So after a long couple of busy weeks I wanted a nice slow one and I got it. That is why I am sitting here bored out of my gored. I guess I can't really complain really, this is what I wanted. But sitting on the edge of my sit waiting for my toddler to pee isn't really all that exciting, nor fun. But I got to say I will be extremely happy once he is trained.
One thing that I have figured out about potty training it that it really isn't training it is teaching. Also, you will not be successful unless our child is ready. I don't care what type of bribes, techniques, or tools you use. It is all biological, you can't control your child bladder, you can't make them pee or poop when they don't want to, or where you want them to.
So most important is knowing your child and when they are ready. You have to spend lots of quality time with them. Helping them learn what the potty is, what we do on the toilet, how our bodies work.
You can't show them the potty and think a light bulb will go off and that they will suddenly know what it is for. It is a foreign item and concept to them. Take time to talk about the potty, what it is used for. Get a video or two of other children using the potty. Take him to the bathroom with you. (for most of you moms, this isn't something you will have to work on I am guessing, it is more work to get to the bathroom with out them.) Even then it might take a bit for them to realize just what this new toy is for.
They also need to know how to put pants on and to take them off. They need to be walking and moving on their own. Other wise it is just you carrying them to and from the potty, that isn't them doing the work. That is walking the dog.
I had tried several times with my almost three year old, but it wasn't until he said "I don't need to use the potty, I have a diaper for that" did I truly know he was ready. It showed me that he understands what a diaper is for and what a potty chair is for.Now it was just time to get him to do what he does in his diaper in the potty.
Now it was time for his whole life to change. Think about it, he never had to think about when he was going to go to the bathroom, his body just did it. Think about a time that maybe you had a catheter in place, you didn't think about going you just went. Or for some of you pigs, think about when you were swimming and you just let it fly, not giving it a second thought. So that is really the teaching part, teaching them that they need to listen to their little bodies, stop playing and use the potty.
That is a huge change, and you need patience. Because even if they start to use the potty, it will come in stages. They don't always poop and pee successfully in the potty right away. They may not stay dry through the night. They may do a terrific job a home, but being in a new place might be scary for them. You also need to be very open to trying different ideas, his success this time has come from him being ready and also me being flexible, like putting the potty in the living room, bribing him to sit on it with candy, and letting him carry the "bowl" to the toilet himself, cringing the whole time, hoping to all hopes he doesn't spill it. I am also trying to be very laid back about it, little ones can sense stress, and stress never helps anyone poop. Unless you are one of those freaking stress poopers, and boy what does that say about your potty training?
But remember that most of the people you know finally figured out the whole potty situation. It may take weeks, it may take months. I have started my youngest on the idea. I sit him with his diaper on, on the potty, so it isn't strange to him. I am using potty words with him. Dry, wet, poopy, clean, dirty, etc. It is never too early, to get him used to these words and functions, and with a little hope, he might just train earlier than his brother, since he loves to be a copy cat. Monkey see Monkey do.
But right now, I just need to be excited about all the times my toddler "poops" on the potty, which is really him peeing on the potty. So far so good, on the fourth go around.
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