How to Use Positive Reinforcement in Potty Training

My daughter will be turning three in a few months, and we are in the finial throws of toilet training. Before becoming a mommy, I was an animal trainer in a wild animal park. I was well read and practiced on behavior theory and operant conditioning techniques, including positive reinforcement. There is a good reason that so many authorities recommend using positive reinforcement to help children learn to use a toilet - it works.

Most people have a general idea of how positive reinforcement works. The child does something that you want to happen again - like using the potty - and you offer a positive reinforcer, like praise, or a small treat, so they will be more likely to repeat the behavior. Where some people make mistakes are in the details. For reinforcement to work, the reinforcer (the praise or treat) needs to happen as close to the desired behavior (the potty going) as possible. For my daughter, I used a single M & M for urinating in the potty, and a small plastic animal figure for having a bowel movement. She was frightened of pooping into the potty, so I needed something she wanted bad enough to try. Now I didn't want her eating candy on the potty, so I used praise at that point. As soon as I could hear her begin, I'd clap, tell her how proud I was, and dance around - just be as silly and encouraging as possible. She got the candy after hand washing, and I made sure to tell her she was getting it because she used the potty.