Sweeping: 8 tips to remove the diaper effectively and without trauma
Since the birth of your little one you have had to adopt a series of changes in your lifestyle, including moments dedicated to personal care and hygiene. Attention is never enough, but if you follow some fundamental lessons you will manage not to go crazy! In the video below you will find the 8 most important rules in terms of hygiene that allow you to take care of your baby in a simple and serene way.
What is the spannolinare and when we talk about it
During the growth of each child there is a particular moment in which you must say goodbye to the diaper and welcome the panty (possibly with your favorite cartoon characters). It is a necessary step that will require a lot of attention, especially at the beginning, from part of the reference figure. If this person is you, know that in this phase you will devote a lot of care to the hygiene of your baby and to the cleaning of the house.
As a rule, the spannolinare is defined as the moment that tends to arrive between the 2nd and 3rd year of life of the child and which provides for the elimination of the diaper in favor of pants or classic fabric panties. The time frame is flexible, because every child is on his own, but there is a tendency to start the process within 36 months also to insert him in the nursery school, which accepts small children only if they are without diapers.
On the web there are various methods to be able to get the baby out of the diaper with little difficulty: someone opts for a quick sweeping (3 days), others follow precise methods such as the Montessori one. We believe that there is no single line that is valid for all children and for all mothers, which is why we preferred to collect 8 useful tips on spannolinare.
Before listing them all, make sure your baby is actually ready to start removing the diaper.
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The signs to understand if he is ready
There is some evidence that can be found in every child and that allows you to understand if he is ready to start the phase of spannulation. If your little one is around 24 months old, you can start taking these signs into account, and then decide whether to start getting used to the toilet or the potty:
- your child watches with interest what parents or older siblings do when they go to the bathroom. If you go to the nursery, the educators themselves can tell you about this curiosity towards your classmates;
- when you wake up in the morning or between changes, the diaper is dry;
- the child himself asks to be able to use the toilet, or if present in the house, the potty.
Keep in mind that even in the case of positive signs from your baby, the elimination of the diaper can have ups and downs and that therefore you may think that you have successfully started the procedure in the first days, only to have a relapse a few weeks later. It is completely normal, do not be discouraged!
Even older children, who now attend nursery schools, run into some sporadic accidents along the way. This happens because the control of the sphincters is something that is also accompanied by the emotional state: strong emotions, stress or a lot of relaxation can induce the child to "let go", even though he now knows where to do his needs.
Have you noticed one or two of the attitudes listed above? Then you can think about proceeding; continue reading the article to discover the stress-saving tips!
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1. Choose the right time to start
The most important tip we feel like giving you is to start with the right timing. What does it mean? Indulge the rhythms and needs / abilities of the child, but also have your availability to be able to follow him.
It may not be easy to find a time to reconcile these needs, but there are some factors that can help you decide: the high temperatures and the will of the little one.
In fact, if the child voluntarily expresses that he wants to use the toilet reducer or the potty it is worth trying, alternatively you can wait for the mild temperatures of late spring / summer to start saying goodbye to the diaper friend. holidays to have the free time necessary to accompany your child in this evolutionary stage.
How can the warm season give you a hand? Mainly because the child, peeing on himself, will not get cold, but it will also help the fact that he will have less clothes on, which means less complication in changing him (and believe us when we tell you that there will be so many changes to have on hand in this period!). In addition to these two reasons, there is the cleaning factor: with the arrival of summer, the various finds around the house can be removed and dried more quickly.
2. Don't lose patience
Having taken these first precautions, we recommend other good practices to be implemented, certainly useful and which you may not have thought of yet.
We have mentioned the delicacy of this step several times, because the diaper for your baby represents a sort of comfort zone, in which he feels safe and protected. Leaving her is a big step, which leads him to become even more independent than before.
As the main figure of reference, the mother must be as calm and serene as possible in these phases and convey these reassuring feelings to the little one. Children are sponges and absorb all our emotions: it will happen to all of us to feel frustrated in front of a pee too much, even after repeating the passage a lot of times. Try to stay calm and above all do not blame your child for the mistake he made.
It is more useful to value his successes than to point out the defeats: clap your hands and literally give him a little party every time he will use the potty or the reducer correctly (at least during the first phases). This will strengthen your bond and the little one will be encouraged to poop and pee in the agreed places.
