Parenting is sometimes an extremely frustrating experience for parents who are doing it for the first time. Especially, when training children for the potty, things might go out of control with messy floors, beds, kitchens, and bathrooms.
Growing a kid requires patience, skills, perseverance, and mindfulness. Kids often potty on the mattress, ending up with urine and poop stains on the bedding. They tend to put everything in their mouths, and they have very little understanding of what they are doing. Parents should be agile and alerted to let their kids and beds get away with the pee and potty stains when they are training for the potty without diapers.
Usually, kids train for a pee but are unable to control their poop movements, which often result in the potty on the bed mattress and all around the house. When your kid is awake, it is easier to get away with potty accidents.
Things to Do: Before Potty Training
The following precautions can help parents in potty training when children are awake during the daycare potty training.
• Use a potty training chair or potty training stool.
• Have your child sit on the toilet when you’re changing his/her diaper.
• Try to make potty time fun by playing with them and making games on the floor or the bed.
• Make sure your child is not distracted by toys, TV, or video games.
• Help him/her understand that when he/she feels the urge to go, he/she should use the potty.
• Be consistent. It is important to remember that some children will learn faster than others, so be patient and persistent.
Things to Do: During Potty Training
Potty training is a challenging job.
Inexperienced parents find it very difficult to get their kids to pee in the right place. If you are a parent struggling to get things straight during potty training, you should take the following steps:
• Encourage them to pee in the right place as soon as possible i.e., the potty training seat they love to use or the toilet.
• Start putting them in the potty when they are babies or toddlers.
• Never force your child to pee in the potty. If they are not comfortable yet, try it after a few days or weeks.
• Don’t put your child in the potty before you teach them about going to the bathroom.
• Try to get your child to potty at least two to three times a day.
• Make sure that the potty is clean and free from any odor.
• Always praise them when they use the potty.
How to Protect Bed Mattress from Potty Accidents?
When diapers are off during potty training, bed mattresses are likely to get messy with poop and urination stains during the night. Removing diapers from the toddler’s routine is an important step toward training them to go to the potty seat. If your kiddo is yet to control his/her bowel movements at night, keep the protective gear to save your baby’s mattress from unwanted accidental potty stains. A few precautionary measures would suffice in protecting your kid’s bedroom from the potty mess.
Change Sheets Every Other Day
To avoid stains on the bed sheets, make sure to change the linens every other day as they can become soiled and sticky due to constant exposure to baby urine and feces. When sheets get stained, wash them in warm water with mild detergent and dry them on low heat or hang them to dry on the laundry room line. You can also use your dryer but make sure to set it on low heat and only use clean sheets. Avoid using bleach or any harsh chemicals in your washing machine as these can damage the delicate fibers of the bedsheet fabric.
Use a Mattress Protector
If you want to keep the mattress clean from potty accidents, purchase a waterproof mattress protector. The mattress protector helps prevent staining on the mattress by absorbing any liquid from the mattress and the covers prevent moisture from penetrating the material of the mattress and staining the fabric. Mattress protectors are the top choice to protect mattresses and kids from bad odors and stains during potty accidents.
It is recommended to get a mattress protector that is machine washable. This will save you money as you will not need to buy detergent to clean the mattress protector. The size of the mattress protector is determined by the size of the kid’s bed mattress.
Use an Anti-Stain Mattress Pad
Another way to keep your mattress clean during potty accidents is by purchasing a mattress pad. Most mattress pads are made out of waterproof materials, and they help prevent stains from seeping into the mattress and causing damage.
They are also very useful for keeping the area underneath your mattress clean. The mattress pad is simply slipped under the kid’s sleeping area of the mattress to catch any fluids that come in contact with it. It is recommended to buy a mattress pad with zippers, which is easier to remove and is washable without requiring special detergents or chemicals.
Conclusion
To protect your toddler’s mattress and their hygiene from potty accidents, try using mattress pads or covers that snuggly fit the sleeping space of your baby and are reliable enough to absorb feces or urine stains when such accidents happen. A good-fitting cover will keep any accidents from getting on the bedding. Also, make sure that your toddler is not placed on his/her back when napping. Make sure to let them potty before going to bed. This will reduce the chances of accidents when they are asleep. Children are also highly sensitive to temperature changes; therefore, it is important to cover them up at night. This will also reduce nocturnal potty accidents. Finally, make extra measures for mattress protection, such as waterproof covers, anti-strain mattress pads, and mattress protectors.