First of all, sorry for the two-day lapse. I have been too busy to post until now. Anyway...back to the story.
I worked from home the Monday after starting "Potty Training Boot Camp" so that Willow had one more day to get it down pat before going back to daycare. She had ZERO accidents on Monday. Now, it's been a 10 days (and counting) since Willow has had any accidents, so I think she is doing just fine with using the potty. To say that the results we have had aren't "typical" is an understatement. Even the Center Director at her Daycare commented that she couldn't believe it. I still have trouble believing it and I am waiting for the relapse. But then Willow's personality is such that once she starts something, she doesn't go back. Especially when it's something she has learned. She LOVES to show us again and again that she is a "big girl" and can do it. "My did it Mommy!!" are some of the best words EVER.
So many parents suffer (right along with their kids) much frustration and setbacks when they decide to potty train. I have found that the following things helped tremendously with making the transition out of diapers smooth:
- Wait until your child is ready. There are plenty of resources out there for helping you to determine whether or not your child is ready to potty train, least of which is the fact that you know your child better than a book.
- Find a training method you like and STICK WITH IT. Consistency is the key to success, and believe me I had times when I wondered what the heck I had gotten myself into.
- Don't give up.
- Don't give up.
- Don't give up.
Like any skill, potty training is something that needs to be learned. Your child will have to not only learn to recognize what it feels like when they have to use the potty, but they will have to get in the "habit" of going to the bathroom. Not to mention, they actually have to get undressed (to a certain extent) now. These are all big changes and they take time to set in, especially if you start the process before your child is ready, and will require a lot of repetition.
Quite honestly, I think the most useful book was Stress-Free Potty Training: A Commonsense Guide to Finding the Right Approach for Your Child
because it gave me some good insight into my child's personality and what I could expect with respect to her learning to use the potty. When we finally made the decision to go for it, we didn't turn back. Once she was in real underwear, that was IT. We didn't want to create confusion for her by going back to diapers.Although it seems like Willow learned to use the potty in two days, in reality it was a process that took many months of "seeding" to put in place. We bought her her own potty to play with at least 6 months (or more) ago. She had practiced sitting on it lots of times, wanting to imitate what we were doing. We were never shy of showing her what happened with the potty. One of the biggest things I think created success for us was planting the seed that "poop and pee live in the potty". When we would use the potty we would flush and say "bye bye pee (or poop)" and she would look in the toilet and watch it go down the drain (I know it sounds gross but it worked, especially when she got to do the flushing). There were a few times we had some trouble during formal training when I said "Don't you want the poop and pee to go to their home?" and it did the trick.
If you are about to embark on your own potty training journey, I wish you luck. If you are in the midst of your journey and feeling like it's never going to end, I assure you it will. One day your kid just "gets" it and then it's on to the next "thing" that has to be accomplished. I hope my journey has helped you.
Previously:
Potty Training 101, The Beginning
Potty Training 101, "Boot Camp"
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