4. Lots of Praises

Besides reward, there must be lots of praises.  For the first few times, when my boy goes to the potty on his own, I would praise him and make such a big deal of it as if he is some superstar.  He is happy to do it again just to hear all the fanfare.

5. Put the Potty Nearby

As I said earlier, I let my boys go butt naked during the early days of toilet training.  I also put the potty right next to them so that they could have quick and easy access to the potty.  So the potty ended up in the living room, within their play area.  Not very sightly but very necessary.  When a child is first toilet- trained, you cannot expect him to hold.  It is usually a case of 'I need to go and I need to go NOW!' so having a potty nearby is very important.

Once going to the potty becomes the norm and my boy becomes quite competent at going to the potty on his own, I will gradually move the potty further and further away.  First, I move it to the kitchen.  Then, I move it closer to the toilet.  Eventually, the potty will end up in the toilet.

6. Using Punishment

Don't use it.  It does not help at all,  The child is trying to learn a skill and it is not fair to penalise the child for something he still cannot do.  All it does is to instill fear and make the child even more averse to going to the potty.

That said, if the child is already toilet-trained, and fully capable of going to the toilet on his own, has been doing so for quite a while, and yet still wet himself deliberately, well, a little punishment will nip that in the bud.  Before you do that, do check for extra-ordinary circumstances in the life of the child.  Has he just started school?  Was there some major event that happened?  Sometimes, these things will trigger a regression.  Punishment is not called for under such circumstances.  

7. License to Pee/Poo

This is another reason why at some point in time, you must bite the bullet and remove the diaper for good, even when you are outside.  Yes, there will be accidents.  You may need to bring extra clothing.  But for some kids, having a diaper on is equivalent to License to Pee/Poo anywhere and it is the very last hurdle to being toilet-trained (other than night diapering).  

I started with nearby places.  When I bring the child who was being toilet-trained out around the neighbourhood, I will not let him wear diaper or pull-up pants.  If he wet himself, we can easily go home.  Then, I progress to going to familiar places with easy access to toilets and changing facilities, like the grandparents' place.  

When you are outside somewhere far, I recommend the pull-up pants instead of the diaper.  This is because it is much easier to bring the child to the toilet with pull-up pants.  When we are outside, we try to bring them to the toilet every now and then without waiting for them to ask.

8. Let Them see Your Example

If your child is a girl, let her go to the toilet with you and see you pee.  If your child is a boy, let his father set the example.  Kids love to imitate their parents.  This also imparts a healthy perception of the elimination process.  The child learns that it is not shameful nor filthy but a natural, healthy body function.