Thursday, April 2, 2009

it's time for...

Potty Training!! So please tell me, how did you Moms even start to potty train? Please give me tips and suggestions! She turned 2 in Feb, but I'm really just not even sure where to start! Thank you!

3 comments:

Growininwillows said...

Right there with you on needing help. I hope to train as soon as we are settled in our new house...and before baby comes...

P.M. said...

Suggested reads:
-"Toilet training in less than a day" by Nathan H Azrin (I relaxed their training I kept all the same components but only practice 3 times instead of 15 for example)
-"Potty Training 1-2-3" by Gary Ezzo

One of the biggest areas to watch is your childs readiness, not just in the ability to go in the potty, but following directions, will, and volitional readiness.
"Your child's ability and volitional choice to comply is the wild card variable in training. A perverse will can spoil the process. While your child might be physically capable and smart enough to understand what's expected, she must also be a willing paricipant in her training. Potty training for bladder control is all about integrating the child's ability to recognize bladder sensations with her will to control those sensations. Once she's able to recieve the bladder message and control the appropriate muscles, she must choose to exercise her newly acquired skills and elect to go in the potty instead of her pants." EZZO

My first was an easy train at 2 years 1 month, it took about 1 week. My second had the volitional choice issue. I proceeded with training because he was able and showed interest. Though he fully had the ability he refused to be interupted/ distracted from his play with big brother (another factor to consider... distractions). It has been months.

While you evaluate all the signs of readiness. There are some things you can be working on, I call them pre-potty training. They should know wet and dry (not in relation to their pants but with towels, wash clothes, laundry, dishes...). Getting dressed by themselves (or with little assistance), and train them to pull up their own (outer) pants, same technique used for underpants.

Those would be my suggestions
PMiller

Darla said...

My little guy was over 3 when I truly trained him. We had been working on it, but I set aside one day with him. My younger daughter went to Gramma's. I did the toilet training in a day and he got it. He (at 4 3/4), still occasionally wets the bed, mostly on a Wed nite after he falls asleep in Bible study and can't wake up when we get home to go potty before bed.

Our daughter started showing interest the summer she turned 2. But, when I tried the same training, telling her "we go potty in the toilet, when you have to go potty, you tell Mommy, etc", she stood there and wet her pants while looking at me! So! She wasn't ready. I tried again at about 28 months (someone told me once that 26 months is an ideal time...don't know why...). I had loaned my book out to someone, so I didn't have the references, and I ended up kind of winging it. But she did well. She liked her pretty undies and liked the skittle she got as a reward. She has only wet the bed once since then, but she had some accidents while playing. The most annoying were the ones in the winter when she refused to potty before being bundled up then peed in her snowpants and boots!

I have heard the potty training in 3 days is a good method...a friend trained her 2 year old twins in 3 days! Some kind of reward, not necessarily a candy treat, but maybe stickers or something, for every time they pee or poo in the toilet. And I think it's important not to try training when their is a major change in the immediate future, ie. moving in a week or 2, baby in a month.
Just some thoughts...good luck. It's so nice having the kids out of diapers!