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Can't see the loo for the potty training methods!?

My toddler is starting to show early signs that he may be getting ready for toilet training. Some bowel and bladder control (he seems to wait for privacy), improving communication skills, wanting and learning (with very little prompting from me) to not just undress but also dress himself. So I thought it might be time to start thinking about how to handle potty/toilet training when it all clicks for him.

So I went online, and it's bewildering! Reward charts, singing potties, instructions for parents to do a goofy dance and sing a song every time they (themselves!) use the toilet, books and books filled with one size fits all (but vastly different) detailed instructions for apparently the most difficult project in parenting.

Is it really necessary for toilet training to be this huge circus? Surely our mothers and grandmothers didn't do a victory dance in front of their toddlers every time they went to the loo?

Can't I just show him a few times how it's done, put him in underwear or cotton training pants, and help him to the potty at times he usually goes or when he tells me he needs to? I can always put him back in diapers for a while if he doesn't get it yet, right?

All those over the top methods seem to me like they put a lot of pressure on toddler AND parent.

8 Answers

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  • Anonymous
    5 years ago

    I think that your daughter may be a bit young for the 3 day potty training method. She's not even 2 yet, so don't be disappointed if it takes more than 3 days. I started potty training my daughter when she was about 19 months (she just turned 2), but I don't think she would have been ready for a 3 day potty training method no matter how miraculous. These methods are probably more of a jump start to get your kid interested which you could probably do on your own without paying a crazy amount of money. More power to you if it works, but I don't think you can expect your child to be "fully" potty trained in 3 days. Potty training is a process and does not happen over night. Its possible, but it will take some time and there will be accidents (lots of accidents). I started by buying potty movies (Potty Power, Elmo's Potty Time, etc.) and had her watch them while sitting on the potty. She was using the potty the first day of training. Use lots of stickers, maybe candy, and definitely lots of hugs and kisses and your daughter will be fine.

  • Anonymous
    4 years ago

    1

    Source(s): Toilet Training Guide http://enle.info/StartPottyTraining
  • Anonymous
    4 years ago

    2

    Source(s): Bow Legs Correction http://emuy.info/BowLegsNoMore
  • ?
    Lv 7
    7 years ago

    Do whatever works for you.

    If your child is ok and starts training with a simple "Do you need a wee?" every few hours then no need for all that extras (obviously praise though!)

    Never punish for an accident though - it wont help. The child wont learn. I work in a nursery and one staff member is all like "Susan! Not another accident. You're a big girl now! Go in there and change!". I feel that is so wrong so I take it more along "Next time can you tell someone you need the toilet. Let's get you changed into clean clothes."

    Since he is beginning to notice when he needs to go etc I would just show him the potty and help him use it the first few times as you change his nappy. Each time the nappy comes off just offer him the chance to sit on the potty. Big praise for anything he does in the potty.

    I don't know what method was used for me and my sister - my sister felt big sisters needed to be out of nappies. So she decided that was it. It took 6 months for her to learn apparently. I was trained in 3 days. The reason behind all the different methods and advice is because children are all different - whatever my parents did with me obviously worked. But it obviously took longer to click with my sister.

  • 5 years ago

    Does your kid keep dry for periods of two hours or longer for the duration of the day? The is the time from some potty Training and to get the greatest outcome in only 3 days you will want this guide https://tr.im/lDu85

    Start Potty Training is a plan that swiftly acquired acceptance. The gist of this program is that you get away all diapers, place on underwear, and don’t ever revert back to diapers.

    Start Potty Training is a rather basic plan, straight forward and straightforward to stick to.

  • 7 years ago

    We're only at the very very very early stages of introducing a potty. But we won't be making a circus out of it either.

    We put the potty out for him to get used to and started inviting him to sit on it a few months ago. He is 17mo, so obviously we have NO expectations that he's going to train soon. But he is learning what it's there for. He has already made the connection between his little potty and the big potty, and he watches as we go and says "potty" as we use it.

    Daycare does the same thing (obviously, without the modeling part!). They just invite him to sit on it when his butt is bare already at the midpoint of a diaper change. If he doesn't want to, that's fine. If he does sit on it and does no business, that's fine too. If he does actually do something, there's a little celebration.

    I figure that by doing all this, when he's ready, he'll already understand a lot of it. We intend to keep it low-pressure and let him lead the way as he's ready. We're just making the stuff available for when he decides he wants it, that's all.

    This is similar to how we introduced him to food, actually. We did baby-led weaning, where we never spoon-fed him but rather just gave him appropriate, safe finger food from the very beginning. He was always in charge of his own appetite, and he was in charge of building up his own self-feeding skills as his own interest dictated. This was wildly successful, and he always gets comments from others about how his table manners, utensil use, and so on are very advanced. It's because we just left him to practicing as he wanted without doing much for him.

    That's the approach we hope to take with potty training too. Just make it all available and let him lead the way as he wants to start practicing different parts of the process.

    However, just so you know, the reason there are SO MANY different techniques floating around out there is because there are so many different kids. Some kids have a lot of difficulty getting used to the idea of the potty due to lots of different reasons. What works for your child may not work for another child. Some children have fears that have to be conquered. Others have great interest, but their skills lag behind. Others have all the skills needed, but no interest at all. So don't be so quick to judge about the "circus." Every trick you read about does work for SOMEBODY, and every parent just puts together their own little bag of tricks for each individual child. And what works for this child may not work at all for younger sib. So just do what works for your child, that's all.

    Good luck!

  • 7 years ago

    We didn't do the circus method either and she progressed to using the potty just fine. We got one of the smaller potties cause it is hard for a small child to get on the bigger one, but other that that.

  • Ista
    Lv 7
    7 years ago

    lol, You don't have to join the potty circus. It sounds like you have it figured out and aren't in need of any of that nonsense.

    My own son was very much into his own independence. "I do it myself" was his motto for most everything, even the things he couldn't do alone. One day, I sat him down with the potty and his "big boy underwear" and gave him a congratulations speech. I told him about what a big boy he was, and how big boys didn't wear diapers, big boys wear underwear and use the potty to pee and poo. He really wanted to be a big boy. I helped him change into the underwear and wished him luck, after our little talk, and he went off to play.

    A couple of hours later, he came running down the hall, bowlegged, with wet pants. I sympathized with him. Aww, didn't make it to the potty in time. I helped him change, and reminded him to use the potty next time.

    He didn't like being wet, and the next time he made it to the potty. I told him how proud I was, and what a big boy he was, and so on and so forth.

    Basically if he used the potty, I gave him lavish praise, and if he missed, I sympathized and wished him better luck next time. He had the concept figured out in a weekend, had it mastered in a couple of weeks.

    I did not force him to sit on the potty against his will. I wasn't messing with that power struggle, and with his personality, it'd have been an all out war. I didn't mess with pull ups because I think they give all of the glory and none of the responsibility. I didn't give him stickers or candy, as I don't believe in bribery. And while I'm not against dancing, singing, or other silliness, none of that occurred to me. I just kept it simple. If he used the potty, he had dry pants and lots of praise. If he didn't, he got wet, and had to stop playing to clean up. I never scolded nor punished for a miss, instead I sympathized with him, as I knew it wasn't pleasant.

    Whatever you do, keep it positive, and don't stress over it. :)

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