Search Results for: blog potty training is your child ready

Does Your Toddler Stall At Bed Time?

Sometimes it can be difficult to discern whether your toddler’s bed time requests for things like a drink or a trip to the potty are legitimate or whether they are attempts to push bed time later into the evening. If the requests are for real, of course you do not want your child to go thirsty and of course you want to support him in the process of learning how to use the potty. On the other hand, if he is stalling, you want to send a clear message that such behavior is not appropriate. If you are anything like … Continue reading →

Potty Training 101

Potty training isn’t one of those “one size fits all” kind of things. Every child is unique, they develop at different rates. One child may be ready to be completely potty trained at 18 months and another may still be struggling at 4. You may have to try several different strategies before you find one that works for you and your child. Don’t get discouraged if it takes a while, most kids aren’t potty trained in a day. The first and most important thing when it comes to potty training is knowing when your child is ready. Can she stay … Continue reading →

Single-Parent Potty Training

Potty training is a daunting task for any parent. Every child is different and they are all ready at different times. Some are ready as early as 18 months old, others are closer to 4 years old. Listen to your child. They’ll let you know when they are ready. My son was two and a half when he first started getting really excited about potty training. I think he went over 15 times that first night just to hear Mommy and Daddy’s excitement. He called Grandma over and over again to tell her all about it. The next month we … Continue reading →

Potty Training: Start ‘Em Early

There’s been lots of pooping on the potty going on at my house lately, and no, my husband and I do not have the stomach flu. I’m talking about our 1-year-old. Yep, you heard me – she’s pooping on the potty. Before you start rolling your eyes, calling me one of “those crazy moms who starts potty training a week after her child is born,” hear me out. I didn’t plan to be an early potty trainer; it just happened naturally. One day, when my daughter was about 11 months old, I was sitting next to her on the floor, … Continue reading →

Stress Free Potty Training

Today was a luncheon presentation with my moms’ group. The presentation topic was Stress-Free Potty Training: A Commonsense Guide to Finding the Right Approach for Your Child. The speaker was Peter L. Stavinoha Ph.D, co-author of the book. Grandma is visiting so she was able to go to the luncheon with us. Grandma, Jessie, new Baby E, and I sat together with another mom. Mom had the fish and I got the cheeseburger. At previous luncheons I got a kid’s meal for Jessie, but she wouldn’t eat it. I shared my burger with her today and was impressed with how … Continue reading →

Dry at Night: Ditching the Training Pants

Yes, I know that some of you have been doing this for years. Your kids, I mean. I’m talking about the night time potty dance. However, my daughter is a rather late bloomer in the area of dry night times, and since she’s been an epic bedwetter I had no qualms about keeping her in training pants in perpetuity. No qualms except environmental ones, of course, since night time was the only time we didn’t use cloth diapers. My kid can pee through anything, I tell you. However, for the last two or more weeks she has been dry at … Continue reading →

Adventures in Potty Training: Day 3

When you are potty training, there are many milestones. Fortunately, we hit a big one today. After another dry night (actually, all of the nights have been dry, thankfully), our little potty trainee decided to let it all go, all over the living room floor first thing in the morning. Truth be told, it was more the fault of the adults, since we were so busy trying to get everyone ready during the morning rush. Our little guy said frantically, “I’m going!” And, well, he went. I don’t believe in yelling or strong words for potty accidents, so we just … Continue reading →

Adventures in Potty Training: Day 2

You know how they always say that you can lead a child to the potty but you can’t make him go? What do you do when you are convinced that your young potty trainee would rather hold it in instead of use the potty? The second day of potty training went relatively smoothly, with more things getting into the potty, less things getting on the floor and no things actually getting on me. I see this last fact as a reason to celebrate and a sign that the training will get easier. Once again we had another dry nap. However, … Continue reading →

Adventures in Potty Training: Day 1, Morning

Well, the day has finally arrived. It is time to potty train our youngest child. Here are my experiences and adventures, practically as they happen. I have been waiting for the weather to warm up past the 50 degree mark for a stretch of at least three days before I started potty training. This is because I have found that one of the quickest methods for training involves letting the child run around with a long shirt on and a bare bottom, something that just doesn’t work when it is cold. It so happens that we are in the middle … Continue reading →

How to Pick a Potty

The day has finally arrived when you are ready to potty train your child. It is an exciting moment. But did you know that the right potty chair can make the job a lot easier? Here are some things to consider when picking out your first potty. When you are ready to select a potty, why not take your child with you to the store. many times if the baby is the one picking out the potty, then he or she is more likely to use it. This isn’t a guarantee that your baby will fall in love with a … Continue reading →