3. Involve him in purchases
Just like preparing a healthy and tasty dish together, buying items dedicated to spannolatura can also be useful.
The involvement of children in the purchase of the potty or the reducer can arouse their interest and therefore entice them to use them correctly.
There are many variants on the market, both of potties and reducers: online, on Amazon, you can browse a rich catalog. For example, there are potties that simulate the toilets of adults, with attached music that are activated when the child "hits" the target.
The reducers, on the other hand, resize the toilet seat, making it suitable for children. If you opt for this solution, it can also be strategic to purchase a step that facilitates autonomy.
Let him choose the shape and color, if possible; after all it will be a friend that he will use for quite some time!
What do you still need to start the spreading? Obviously a lot of panties, but also pants and panty diapers. In fact, there are special transitional nappies that help the child to learn more easily when it is time to go to the bathroom. These panty-shaped nappies come in different sizes and are equipped with a special strip that detects the presence of urine, making the baby feel wet, while maintaining absorbency.
A nice help in those situations when you are away from home or traveling and your child still has to learn to hold back the urge to pee and poop. Also in this case you can choose with him which drawings on diapers he likes best!
4. Adopt a precise routine
If you are a mother, you already know that children feel calmer when they have a specific routine; enforce this rule even during the first approaches to spannolination.
Repetitiveness helps them to be confident in their behaviors: some experts recommend taking the child to the bathroom every 30/60 minutes to get him used to the new condition, but if this approach is not for him, choose a softer way, that is, use schedules. set for the bathroom time.
Cut out this moment in your daily routine, which was previously dedicated to changing the diaper; for example, accompany him to the toilet or potty in the morning as soon as he wakes up, mid-morning and after meals, and of course before going to sleep.
5. Don't go back
Like the point above, leaving the comfort zone can be less traumatic if the child has clear rules to follow. Translated: if you have decided to take this path, do not change your mind and do not go back to the diaper.
The password is zero confusion; when the decision is made, it must be followed: the risk is to send the baby even more haywire, when he is already facing a big change. This is why panty diapers are a valid help: similar to underpants, they still make the baby feel wet, but without letting him feel that you are "dabbing" unwanted spills with a full-fledged diaper.
Actually, the hardest thing on this point is getting everyone in the family to respect your decision. If the child attends the nursery, update the teachers of your choice, so that they adapt accordingly; if your child is followed by his grandparents, ask them to have a potty and panties.
6. Prepare the area in the bathroom dedicated to him
To ensure that the child faces the first moments of nursing serenely, you can gratify him with small surprises and make him feel at ease in the bathroom.
It facilitates its autonomy: if you prefer the reducer, use a stool or a step to help him get on the toilet; he can rest his feet and keep his legs bent when he pushes for poop, making him feel like a real "big"!
If you use the potty and do not need to keep your balance, or in any case have a firm foot support, you can arrange the dedicated corner with toilet paper, potty and illustrated books: there are specific publications on the subject, which narrate precisely the stories of some characters struggling with the abandonment of diapers. Finally, complete the private corner with a few games that he likes and that will help pass the time he will spend in the bathroom.
7. Introduce the potty as early as 18 months
This is a clever tip that we feel we can advise you before the actual moment of the spannolatura. Why place the potty in the bathroom at one and a half years of age?
For a matter of confidence: at 18 months in fact it is rare that a child has the physical and emotional capacity to control the sphincters, but nothing prevents him from starting to experiment with the typical tools of spannolination, such as the potty.
You can also insert yourself in the moment of the game, going to illustrate its use through a puppet or your favorite doll. You can invent a story or replicate that of a book; undress your friend by lowering the underwear and make him pee in the right place.
Later, around 2 or 3 years of age, you can tell the little one that he will have to start sitting on the potty and do his business there, as he has seen his stuffed animal do.
8. It's okay if you only take the diaper off during the day
Deciding to start the procedure to eliminate the diaper during the day is not the same as carrying it out at night.
In fact, the nocturnal and diurnal sweeping are two very different phases: during the daytime the child is awake and can exercise his will to hold the pee or not, while at night this control could get out of hand and he needs to mature with the growth.
Therefore, do not worry about separating the two phases; the diaper at night can accompany your baby for a while longer, perhaps until he will tell you that he will no longer want it for sleep.
