Potty training. A necessary evil in toddler land. I dreaded
it.
We tried. We failed. We gave up.
A few months later, it was time to revisit Mr. Frog Potty.
This time, Mr. Frog and I were going in with guns blazing because it was time
to say good bye to the diapers.
After getting myself pumped up for potty training (only a
fellow parent can truly understand the personal pep-talk required for such a
lifestyle change), and expecting a fight, Cameron was suddenly a WILLING
participant.
It truly pays to wait until the child is ready.
Here are a few tips that helped us potty train in a weekend:
1.) Like
I said, wait until they’re ready. Don’t just potty train because everyone else
is doing it.
Try, back off, and try again later if you have to. If they put up
a fight, they’re not ready.
2.) Get
excited! Approach it positively. I honestly think Cameron picked up on and
played off of our excitement in regards to potty training.
3.) Some
may disagree, but reward with praise and not treats. High fives and verbal
confirmation for how proud you are, is far more valuable then three M&M’s.
4.) Have
a symbolic throwing away of the diapers. We literally had Cameron take his
remaining diapers and put them in a garbage bag. (Which I later stashed away. I
spent money on those darn things, and the heck if I was going to just throw them
out!) We discussed why we were getting rid of them, and what he would be
wearing instead…and we never looked back.
5.) Take
your child underwear shopping. We let Cameron pick out underwear he WANTED to
wear. Thank you Pixar for putting Woody, Buzz, Mater, and McQueen on little
boys’ underwear.
6.) Put
the potty in a public place. This might sound a bit weird…and possibly even
gross, but it really helped us. We put Cameron’s frog potty chair in the living
room, and hauled it upstairs for when he was playing in his room. It basically
followed him all around the house until he really understood what it felt like
to have to go potty, and learned a bit more control.
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