls around, keep an eye on their skivvies. If you notice some unwanted marks arising, it is time for you to reiterate the reason for checking the toilet paper after each wipe and wiping a second or third time when necessary. Catching mistakes early can help prevent her from developing bad habits.
Additionally, changes in her bathroom routine can lead to the altering of her actions. Make sure to investigate if tummy trouble is the culprit. Both diarrhea and constipation can lead to struggles. Always talk to her doctor first, but consider adding a probiotic to her daily regimen to prevent these issues.
Final Thoughts
Teaching your daughter to wipe from front to back is an extremely important life skill. Not only does it ensure a clean tushy, but it also prevents her from developing unwanted infections. Consistency, observation, repetition, and encouragement are the CORE pillars to helping your child understand and master the steps involved in potty training.
Many people claim that this is something your child can grasp in a weekend. While every parent wants to see an end to the diaper bill, don’t rush potty training. Every kid will conquer this milestone at a different pace and hurrying the task can lead to mistakes and even regressions.
One final note — while your daughter is learning to be a potty professional, remember that wiping correctly is often the last step mastered. Have patience, and focus on the quality of wiping, not the timing.
