PT - taking the plunge (kinda, sorta)

So we've ordered two Baby Bjorn potties. The kids have been asking to use the toilet, and I've taken off their diapers to let them sit (with lots of support, because they're so skinny they'd fall right in!). They're not doing anything yet, but they're very interested in the whole process. Sometimes if their diaper is dry when I expect it to be soaked, I'll ask them if they want to try to go pee before (nap/park/whatever), and they don't manage to do it, but you can tell they're really trying.

My plan is to just have the potties around, and whenever they ask to try, let them give it a go - but I'm not planning on actively potty training yet, unless they're really gung-ho about it. But does this sound like a good plan? I am so clueless about the whole thing!

And above all, EEEEEEK! What can of worms am I opening up? :lol: :escape:

 

:yahoo: It was hard, but worth it for us! There was a lot of asking them and finally hit upon giving them a nickel every time they were successful. (pennies would have worked too) After awhile they forgot about the nickel and didn't have any wet training pants (cotton). Good luck!

 

We sort of did the opposite of that with Nadia, LOL. But, I know different things work with different kids. I loosely used this method:

http://www.pottytrainingconcepts.com/A-Dr-Phils-Potty-Training1.html

It's based on an old, dense and boring book from the 70's (Potty Training in Less Than a Day, or some such), but the reasoning behind it is sound.

Before the DAY, we made no mention of the potty, no "let's just try" -- nothing. Then, we spent an entire day learning to use the potty (seriously, we did nothing else), and following that, she was in underwear. She had a few accidents the first week, and none since. That was at 26 months. (She was wet at night until almost 5, though, and I don't count that.)

The best part of this method, IMHO, is the practice runs -- after each accident, we practiced running to the potty, pulling pants down, sitting down, then pulling pants up, and running back to the scene of the accident. Then we did it again. And again. We made it a game. The book that comes with the Potty Patty doll recommends that you do it 10 times after each accident, but we did it about 6 or 7 times before she started protesting.

I think the key to this method is that you don't give your kids a chance to dig in their heels, and refuse to use the potty -- then it becomes a power struggle. Rather, you inform them that this is now the way things are done, show them how to do it, and then expect it of them. (It's a little old school, but it works, and without any fuss!)

Because it worked so well the first time around, I'm going to use this basic method with Karina -- probably this week! (Still on the fence whether she's fully ready.) But, I'm going to wait on Kevan, as he's really just not ready. I was hoping to train them together, as I think he'd benefit from watching and copying Karina, but I just don't think it's going to happen. I'm hoping he'll be ready over winter break.

Good luck! I hope it's easy for you!

 

Abby was easy - she simply decided she was done with diapers, asked to wear panties and had 1 accident after that...hasn't had a pee or poop accident since (with the exception of 2 wet nights when she had a pile to drink before bed)....now if you're not getting that lucky....

with Ian I just bit the bullet and took the pull ups away and put underwear on him - and made him clean up his puddles...the first day he didn't make it to the potty even once - the second day we had a few successes (like 2 or 3 - he even peed his pants in KMart!!!)...by day 4 I had him timed - if I took him every hour and a half he'd pee - by the end of the week he was going on his own...he's also dry at night with the exception of once or twice...

poop is a different story and we're still struggling with him pooping his pants...the last 3 weeks have been tough since DH has been out of state training for a new job...

 

GL Holly!!! We have the Bjorn potties and Meara is doing great and in underwear most of the time. Ana is starting to come around and sits on the potty and asks to go so I think its all good. I can't wait until the day I don't have to fork over all that money to BJs each week for diapers!!!

 

Oh, yes, it's a huge can of worms!!! LOL

that is pretty much what we did with Hannah & Natalie. The potties had been out since about their 2nd birthday. They used them off and on but I didn't push it at all. One day about a month ago Natalie announced she didn't wear diapers anymore. We went out and bought panties that day for both. About a week in they both regressed to diapers for about (?) a week -10 days, then started up again and Natalie hasn't had any accidents since and Hannah has only had a couple when she has been really engrossed in something.

From my experience with Rachel (didn't start PT until 38 months) and friends who also didn't start until after the 3rd b-day...training in early to mid-2s seems easier. Those 3 yr olds just tend to be more stubborn/resistant to change. JMO

Good Luck!!

 

Go for it Holly. That is exactly what we did until they started showing me more signs that they were interested.

 

That's pretty much what I did -- "Here's the potty, use it if you want." It takes a long time (we had about 14 months of that stage), but there was very little pressure. Towards the end we did have to ramp up the pressure a little bit and start rewarding them for going potty -- not so much because they couldn't do it as because the novelty wore off. Then there were a couple of months when we would oh-so-casually ask if they were ready to wear underwear, and they kept saying no. We waited until they said definitively yes.

So, it was slow, but it was definitely the right approach for us.

On a side note, I had to laugh at your subject line. "Potty ... plunge" (You can tell I've spent too much time over the past year examining what's floating in the toilet bowl.) :rotflmbo:

 

Thanks guys! I'm not the type to do the boot camp approach, and I don't think they're ready to really PT yet. We're getting the potties now mainly because the kids are talking about it so much, and we don't want to hold them back from doing whatever they're ready for right now. I'm glad that's worked out for some of you! I'll just wait and see what happens.

Ha! Hadn't even crossed my mind (consciously, anyway)... On a side note, would you believe my tiny little kids can clog a grown-up toilet? They're in cloth diapers, so we dump everything in the toilet, and sometimes the contents of a single diaper are enough to clog the toilet. How on earth can that much poop come out of such a teeny tiny hole??? :blink: