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Expert Q&A
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| By Susan Bartell Licensed Psychologist | ||
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My husband doesn't seem to have any patience when it comes to potty training our son. How can I get him on board and get him to understand it's a long process that needs lots of positive energy?
Perhaps your husband needs a reward system along with your son!! But seriously, the more committed and positive both parents are to helping their child potty train the more quickly and effectively the child will train (as long as he's ready). If your husband doesn't have patience, is disinterested or doesn't have follow through, he will communicate this to your son who will then resist or avoid potty training because he isn't finding it to be a pleasant process. Or he will begin to agree with his dad that it's not terribly important. In effect, your husband needs to understand that his negative or impatient behavior could actually be hampering your son's training, dragging out the process even longer and possibly causing your son to associate potty training with feeling that his dad disapproves of him if he's not perfect.
I'm sure your husband doesn't intend for any of this to be happening, so he needs to recognize that this will be the first of many times that will require patient parenting. Teaching his son how to swing at a baseball, study for a test and drive a car are some of the many for which patience during potty training will be good practice. By then he'll think that potty training was a piece of cake!!
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