Potty training advice. I need some. Tell me your stories. If you need some guidance:
1) How old?
2) How long?
3) Method/Philosophy?
4) Pull-ups or panties?
5) Little potty or big?
6) Stickers or M & M's?
7) General pep talk? Please?
The Five (#10 Slowly Getting Later Edition)
8 months ago
13 comments:
Hilarious! You already know my experiences from email, but I can't wait to read what others have to say, since clearly my method is less than successful!
Hope things go better for you than they have been for us. It's just so stinkin' hard! But everyone assures me she'll be potty trained by the time she goes to school.
Okay, so that was less than motivational.....sorry. I need some motivation, myself!
Two words: Hip flask.
For the child? I have no idea.
Um...Snickers or M&Ms?...I have no idea what you're talking about.
And here I was pretty confident I knew what I was doing all these years...
Since we're going through this right now, I will share with you our experience. I've already blogged about it, so if you've read that I'm probably repeating myself.
1) 2-2 1/2
2) Off and on for a while. Once he realized he was in control of peeing (when it clicked for him), he was trained in a few days. (Now realize that he will only potty at home right now.)
3) Asking often if he has to go. Getting him to sit on the potty often to start with. In the beginning I would sit him down during the day whenever he was willing. We'd read books and things. He'd sit there for an hour, sometimes with no success. Once he got it, I just reminded him to keep dry and he tried at least once or twice an hour. Now he goes when he needs to, or I remind him if it's been a while.
4) Undies (at first with plastic pants over them), then once he was keeping those dry I got Pull-ups only for naps and outtings. He likes them better than diapers, so it works for us. I didn't want to buy any at all, but he isn't staying dry yet for outtings and naptime.
5) Little potty, it's what works for now. Once I get him standing up to go, I'll put a stool in front of the big potty and he can go there.
6) Both. We created a "potty box" filled with treats that he likes. Stickers, Reese's cups (one of his favs), M&Ms, Matchbox cars, and a few other things he likes. He got to chose each time what he wanted. That was the biggest motivator once he started going.
7) Good luck. We're still plugging away. People say don't do it until they're ready, and now I believe that. We made sure he knew what the potty was all about and had him sitting on it over a year ago. But when he figured it out, it was all of the sudden like something clicked for him. So get her started, but don't push too hard.
My girls were both around 2 1/2-3 years. Honestly, they were both pretty easy! I don't have any boys, but I have to believe that when they say girls are easier than boys, its true!
Panties, definatly. Those pull-ups are just as absorbant as diapers in my opinion and aren't worth the $$.
Big potty with a little seat. Who wants to clean those potty chairs out?
I say the biggest thing is to be sure they are ready. Don't push it...some kids are ready at 2, some 3. If they are REALLY ready it should come easliy.
Hope that helps! Good luck :)
We have yet to truly commit but (1)Michael is 2 and a half (2)In process (3)My "method" right now is just following his lead and taking advantage of it when he shows interest. I always put him on the potty before a bath. (4)I have both underwear and pullups- haven't used either yet due to previously mentioned lack of commitment. (5)The little potty is more practical for us (we don't have a downstairs bathroom) but Michael will sit/go on the big potty. (6)Just praise right now but I will be introducing M&M's I think (7)I am terrified of potty training but in the words of our new president: YES WE CAN!!! *Note- I plan to be more invested in this in the coming months.*
1) How old? 2.5
2) How long? She went from no interest at all to fully trained in just 2-3 days (the week we moved to Kansas before I started working... believe me it was the last thing on my mind...)
3) Method/Philosophy? Make sitting on the potty fun and exciting not associated with stress or tension, I just encouraged Megan to sit for a bit, one time we got lucky and just saw everything "click" for her...
4) Pull-ups or panties? Neither! Naked for the first days and then to panties. Pull-ups are just diapers that are more convenient for mom and dad..
5) Little potty or big? Big with seat- I had no interest in cleaning a little potty
6) Stickers or M & M's? neither- just verbal praise
7) General pep talk? Please? Don't stress- she'll do it when she is ready!
I wrote a comment yesterday and now I see it isn't here. Ugh.
But I wrote almost the same thing as Mandy. It was so so easy once Andrew was really ready. I always offered but I had to really be careful not to get frustrated and make it a big deal that he was still in diapers.
He was 3 years 4 months when he finally went in the potty. One-two weeks later he was completely potty trained...in public, #1 & #2, at night. I think we had one accident in his pants.
One thing I'd like to add...really don't force it. Potty trained kids aren't that great at first. You suddenly have to be aware of where every bathroom is...both while you are driving and in stores. If they are really ready it is so much easier.
Good luck!
1) 3 years and 8 months old
2) 2 years of training-- check the blog!
