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It was only a matter of time until we had a potty training post! Besides getting children to sleep, it can be one of the most frustrating parts of parenting small children.
I have a cousin that is having a hard time potty training one of her kids, and I'm sure there are more of you going through this right now. What's hard about potty training is there are a thousand different opinions on the matter and everyone usually thinks their way is the best. Honestly, I think the best approach is probably a little different for each child.
That being said, here's what I think about potty training: (Please don't be offended if it is different than what you think. Its just my opinion and its just what worked for us.)
I am totally in the "earlier-the-better" camp. I think waiting and waiting until your child "shows interest" will just result in you wiping poopy behinds for much longer than is needed. (And all the diapers you can save from the landfill, the better!) From The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems, "In 1957, studies found that 92 percent of children were toilet trained by eighteen months." This tells me that it is possible to train early.
So let me now tell you how I potty trained both of my kids. (Tyson was fully trained by 2 1/2 and Eliza by 2. Both were pooping in the toilet by age 2). I got the basic idea from the Baby Whisperer. Just start talking to them about it at a very young age, 9 months to a year. When they poop say, "You are going poop. When you are older, you will go poop in the toilet just like mommy and daddy." Its as simple as letting them know what they are even doing. If you do this they will recognize it very early and learn to associate it with the toilet. When my kids got closer to age two, I would run and put them on the toilet whenever I thought they were going to poop. At first, we didn't make it in time very much and I would just change their diaper, but I would never just let them poop in their diaper without running to make it to the toilet first. Then whenever we did make it to the toilet in time, I praised them like I never had done before. I told them how proud I was and gave them a treat. It is a pain but they get it after a short while and then YOU DON"T HAVE TO CHANGE POOP ANYMORE! I think poop training should be done early because this is the age when they crave your praise. If you wait until they are older they don't care as much what you think and they can become very stubborn.
I gotta be honest though. Training them to pee in the toilet was not as easy and I don't feel like I am expert enough to offer much advice in that arena except just be patient and consistent and take them to the toilet pretty much all the time until they get it. Oh and get some training underwear (the kind that is super padded) and have them wear multiple pairs at first. That way, if there is an accident, most of it is absorbed by the unders.
Ok-that is my training regimen but what have you done???? I'd like to hear what has worked for you and see if we can help my cousin out. She has tried many things already so hopefully we have some new ideas for her.
8 comments:
So far I have only potty trained one child and he was three, so I am no expert. The one thing I did that I think was original and really helped was I made my son his very own potty training book, complete with pictures of himself. If anyone is interested in seeing it or changing it to make one similar for their child, I would be happy to e-mail you one. Just leave a comment here.
My boy is 3 and a half and absolutely refuses to sit on the toilet for pooping, tantrums and everything. He's been trained for peeing for months. Today I was talking to a friend about it and she said her sister had the same problem. She put a diaper under the toilet seat so that the kid could still go in his diaper. She said it totally worked. So I'm trying it tomorrow. I agree that "waiting until their ready" was a bad idea. He will hold it in if I put him on the toilet and then not go for days. I could go on, but I'll spare you all. Anyway, I'll let you know if I'm lucky enough for it to work for me!
Thanks for your advice on this, I had thought to wait until natalie was two to begin training her. I have decided to start now instead. She will turn 18 month tomorrow so I think we will start. One question though. Do you recommend to just use your toilet or do you think they have an easier time with a small potty?
Amy-Personally I like to just use one of those seats you sit on top of the toilet. Not a huge fan of the stand-alone potty seat and I'll tell you why. 1) You still have to clean the poop out of it. 2) I have had neighbor kids use it. Twice. Ick.
But some kids might get a kick out of having their own little toilet so it might be more effective for them. Even if you aren't ready to start training, I would just keep either one in the bathroom for a while so they get used to it being there. Good luck!!!
Another way to get your child to poop in the toilet is to make them think they have done it already. After they have sat down for a few minutes trying, discreetly sneak a few raisins in there. I didn't think my son would fall for it, but he did. After he saw the raisins he sat down right away and really went.
Amy, I think Amber's reasons are very valid for teaching your kids on the big toilet, but I chose to use the potty chair for Ethan because he was much more comfortable sitting there. The real toilets are very high for such little people and I wanted him to concentrate on going to the bathroom, and not to have to worry about falling off or falling in. Also, if you keep a little water in it always it is not so hard to clean out.
For my kids it's ALL about stickers and celebrations! A little bribery never hurt. I prefer the potty seat, too. That's one less toilet to clean and my children aren't expecting me to whip out a mini-pot everywhere we go. Both of my kids-boy and girl-were frustrating to train, but eventually it just "clicked" on their time and we haven't experienced problems since.
I was told by Sarah's neuro surgeon that every child is different and it depends on cord development, a genetic thing and when that is done they will go and not to obsess over it. Try and if they are not ready let it go for awhile. You will only make yourself and them crazy. Derek was 2, Sarah was 3 something. :) They turned out just fine.
Thanks so much for this post. We have mastered the pee but are really struggling with the poop. I even asked his doctor and he suggested I have him tell me when he has to go and I'll put him back in a diaper for him to poop in and then change the diaper and put him back in underwear. I'm not keen on changing anymore diapers but am willing to try anything at this point. Maybe I'll try the raisins like Abbie suggested. This child really has been a challenge. Ken really spoiled me and I think Ash is already getting a pretty good idea. Hopefully she'll learn from her brother and won't give me so much heartburn!!
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