Potty training. Ah, that beloved time that all parents get to go through at some point in their lives (unless you somehow manage to find someone to do it for you!). It's a right of passage, to be sure.
We all have our own potty training stories- the ups and downs, the bribes, the spills, the stains. And ultimately, the excitement of being trained!
It's always good to take a light-hearted approach to potty training. It's important to see the humor in having pee all over your floors, couch, clothes, on your hands, on your favorite book, even on your new baby!
And so, without further ado, You know you're in throes of potty training when:
1. You utter the phrase "Pee pee goes in the potty, not on the floor!" for the 100th time in one day, as you plaster a big fake smile on your face (you smile of course, because you don't want your baby to associate pee pee as a bad thing...or whatever that internet article said)
2. You immediately assume that anything wet on the floor, on the couch, on your pants, on anything is pee
3. You find stickers on every surface of your house, EXCEPT the sticker chart that you so artistically made
4. Going to the bathroom becomes a family affair- everyone gets to watch and cheer
5. Using the potty becomes the highlight of your day because EVERYONE cheers for you (especially your toddler who seems overly pleased that you had success).
6. You find yourself saying "Yay, mommy went pee pee on the potty" even if no one else is around
7. You go potty and immediately reward yourself with an m&m
8. You time your outings based on when your toddler last peed and how much fluid she had
9. You know where every bathroom is in a 10 mile radius of your house
10. Somebody farts (maybe your husband, but has also been known to happen when you're in the bathroom stall at Wal-mart and the lady next to you must have accidentally let one out as she was relieving herself) and your toddler yells "Poo poo!", causing you much embarrassment
11. You assumed incorrectly that once potty trained, you could get rid of the diaper bag. Rather, you almost need a BIGGER one because suddenly you need 2 changes of clothes to be on the safe side, plastic bags, and maybe even that plastic potty seat to put on top of the public toilets if you're a germ freak like me!
12. You used to let your toddler just play in the crib for awhile when she woke up in the morning or from her nap, but now you rush in immediately so you can take her potty
13. Your toddler hasn't peed in the potty for a few hours and you wonder to yourself where she may have stashed it. You step in something wet....(see #2)
I hope you had a laugh.Or even just a chuckle. If you're a bit confused about all of the potty training tips out there, read my blog on Potty Training tips for the Confused Mom. If you'd like to read about my own potty training story, read my blog on how I potty trained Miss Fits.
And, of course, if you have any of your own to add, please feel free to do so!
Posts tagged #girl
Pee pee goes in the potty
Potty training. I was both excited and nervous to begin the adventures in potty training with my daughter. Excited to not have two kids in diapers. Nervous about the actual process and how it would go.
Here is my story in successfully potty training my daughter by 20 months:
We started introducing the potty concept when she was 13 months old. Just every once in a while I would sit her on it and we would talk about it. She was curious about it anyway whenever I would go to the bathroom.
I attempted to start when she was just 17 months old. But…I didn’t think it all the way through. We were about to start traveling almost every week to raise support, as well as for the upcoming holidays. So in order to be consistent with her and not confuse the poor kid, I decided to wait until we moved to Texas and got settled.
When we finally moved 2 months later, I came up with a plan. I decided to try and make the potty as fun as possible! Everything I read online said that kids would potty train when THEY were ready, and if they weren’t…well then it would just be terrible for everyone.
I kind of have a different theory. Potty training is just like any other kind of training that we do with our babies and toddlers. We have to teach them! We taught them how to use a spoon and a fork, how to drink from cup, how to self-soothe. You teach your kids how to read and write, ride a bicycle, etc etc. Potty training is just the same. It has to be taught.
But learning also needs to be fun. If it’s not fun, then why would a toddler want to do it? If we don’t make it fun for them, then yes…it will end up being terrible for everyone.
Another thing to remember is that this isn’t your achievement, it’s your toddlers. Don’t get frustrated or upset with him because he doesn’t get it or doesn’t do it. It’s not about you, it’s about your little person! Give lots of praise and act like it’s the most exciting thing anyone can ever do!
Here’s how I potty trained little Miss Fits before she turned 20 months:
I started on a Friday and I determined that we were just going to have fun with it. The problem we had previously was that she just didn’t want to sit on it. So I made sitting on the potty super fun for her.
Every time she sat on the potty that day I would paint one of her toenails and one of my toenails. She LOVED it! After she had sat on it 10 times, I switched to bubbles. I would let her play with the bubbles every time she sat on the potty. But…that quickly got messy. She wanted to hold everything and the bubbles spilled everywhere.
I also praised here a TON when she sat on it- like a ridiculous amount. Like she had just won the Nobel Peace Prize or discovered that Pluto is, in fact, a planet. I went overboard! And she got really excited about it too.
The next morning I took off her diaper NEVER to put one on her again (okay, that’s not true. We still use diapers for naps and night time)!
I explained that pee pee goes in the potty- not in her pants, not on the floor. And any time she would start to pee or pee all the way I would say “Yay! Pee pee!” and take her to the potty. Then I would tell her again (in a chipper voice) that pee pee goes in the potty.
If she did go in the potty (even if she started peeing somewhere else and finished in the potty), I would over praise her and then give her an m&m. I explained that if she went in the potty, she would get an m&m. She loved it!
I kid you not, the child got the concept that day! Any time she needed to go, she would run to the potty and sit down. All by herself! She was so excited about it!
The next day was Sunday and I was a bit nervous because we had church. I contemplated putting a diaper on her, but then thought better of it. I had said no more diapers and I meant NO MORE DIAPERS! So I put on her big girl undies, some plastic pants and her jeans. And off to church we went!
I told the nursery she was potty training and to please take her several times. Jaelyn doesn’t say when she needs to go, she just goes to the potty and sits down. Kind of hard if there aren’t any little potty chairs just hanging around the nursery.
When I picked her up they said they had taken her once, but she didn’t need to go. I took her again before we left, but she didn’t have to go. I was nervous she would pee in the car. But lo and behold, she did not!
Our first outing and she didn’t have an accident!
The following week she did great! Seriously. I don’t understand it, but this kid was potty trained. I continue to say she is potty training, but truthfully she is already trained! I don’t know how it happened in such a short amount of time, but she really grasped the concept!
That first week she would have an accident if she had on undies or pants. This is simply because she just wouldn’t pull them down. She’d still sit on the potty and go- just fully clothed.
It has been over a month now and we very rarely have accidents. She has learned to pull her pants down now before sitting on the potty.
Our next step is transitioning the little potty into the bathroom and eventually using the big potty! Currently she insists that her potty chair be in the living room. I have put her potty in the bathroom several times, but every time she has to pee she will literally pick it up and carry it back to the living room before using it.
So that’s my story in potty training. If you are considering potty training your toddler (even if they are younger than when most parents start), I say go for it! It might take a while, but consistency and fun always pays off!
So grab your mop and nail polish and go have some fun!
Enjoy some free potty training sticker charts! Or use the certificates to reward your child at the end of each day (simply hand out a reward certificate for each successful potty attempt, give a reward for a certain number achieved at the end of the day! *works great with older toddlers).