3) Power struggle for 2 years, choices for 2 days.
4)both, but diapers were just as good as pull-ups for us. He'd pee in it if he had it on-- so the pull-up part didn't matter, even the ones that make him feel wet.
5) both, but big potty worked better for us. Standing up was very helpful (not an option for you).
6) Tried both, but eventually did a candy jar and he liked that. Didn't understand future reward with stickers.
7) She'll do it when SHE is ready and there is nothing you can do to make it happen sooner (sorry), especially if she is strong-willed. Potty training is not a reflection of how good of a parent you are. She will learn. I promise!!
For us, it eventually came down to asking him if he wanted to wear pants or a diaper-- and then letting him have his choice without making a big stink. My boy won't do anything I tell him he HAS to do. Once it was his idea... we never looked back. He was trained in 2 days.
*** He still wears a diaper at night because he can't make it. We consider day training potty trained.
Hi Emily. First, I try hard to keep my mouth shut about potty training because it’s like breast-feeding; everyone has an opinion and it's an EMTREMELY emotional issue. But, since you asked...here's what worked with all of our girls. Kim was 2 yrs & 9 months, Leah was right at 2 and Carrie was barely 2, maybe even 1 yr and 11 months. You can see that I did each child earlier once I figured it out!!!
With each child, I cleared the calendar of outings as much as possible for several days, bought lots of juice and took their pants off!! Naked worked best. My girls would dance a jig and squirm, but would eventually run to a potty when they couldn’t hold out any longer. I basically let them drink tons of juice so we got lots of practice. I think they went potty about 8 times in an hour once we started!! I bought a few of those waterproof pads to put over important pieces of furniture (and my lap!), so that they could just sit there and play a game, read, etc. naked without me being a nervous wreck. I think you also need more than one little potty – you want one in the middle of any room she’s playing in so that she can just hop on it when needed (think center of the kitchen floor, center of the family room, etc!). I gave M&M’s as rewards.
I pretty much never used Pull-Ups during the day except for maybe once or twice when we needed to survive something important, like a parent-teacher conference for an older child or something.
Once we went cold-turkey and dealt with it, all of my girls figured it out pretty quickly (3 or 4 days?). We slowly started putting clothes back on them – undies first, then pants! I hate to give too much information, but the hardest part for my girls was getting over their fear of pooping on the potty. This took several days to happen (literally, they can hold it for several days). I could tell that Kimmy had to go but she was trying to avoid letting this poop out to save her life. With each child they actually pooped once on the floor (remember, I kept them naked so they couldn’t go in a diaper!) when we were potty training. One of the girls pooped while walking up the stairs (lovely). Another did it on my kitchen floor!!! But, once we ooohhed and aaahhed over their glorious creation, ceremoniously scooped it up and put it in the big potty where it belonged, flushed, washed and ate quite a few M&M’s, they got over their fear of pooping!!!! We also let them call grandma and report their potty accomplishments by phone.
I would save the big potty ring until potty-training is way under control. You want her to be able to sit down independently without having to hold her for balance. Even with a potty-ring (which I recommend eventually), you have to help them up and down!
Good luck. I think Katy will do well with it. I would also encourage you that, generally, I found that 2nd and 3rd children were easier. I knew what to expect, they had peer-pressure from siblings (older sibling got an M&M too when the younger one used the potty!), and the younger kids always want to act like their older siblings. Of course, I don’t do BOYS so I don’t know how that works!!!!
Feel free to call if you need to a pep-talk along the way or if Katy wants to tell her cousins all about her potty creations!!!!
Em, I know I am old school, but I only have two comments.
One, never underestimate the power of mommy's approval. There is something inside us that longs for praise from our parents. Potty training is one time you should exploit this!
Two, food rewards are bad! Childhood obesity is one of the top issues in the entire country. Please don't associate this with food. We already have ENOUGH things associated with food.
She will be a snap when she figures out how comfy the big-girl panties are. (Don't mention the bra that comes later.) :-)
Oma
Don't boast about how quickly she adapted because I tell you now - she'll reward you with a big smelly one!
Good luck :-)
EM!
Will was potty trained for pee at about 3. Potty trained for poop just last week - Holla!
Method - mostly giving the guy some time. I tried to be very nonchalant about the poop situation so that it didn't turn into a power struggle. He responded well to m&m's with pee and getting a new little toy for poop. Also, check to make sure she's not constipated, so it doesn't hurt when it comes out.
Oh, a big help for pee was letting him run around naked outside so that he could see what was going on.
I went with underwear, but kept the pull ups at night. Will loved the big potty. Never used the little one.
Pep talk: if you start to get really frustrated, it might be turning into a power struggle. It's okay to give both of you a break. Nobody goes to kindergarten in diapers!
Love, Jen
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