Let me preface this with— “I am NOT A POTTY TRAINING EXPERT”. I am merely a mama with 2 small girls who are at the potty training age and my goal for 2010 was to have both of them out of diapers and on the potty.
I also want to say that this is what worked for me and the way I did it. Every child responds differently. And I am a FIRM believer that toddlers are ready when they are ready. They can be 18 months or they can be 4. It doesn’t make a difference and I don’t want anyone to bad or pressured if their little tots are not out of diapers by a certain age.
Okay, with that said, let’s get started.
My friend, Irene, sent this email to all of our playgroup on a great article she was given about how to train your tot in 4 days. And I think it’s a great how to. So if you are ready then give it a try.
I will also say that if your tot is trained in 4 days, more power to you. But we STILL have accidents here and there. We still wear pullups in situations where we don’t want to deal with any accidents. We are happy with our potty training success but we are not completely out of the woods yet.
What you will need:
**One amazing honey-do who will lend a hand!
**A potty seat or portable potty (we prefer not to clean out portables–yuck).
**Special rewards (this is that yummy treat you rarely give your kids that you know they will love)—we used m&m’s and mini oreo cookies. Worked wonders. I know others who kids have had charts and then built up to a reward. My kids didn’t get that, they needed instant gratification.
**A steam cleaner (just in case you get really bad accidents). We actually have one and it came in really, really handy. 😉
**A lot of friends who will bring you wine and cheer you on!
**A positive attitude and a big ol’ cup of patience.
**And of course a tot who is ready to give it a try.
The best advice I have ever been given on potty training.
“You can start the potty training early and take 3 months to train or you can wait till later and take 3 days to train.”
We waited till Princess was over 3 to train her because I was so intimidated by it and she took 3 days! I was overly confident after that and started training Firecracker immediately and 3 months later….we are still working on it.
GOOD LUCK!
Here is the outline. This was written by a local licensed child social care worker.
The Scoop On Poop
Cheerleading developmentally ready
Children through potty training in a weekend!
1. Evaluating readiness for success
- Watching for the second window of opportunity
- Correct potty terminology
- Motor and control skills for four hours
- Knowledge of the concepts; wet/dry, up/down, full/empty
- Awareness of the potty training process
2. Parent Motivation
- Readiness to give up the intimacy of diapering
- Readiness to hand over control to the child
- Readiness to commit to a three day weekend
- Readiness to cheerlead rather than direct
3. The preparation:
- One month prior to the potty training weekend, stop talking about the potty
- One week prior to the weekend- alert child to a party and fun coming in seven days
- One week prior, pull out potty books and DVD’s and purchase an on-the-floor-potty chair with handles
- Three days prior make trip to grocery store with the child for multiple and creative liquids, baking projects, stickers and candy
- Three days prior; Parent trip to the library for books, DVD’s and activities
- Three days prior to the weekend; toy store trip for parent. Purchase mind-stretching activities that are new to the child.
- One night before: Review the bye-bye diaper party occurring that night or the next morning as well as the plan for the next three days, including naked from the waist down, lots of liquids, lots of potty practice, lots of fun, diapers at night and at naps
4. Day One
- Get child out of bed at first sign of morning waking
- Remove diaper-ask if child would like to use the potty. Place child in a long tee shirt of dress with nothing underneath
- Prepare for party!
- Sing “bye-bye diapers and blow out candles
- Offer liquids constantly beginning now
- Set timer for 30 minutes –be ready to do this throughout day one and two
- Hop, skip, jump and challenge at each potty break
- Remain on linoleum or tile for the morning on this first day
- Observe accidents with celebration and information
- Keep track of attempts, successes and “misses”
- Diaper on for nap and off after nap
- Have fun!
- Reconsider child’s readiness if success is less that 50% by the end of the day
5. Day Two
- Repeat day one, minus the party but with lots of liquid all day
- After nap, tell child he/she will be responsible for remembering to go potty all afternoon and evening
- Continue naked from the waist down –expect several accidents- then successes. Success equals 70% by bedtime. If success is less than 50% consider ending the weekend and revisiting this skill in 8 weeks
6. Day three
- Continue as day one and two through the first two urine or bowel successes of the day
- By 10 am remind the child that he she is responsible for getting to the bathroom without reminders, no timers or reminders until nap. Success should be at least 80%
- After nap and one urine success, have the child pull on underwear for the remainder of the day
- Use the timer for one urine success, and then tell the child she will be responsible for getting to the bathroom independently in underwear and without reminders. Success should be 80%.
7. Day Four
- School day-no liquids, no diaper, bathroom run before school and upon arrival. Ask staff to do a bathroom run hourly. Upon arrival home, naked from the waist down.
- Home day: Typical liquid intake, several hours naked from the waist down- then underwear with no reminders except when logical. Naked from the waist down for late afternoon/evening with no reminders
- Diapers for nap or bedtime
8. What about that Poop?
- Poop should occur in potty over first three days, or in diaper at nap/overnight
- Child may request diaper for poop- do not give in!
- If child experiences withholding for more than three days- contact pediatrician
- If poop only occurs with diaper-consider night training if child is ready
9. Night training
- Typically occurs after age 3.5, often later for boys
- Night time diaper saturation is one indicator of readiness
- Reverse daytime process of potty training. Cut off liquids at 6 pm. Multiple potty runs, naked from the waist down for sleep.
10:When and why to call it quits and try again in 8 weeks!
- When success is less then 70% on day one
- When success is less than 60% on day two
- When refusal is over 80%
Anyone else have any ideas or advice to share?