Well, it happened. 10 days ago we packed our gear and Amelia’s gear for Dutch Springs, and I realized she did not need a swimmer.
I repeat: SHE DID NOT NEED A SWIMMER!!
It was then that I realized Amelia is potty trained. Well, mostly. She still sneaks on pullups when she needs to poop, or saves it up for her nighttime pullup, BUT she often does it just right. And if there is a poop, we go through the motions. No more poop duty for this one for me. I’m pretty proud of her, but I’m also proud of us, Mom and Dad, who survived this period. I’m feeling pretty confident that after school starts in a few weeks, this skill will be mastered.
Here are my tips, and keep in mind, I sucked at this, but I still trained my child!
- Patience: OK, kids with learning disabilities may have more difficulty. Consult your pediatrician and special needs experts about what to expect. Don’t freak out if your kid is not meeting what all your friends with typical kids are doing. And please, chuck the books if they’re not helping. (Training in a day, my butt!)
- Don’t sweat it so much. Look, nobody likes dealing with poop but don’t let selfishness over-motivate you. If you need to get used to it, get a dog or cat and get used to dealing with poop. (That was a joke.) (Mostly.)
- Accidents happen, and that’s ok. (Yea, quoting Elmo, sue me.) Unpleasant and painful, but O.K. Buy cheap undies if you must.
- Rewards work – to a point. I mean, there’s only so many times we could give the kid ice cream, KWIM? On the other hand, more ice cream might have made more poop. HMMM….
- Move forward. Yes, we put the potty in the garage – which Amelia was using entirely too much, in private, in her play room, door shut. Girlfriend, the bathroom has a door AND a lock!
- Find your own way. I made probably every mistake you could possibly make and somehow the kid is mostly trained, and, to my surprise, Zoe is starting to pee in the toilet too – especially at school. All we did with her was play Elmo’s Potty Time over and over AND over, to the point where I’m quoting lyrics in my post…
In the final analysis, it happens when it happens. This is a control issue, but the more your child matures, and the more you guide them on a right road (trying as best I can), it’ll happen.
Probably…
Ken Levinson says
It’s a great day when your child finally gets the potty training down, isn’t it?
I have three boys and my wife and I had to alter our approach for each child. Patience, as you said, was so important. I can happily say that everyone is using the bathroom correctly now.
I love your writing style and will be checking back regularly!
Ken Levinson says
It’s a great day when your child finally gets the potty training down, isn’t it?
I have three boys and my wife and I had to alter our approach for each child. Patience, as you said, was so important. I can happily say that everyone is using the bathroom correctly now.
I love your writing style and will be checking back regularly!
Very Involved Parents says
Thanks for sharing your great tips with us.
We consider ourselves very lucky parents because our son took a very short time to become fully trained. He made it before reaching 2.5 years old.
Alvin and Wendy from VeryInvolvedParents.com
P.S. You may also want read this article:
4 Potty Training Tips For Yound Children
admin says
Alvin & Wendy, you are lucky to have trained that early! Every kid is different and we always have to take into account their abilities before we press on.
Very Involved Parents says
Thanks for sharing your great tips with us.
We consider ourselves very lucky parents because our son took a very short time to become fully trained. He made it before reaching 2.5 years old.
Alvin and Wendy from VeryInvolvedParents.com
P.S. You may also want read this article:
4 Potty Training Tips For Yound Children
admin says
Alvin & Wendy, you are lucky to have trained that early! Every kid is different and we always have to take into account their abilities before we press on.
Happy parent says
Congrats! I wish I can do it soon with my boy. It’s reaaly hard work:)
admin says
Ah well, we’ve had some poop setbacks, then again, school still hasn’t started for Amelia. We’ll see what happens in another week or two!
Happy parent says
Congrats! I wish I can do it soon with my boy. It’s reaaly hard work:)
admin says
Ah well, we’ve had some poop setbacks, then again, school still hasn’t started for Amelia. We’ll see what happens in another week or two!
