Potty Training Survivor

 

I’m glad to report I survived.

I started trying to train my daughter at the normal age – a little before she was two.  Just like all parents I was looking forward to getting rid of the diapers.

The signs were there that she was ready:

But she was dead set on not going on that potty chair. I would ask her if she wanted to try and go on her “big girl potty”, and I would receive a definite “No” in return. I would say, “Can you just sit on the potty and see what it feels like?” I received the same “No’.

I would tell her when changing her diaper that she’s getting older and that big girls go in the potty because they’re nice and clean, and diapers were for babies and that they’re icky and dirty. This got her attention, but I still received the same “No” when I asked her to go on the potty. With my continued efforts the “No” got worse and was followed very sad crying. This told me that she wasn’t ready and I was pushing too hard.

For about a month, I barely brought the subject up to her.

 

Then… we went to the library, and I checked out every child’s potty book I could find, and the video from Bear in the big Blue house.  She enjoyed the movie, and watched it several times. She found some favorite books out of all that we had checked out, so I purchased a few of them. She brought these to me over and over to read to her. This was great – she was starting to figure out the process!

I read a lot of articles, researched different ideas, and I heard a lot about the reward system. There was so many different ways to go about it; I wasn’t sure what I should do when I found a link for free potty training materials from Charmin http://www.samples.aohosting.net/campaign/Charmin_PTK . This was very helpful to us. My daughter loved getting it in the mail, and looking at the cute Charmin bears.  It had a small book, a round poster, stickers to apply, and a few other items. She helped me hang it in our bathroom right by her potty, and I explained that every time she would use the potty she gets to stick one of her stickers on to it. Only a few days went by when she finally said “Yes” to try.

When the stickers were all used up I hung a piece of card paper in its place and let her pick out her stickers at the store for it. Her Charmin poster was placed in her scrapbook.

 

After that her learning process started for timing and remembering.

I tried to only put her in pull-ups when we would leave the house, a diaper for sleeping (cheaper than pull-ups), and at home during the day she would be in panties. We had a lot of panties on hand (which I made sure she picked out – that’s important too!!) for accidents, but I knew she would learn faster from wetting in a panty than in a pull-up.

During this phase I tried to say home as much as possible, consistency is important, and a familiar comfortable environment is the key.

 

When she was always staying dry at night – it was time to get rid of the diapers completely.

I purchased the waterproof liner for the bed; put a soft pad on top of it, and then the normal sheet.  In the corner I kept a spare pad, sheet, pajamas, panties, and cleaning materials for a quick clean-up and change in the middle of the night. I only had to use the spares a couple times, but I was always glad they were there.

 

In Conclusion… As a Survivor of potty training I recommend:

Patience – Don’t push it. Your child will know when they’re ready.

Books, books, books… Read, read, read

Reward system – Find something your whole family can agree on, and remember to include your child.

Consistency – Stay home. If you’re training isn’t consistent chances are your results won’t be either.

Written by:

Jennifer Sina

Owner/Creator  of SimplyFamiles

 

 

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