My personal saga in toilet training my toddler.
Potty-training- the next biggest challenge from the actual birth of your baby. Like the dreaded word “Labor”, the term “Potty-training” fills the parent with dread as wizards whispering the name “Lord Voldemort.” Much like Harry Potter, I chose to face both dark words head-on with an “we-can—face-inevitable-milestone- challenges” attitude.
Now, I do not claim to be a potty training expert. I read a single book titled Oh Crap! Potty Training! By Jamie Glowacki , an author who self-identifies as the “Pied Piper of Poop”, given by a friend, and like most parenting books I picked and choose what jibed with my mom-gut (a powerful sense of intuition that warns of danger like Harry Potter’s lightening-bolt scar). So, I am simply sharing my own tales from the toilet, a personal journey of guiding my son out of diapers. Enjoy this saga of potty jokes!
PROLOGUE : Why I Started Before Two
To be quite frank, I don’t really believe in “wait until they are ready” parenting style because this results in thirty year olds living at home as “they decide what their dreams are.” No, life doesn’t wait for your readiness, we legally have to attend school at certain ages, and must show up to work to earn money regardless of how we feel about jobs. Though my son says,” okay” when I ask if he wants a diaper, I respond with “No, you are a big boy now who uses the toilet.” So, if I am ready, he is ready (how I weaned my son off of breast milk- okay you are one we are done). Also, the growth in my son’s ability to verbally communicate in two word sentences, conveyed his capacity to converse his need to use the toilet.
CHAPTER 1 : A Slow Start
I eased into the whole potty training thing, using pull-ups for several days and inconsistently putting him on the toilet. This allowed for a last HOO-RAH of a long park run day and a game night with friends. We practiced language with me teaching, “Where do we go pee-pee?” “Where do we go poop?” And my son eagerly screaming, “TOLIET!” During this prequel, I prepared by buying the full armada: two toilet inserts, two step-stools, one squatting potty and one toddler toilet. Also, I chose my toilet reward plan: a little praise, and the right to brag telling both parents “I went pee/poop in the toilet!” No stickers or prizes, to encourage more of an intrinsic rather than extrinsic motivation and to instill using the toilet as “just a part of growing up and being like mommy and daddy.”
CHAPTER 2: Naked and Afraid
The real battle began butt naked, as my son ran around our kitchen and living room in his birthday suit as turned on space heaters to help warm his little bare bottom! This concept of seeing his potty cues directly came from the previously named potty- training book, and I found the most effective way to learn about my son’s peeing and pooping habits. Of course pee and poop ended up on my floor, but I found that much easier to clean then off my child’s butt in diapers. We tried pants too early (indication, he pooped in them) so again went back to bare-bottoms for another day. During this time, my son learned to pee in the traditional style of facing forward pointing penis down and the more innovative reverse cowboy of facing the back of the toilet (as long as it goes in who cares!) He also learned to love flushing down his poop and washing his hands.
CHAPTER 3: Current Progress
In less then a week, my 22 month year old tells me when he needs to go to the toilet, both pees and poops in his toddler toilet and big-person toilet with one small accident a day (starting to pee in his pants running to the bathroom). He even successfully completed a 20 minute car ride with no accidents and played at the park using the public restroom twice fearlessly!
EPILOGUE: Current Crux
I still remind him to use the restroom about every 30 minutes (more if he’s drunk his daily smoothie). He has not mastered taking off or putting on his pants. Also, he wears a pull-up during nap and diaper at night, to keep my own sanity with a short sweet relief of not thinking about my son relieving himself while he sleeps. So we are not means done with this saga, but such a start in growing up for my son and growing more out of controlling my son’s bodily functions!
So the moral of the potty tale, my beloved reader: about trusting your child and surrendering control so your tot may master his tummy both in intake and out-take. We cannot control what our children eat or when they go but we can provide opportunity to grow!
THE END....?
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