Nicola says
I am the proud mommy of a 7 year old little boy, Austin and a 16 month old baby girl, Lily. With my son I waited until he was 3 to start potty training. Now, from what I hear girls should be earlier than boys? Can anyone suggest a good time to start with my little girl?
admin says
Hi Nicola, I have no idea! Does she show any readiness? Have you tried having her watch potty shows? My little one REALLY loves Elmo’s potty time…and it helped, in that I could see she really got something out of it! If she watches that, and then goes to the bathroom or potty, you might be on the right track. Does she communicate to you when her diaper is dirty? That’s a big hint too. Good luck!
Nicola says
I am the proud mommy of a 7 year old little boy, Austin and a 16 month old baby girl, Lily. With my son I waited until he was 3 to start potty training. Now, from what I hear girls should be earlier than boys? Can anyone suggest a good time to start with my little girl?
admin says
Hi Nicola, I have no idea! Does she show any readiness? Have you tried having her watch potty shows? My little one REALLY loves Elmo’s potty time…and it helped, in that I could see she really got something out of it! If she watches that, and then goes to the bathroom or potty, you might be on the right track. Does she communicate to you when her diaper is dirty? That’s a big hint too. Good luck!
Diana says
My 3.5 year old has basically been trained for a while, she’s aware, knows what’s going on and knows what to do. While at daycare she will regularly go to the bathroom for 1 and 2, sometimes without prompting. But no sooner do we get home when I get a tug and whispered “dirty diaper”, she usually looks ashamed and hides her face while I change the diaper. And during the weekends, I have to be asking all the time. She gets annoyed because I am asking, but I don’t know what else to do. Bribery stopped working a long time ago, she seems to have the attitude of “I’ve got better things to do”. I try not to worry about these “accidents”, but I’m starting to wonder if something else is going on here. Our 1st child was trained before she was 3 and it was a relatively painless process. I figured this one would be similar, waiting for her to be ready, but at this point I’m confused.
admin says
Diana, all I can say is if you are worried something else is going on, ask someone you trust, hopefully someone like a pediatrician or services professional? Or maybe a highly recommended person in pediatric development or therapy. Tread carefully, there are lots of people who will say, “Well, maybe it’s XXX and we should medicate.” I’m highly suspect of giving children medication at a young age, who knows how it will affect their developing brain? But trust your instincts and get some advice from an expert…I’M not one at all, but I tend to trust my gut. I knew something was up with Zoe when nothing traditional worked on getting her to sleep by age 2. Good luck! If you use any good advice and it works, I’d love you to come back and share here Diana! Take care, g
Diana says
My 3.5 year old has basically been trained for a while, she’s aware, knows what’s going on and knows what to do. While at daycare she will regularly go to the bathroom for 1 and 2, sometimes without prompting. But no sooner do we get home when I get a tug and whispered “dirty diaper”, she usually looks ashamed and hides her face while I change the diaper. And during the weekends, I have to be asking all the time. She gets annoyed because I am asking, but I don’t know what else to do. Bribery stopped working a long time ago, she seems to have the attitude of “I’ve got better things to do”. I try not to worry about these “accidents”, but I’m starting to wonder if something else is going on here. Our 1st child was trained before she was 3 and it was a relatively painless process. I figured this one would be similar, waiting for her to be ready, but at this point I’m confused.
admin says
Diana, all I can say is if you are worried something else is going on, ask someone you trust, hopefully someone like a pediatrician or services professional? Or maybe a highly recommended person in pediatric development or therapy. Tread carefully, there are lots of people who will say, “Well, maybe it’s XXX and we should medicate.” I’m highly suspect of giving children medication at a young age, who knows how it will affect their developing brain? But trust your instincts and get some advice from an expert…I’M not one at all, but I tend to trust my gut. I knew something was up with Zoe when nothing traditional worked on getting her to sleep by age 2. Good luck! If you use any good advice and it works, I’d love you to come back and share here Diana! Take care, g