We just put Addison in her first pair of big girl underwear. She got to pick them out herself and they are covered with flowers and the face of Dora the Explorer, and Addie is THRILLED.
We’ve been working on potty training for awhile now: introduced a new potty about five months ago and explained why we use the potty and what we do in there. We talked about letting mommy and daddy know when she feels like she might pee pee or poo poo. And good news – she LOVES the idea of the potty. It is great fun to yell “potty! potty!” while running to the bathroom and then making mommy and daddy strip her down (because why wouldn’t everyone be completely naked while using the toilet?) Then sitting down and making pushing faces/noises. And that’s that. Nothing left behind in the potty, it’s just another fun toy and chance to get “nake” as Addie so often does. But we both firmly believe that potty training is not something you force, ‘she’ll get it when she’s ready’ we thought.
Then we bought Princess Pull-ups. And waited.
Then we asked her if she liked going poo poo in the potty or her diaper: “Dipe. Poo poo dipe.”
Addie is pumped for preschool so we let her know that she gets to go, “But what do you need to learn first, love?” In her sweet little voice, “PEE PEE POTTY PRESCHOOL!”
So, after registering her for preschool two days ago it hit me that we have until september to make sure she can use the potty. We still don’t want to push her but we want to make it more appealing to get rid of the ol’ dipes. We made a “potty poster” with columns for sticker rewards when she does a series of things. She has two stickers each in the “Let us know you gotta go” and “Sit on the potty and try” categories. But no dice in the “Use Potty” “Wipe and Flush” and “Wash Hands” categories. So far, she gets stickers for getting naked, sitting on the potty and pretending to push just like she always has. Hmmmmm.
She’ll get there.
My little secret? Up until school registration I can’t say I was 100% on board with the idea of no diapers. We travel a lot. The idea of struggling out of our seats on the airplane because she may or may not have to tinkle sounds awful to me. Not to mention the limo rides to and from the airport – how are those nice drivers going to feel when that tiny voice screams from the backseat, “POO POO MAMA! NOW!” And accidents…oh I can imagine the accidents and the cleaning of the panties and extra outfits…
Part of me wonders why we don’t all just wear diapers.
So, if you have any advice about this potty training business, let me know. And please, don’t just send in your success stories where you gave your child a potty and he or she grabbed a newspaper to read and started using the potty correctly every time. I’m gonna be honest, I don’t really want to hear that. But if you have some helpful tips I would love to be read into your expertise.
Now, I have to go make sure Addison hasn’t peed on anything yet.
Confidence Mama 
About 32 years ago, I boght a book titles “Potty Training in One Day.” I used the method on my oldest. It took two days, but it worked. when the next child was due to potty train, I dusted off the book, reviewed the program and began. It took her about 10 days to potty train, fighting it the entire time. It was the threat of NOT attending pre-school that finally got the message through. Then Hayley came along. She was two and a half years old, registered for pre-school in the fall, and had no interest in potty training at all. Again, I dusted off the book. It took her 4 months to potty train. We did a lot of traveling when she was little. Pull-ups were so useful when on an airplane. Knowing we wouldn’t have an accident while waiting to use the potty helped reduce the stress level. With Kyla I didn’t try to potty train. I put her in the backyard with cloth panties and told her to use the potty so she wouldn’t get wet and stinky. She learned in 3-4 days to use the potty. Now we have a little boy to potty train. At 18 months he isn’t ready yet. With an October birthday, pre-school is still more than a year away. I will probably use the backyard method with him, too.
I LOVE that you are the potty training master! I’ll check out the book, I have a feeling the promise of 3 M&M’s if she fills up a column of stickers is going to get her into the idea of the potty – she is a fiend for “ne ne’s” as she calls them. We did put her in her cotton panties so she could actually feel that she gets wet when she pees. Chris and I laughed that this would be the summer of the SpotBot but Addie has the decency to pee on the linoleum kitchen floor rather than the carpet. She looked up at me and said, “Wet!” It was pretty funny…and pretty easy to clean up! I guess it will be the summer of clorox wipes too. Thanks for the words of wisdom and encouragement, I always love reading what you have to say 🙂
Oh, Katie, thank goodness you have a sense of humor! To be perfectly honest, I don’t have any memory of potty training any of you. Strange? Maybe. Or maybe I have filed those memories away because they were too traumatic! But I know that positive reinforcement and great patience on the part of parents is a key factor. And, use the pull-ups! That is what they were made for. Little ones just don’t have the control and it keeps the frustration at bay to have an “in between” stage. And read a book for help and understanding.
Love you, Mo
I think first kids are the hardest! Haha! It took us a while to figure out what worked for my son. We finally found that money was a great incentive. He got a penny each time he peed and a nickel each time he pooped. (We also let him find a “code word” for each so when in public, he could tell us without the masses knowing what he was talking about since little kids have no volume. But that was just for public places.) After the first time, he was thrilled, and though it took some time, after a month and a half he had it down. He worked hard for his money, and he got to go pick out something from the dollar store (easiest place for a kid to go!) as a reward for all that hard work. Money didn’t work for my second, it was the idea of school that got his attention plus he would run around the house pantless. If he had an accident, he had to help clean it up. My little girl took less time and though she didn’t grab a newspaper, she caught on quick and it scares me. She does have older siblings, so that’s my defense.
Each kid is different, and will take the time they need. So I agree with Momo, positive reinforcement and patience is a key factor. Plus some humor and M&M’s (for you). Good luck Katie! Good luck to Addison as well! 🙂