One of my beautiful sisters is visiting this week. And so is my beautiful niece and my ultra-cool nephew. Yes, the pic includes Honor, not my niece. I'm still digging for a picture and can't take a current one since she's napping at the moment. While sis and nephew are taking a mini-vacation with the boys for the next 2 days, I get a girls day/night/day here at home. Included with our girlie time is potty training 101. In exchange for my sis buying Honor 4 very pink dresses, I volunteered to try the one-week one-day potty training with Lyssa.
I didn't blog much about it when I tried it with Sarah, since I was deep in the trenches and in foreign terrain at the time. Now, I'm
Tips and Tricks:
Bananas are your friend. We're going for concentration, not surprises in the poo-department. No grapes or grapejuice thank you very much.
The day before the party begins, make a trip to the $ store and stock up on
Feed the kid bananas.
Let them pick out big-girl panties. But WAIT! Give them options. You do not want to deal with bikini-cut Bratz emblazoned underwear. Pick up a couple packages of what you can stand and say "You want flowers or stripes?" Be sure to get lots. No really. Lots. And the same for M&M's. No they aren't for potty-rewards. They are for you. And you're gonna need them.
Start your day with panties. Make a big deal of saying goodbye to pull-ups (they are not fooling your child, kids know they're just fancy diapers) and putting on the big-girl panties. Throw out the pull-up and say goodbye to diapers. Potty seats really work best for this method because the kid needs to sit there for a while. You don't want them falling in or anything. Well, you might by the end of the day, but it would be counter-productive.
Start your day with a washing machine full of hot, soapy water. Be prepared to toss soiled toddler-clothes in there repeatedly.
Don't give up! We haven't even started yet!
With the actual method, you are supposed to feed them salty snacks and lots of fluids and stay right beside them all day long, taking them to the potty every 15 minutes.
I'm lazy. Every 20-30 minutes is more my style. Say "Time to go potty....here we go to the potty....potty, potty, potty....let's go potty....big girl's goin' potty....did I mention the word potty?" And say it a lot. Yes, you'll feel like an idiot. Do it anyway.
Sit 'em down and entertain them. Try to keep them there 10 minutes. Yup. 10 minutes every 30 minutes. This is your world for the next day or two. If they do their business, you get to do the happy dance and shout "What a big girl! Good job going potty! Are you all done going potty?"
Again, Don't give up! Naps and all, keep the panties coming.
Accidents
There will be many. More than many. Chances are, you will fill the washing machine and have to wash a load during naptime so that you can have more panties for the afternoon. When there is an accident, just say "Uh-oh! Potty doesn't go in panties, potty goes in the toilet. Let's go to the potty." And yeah, even though they've already gone, take them there anyway just to associate the words with the location. Even if they are 3 years old and know exactly where the words belong, take them anyway. If nothing else, you'll be proving to them that you aren't giving up on this whole toilet business. That's right, wear them down.
Poo
Not the funnest part of this party, but it's temporary. You can do it! Just do the whole Uh-Oh! routine for it too, but you don't have to make clean-up overly comfortable. I've always just turned on the tub faucets (cool, not cold water) and held their little hinies in it. They don't generally like this, but it is NOT punishment. It's just a matter-of-fact necessity. They have poo on their behinds. It needs cleaned off. There we go, all done, back in the big girl panties. Let's sing a song:
Overall, this is supposed to be a celebration. You don't have to let on that you're exhausted and just want a hot bath. Your toddler should be having fun having all of this extra time with Mommy. She's conquering a new skill and has a great cheerleader supporting her. Save your bitter frustration for blogging after they are in bed. You can smile through it. I know you can!
It ended up taking about a week with Sarah. Not a week full of 30 minute sessions, but it was not a one-day success. It was a one-day goodbye to diapers though. Totally worth it.
*UPDATE*
Apparently my niece is a lot smarter than my kids. By 2:00 she was totally trained. Woke up from her nap dry and hasn't had an accident since. She slept from 8:00pm to 8:00am and woke up dry. It's just after lunchtime now and time for a nap. I forgot to mention that by the 2nd day, you shouldn't remind them to go potty. At this point, they should be asking you. If they have accidents, go through the original routine. They'll catch on very, very soon.
7 comments:
at what age do you recommend starting the potty business? you've done this 4 times. luke will be coming to your house for this life lesson. :)
18 months. There just seems to be this awesome window of opportunity at 18 months. Going much past that and you have to deal with their independent natures coming in to the equation using most other methods. Lyssa is 2 1/2 though and it worked fine. The books and articles all say this method works for any age. It rocks.
Eighteen months? Really? 'Cause Penelope is...um, 15? Or 16? Potty training already?!
Absolutely. I'm tellin' ya. It works. All 4 of mine were done between 18 and 24 months old. Done, done. The one-day method was only tried on my #4 and my niece. I learned it from a friend who also trained all four of hers at 18 month. Crazy, but wonderful.
you are magical.
I tried this and um...Layton had a GREAT time but cheerfully still had accidents. It just didn't click. Do you think he is too young? He turned two in March. Or maybe he is stubborn?
If I get that song stuck in my head...and I will...you will hear about it for the rest of time.
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