I really thought we’d be finished potty training by now but it seems like we take one step forward and two steps back. This past week has been getting better and better though. She wants to do it all by herself and refuses any help. She even has gone to the potty without being told.
It’s very important to be consistent so I try to remind her to go every hour. I found it works better if I tell her to go, opposed to asking her to go. I’m going to try to use panties, opposed to the pull-ups, for a few days and see if that motivates her. She gets lazy sometimes knowing she can just pee in the Pull-up. I’ll have to get some Minnie Mouse undies first though. She refuses to wear them unless they have Minnie Mouse on them.
Whether you love them or hate them, the Duggar’s have tons of kids and know a thing or two about potty training. Here’s a bit of Michelle Duggar’s philosophy on potty training from their newest book – A Love That Multiplies:
At first, I was trying to potty train the children when they were too young to even pull down their pants and put them back on by themselves. They could “perform” if I was there to help them with all the mechanics, but if I wasn’t there, they weren’t successful. If they could get their britches down, they could almost never get them back up. Now I don’t start potty training until the child is able to take his or her pants off and put them back on without my help. (I’m not a perfectionist. If they get them on backward, that’s okay; at least they get them on!)
The other (potty training) requirement is that they have to be able to climb up on the “big potty” by themselves. I never liked the separate little potty chairs. They just added one more thing that had to be cleaned in the bathroom, and too often the child wanted to be helpful and empty it him/herself, and the results were, shall we say, unpleasant. Before I start potty training, I want to make sure the child can climb up on a regular-size commode without assistance.
Summertime is the best time of year to potty train because there aren’t as many clothes to deal with. To get started, we have the usual pep talk, explain the whole procedure, and proudly announce to the family that this child now is wearing “big-girl panties” or “big-boy underwear.” We do take the child to the bathroom throughout the day and encourage him or her to give it a try. When the child is successful, I reward him or her with a Skittle or an M&M, and the whole family cheers when he or she comes out of the restroom, hands washed and ready to receive that treat.
Although I used it in the beginning, I stopped giving any kind of treat for a reward. Initially it did do a good job at getting her attention but I would prefer not to use food as a reward (for many different reasons).
I also don’t agree with screaming, spanking, or criticizing them in anyway when it comes to potty training. While that method may work, it can also cause constipation and bed wetting issues.
I’m really sick of the pressure that is put on parents and the kids to be potty trained by a certain age. I’m positive that at some point we will be potty trained. It might not be today and it might not be tomorrow, and that’s okay.
I know plenty of people that like to brag about how early their children were potty trained; yet they’re the same parents that punished their children for having an accident. I personally believe potty training between age two and three is the best time. In fact, children can’t physically control their bladder until 18 months. So don’t listen to any of those people that told you their child was potty trained on their first birthday. Just smile and keep walking.
Be sure you check out this post on the Do’s and Don’ts of Potty Training and visit PullUps.com for more tips and tricks!
I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Pull-Ups. I received product samples to facilitate my review and a promotional item to thank me for participating.
Oh gosh, I don’t miss those days at all! I’ve never heard of a kid being potty trained before 2 years old. Walking and talking sometimes.. but I think all the experts say to let the kids start these when they’re ready and not to push them. You’ll have plenty of things to push them to be successful at later!
BTW, I love your category cloud. Is that a plugin?
Yes it’s a plugin!! Gotta love WordPress! Here’s the plugin site link – http://www.roytanck.com/2008/03/15/wp-cumulus-released/
Thanks!
I believe every family should do what works for them. What may work for one family (child) may not work for another. Screw what everyone else thinks. We started potty training at 15 months. We trained them to know where it goes and they started to be able to understand around 18 months but I don’t think they totally got it until they were about two. We would take them to the bathroom every 15 -30 minutes. Before giving them a drink and after. We also reduced how Much we were giving them to drink. I realized I couldn’t expect them top control their bladder if I was loading them with drinks. Then we would let them wear underwear for about 20 minutes and then longer as they got better. We gradually went from diaper to full blown underwear. It was a lot of work but it worked. We gave them a lot of praise. I wouldn’t recommend our method to everyone cause it doesn’t work for everyone. Good luck on you’re potty training journey.
My older two were fairly late potty users, I guess – according to most. I got a lot of comments about it being time to train them and I needed to do this and that. My daughter was 3 and my son 3.5. And although we talked about using the potty with them, we weren’t actively trying with my daughter. She just woke up one morning and declared she wanted to use the potty. That was a Saturday and by the end of the weekend she was completely using the potty. My son wasn’t that simple though. We did wait until he had a real interest too and although he COULD use the potty, he was a lazy one. It took a lot more promting and reminding with him. And at times, even if we stopped him from doing what he wanted to do to go to the bathroom, he’d refuse to go (when I clearly knew he HAD to go because he was wiggling and dancing around). He was just stubborn that way lol. He was okay 80% of the time but did take a few months for the accidents to stop. My youngest started showing interest when she was 15 months old! I thought it was just her wanting to be like big sis/bro, but 90% if the time when she told us she had to go (pee) she would actually go. I didn’t push it but would take her when she said she had to go. Which ended up feeling like we were “training” her for a year lol because sometimes she’d be into it, others not.. so no way we could put her in big girl panties. She has been in panties since just after her 2nd birthday.
Potty training is definitely a difficult part of parenting. I had a different experience with each of my girls (http://www.susiebhomemaker.com/2011/08/potty-training-girls-vs-boys/) but my oldest and youngest both potty trained by 2 1/2 and my middle daughter potty trained on her own by 3 1/2. You just have to forget about what other parents are doing with their kids and do what works best for your own.
I’ve only heard of EC parents getting their kids potty trained by their 1st birthday, but EC and potty training are two completely different philosophies. My youngest is 3 and he’s proving to be most difficult for me to get going. He’ll pee when he feels like it, but we’ve yet to poop in the potty and there are times he’ll ask to go and times he’ll just go in the diaper. Love it lol
I agrre with you completely. They will figure it out, with a little help and encouragement of course.
Yes! Finally something about potty flip.