Parenting blogger, Alyssa Dock, relates her recent experience with potty training.
No More Diapers
There are so many milestones when it comes to raising kids, but for me personally, there was one I was specifically terrified of- Potty Training. We recently found out we were expecting baby number three, so I felt it was finally time. I couldn’t handle the thought of buying three different-size diapers! Here are some tips I learned along the way that can hopefully help any other parents out there heading for this daunting task.
It’s OK to Wait
It’s okay to wait until your child- and you- are ready. My oldest turned 3 last October, and we had tried to potty train multiple times before this point. Neither of us was ready. My daughter was still very much comfortable in her diapers, and I was not ready to be consistent with the task. The number one thing I learned is that consistency is key. I had to be willing to set aside any major plans or outings for a few days and allow my child to run naked around the house. We set a timer for every 20 minutes on our Alexa and every time she went off- we sat on the potty. It was exhausting, but my daughter was genuinely proud of herself and excited every time something came out. She was also old enough to fully understand the feeling of when she needed to go, and there was no pressure on her to get it right quickly. Overall because of these things, it was a pretty smooth transition.
Buy the Little Potty
Buy the little potty- and take it everywhere. Toddlers are tiny, and toilets are massive in their little worlds. Here at our house, we have two little toilets that we put in the bathrooms and my daughter felt very comfortable on those. On our first outing post potty training, I was that crazy mom who hauled the little potty in a massive TJ Maxx bag with us to the library. And the museum. And Olive Garden. Did I look ridiculous? Absolutely. Did it make my child feel comfortable using the bathroom in a new location? Sure did. Absolutely worth it.
Accidents Happen
Be prepared for accidents. They’re going to happen. Any time we would go somewhere I would make sure to have multiple changes of clothes and grocery bags to pack up the dirty clothes. I prepared myself and my daughter so that she knew, “Hey it’s totally okay if you had an accident!” My daughter is extremely sensitive so I wanted to make sure she didn’t feel any sort of embarrassment or fear of punishment with accidents. It’s all part of the process.
Pull-Ups? Maybe Not
Skip the pull-ups. I know this is something a lot of people have differing opinions on, however for my daughter a pull-up was too similar to a diaper. She felt too secure to “go” in her pull-up, so we ended up ditching them early on. She picked out some fun Frozen undies (shout out to Elsa) and that was that.
Skip the Bribes
No need for bribery. Another controversial stance, but for us, rewards and bribery simply did not work. My daughter is smart as a whip. We started offering a single M&M every time she would pee on the potty. She figured us out quickly and would do a single little “tinkle” in the potty, hold the rest, and ask for an M&M. 5 minutes later the cycle would repeat. Little stinker. Once we took away the incentives and the diapers, she would only go when she really needed to go.
Every Child is Different
Every child is different, and these are simply the ideas that worked for us. I have an 18-month-old daughter coming up the ranks, and who knows? By the time we start potty training her, we may be in for a whole different ball game.
Story by Alyssa Dock for BlueWaterParent.com.
All content of BlueWaterParent.com is for informational and entertainment purposes only and does not constitute medical advice.
