Day Zero: Prep work
Day One: The Big Day
I know, it’s been ALL QUIET ON THE POTTY FRONT over here. Here’s my follow-up post about the first week, all disjointed because I really don’t know how to craft this post, so I’m not going to spend much time thinking about it.
#1—Accidents
Day two? Zero accidents while awake (yay!), but his cloth diaper was quite a mess after nap.
One or two accidents the rest of the week. All I did was ask him if he needed to go potty every 30 minutes or so, and if he said yes, I took him. I also took him even if he said “no” if he was doing the potty dance. He usually initiated.
After Day 5 or 6, we apparently stopped doing the sticker chart every single time. I blame the weekend.
Day 8ish, the Captain reported that he cleaned up quite the poopy pants. (J, aren’t you happy your mother blogs? Can’t wait for you to read this when you are 13.)
Day 9, two accidents. I blame the TV and the fact that I was working. He laughed when I said, “No, no potty in your pants!” and pointed at the potty. He knows, all right.
Day 10, two more in like, one hour. Now, he’s been asking to go potty every 15 minutes, and he has gone, so I don’t really know what the deal is.
Actually, I have an idea. It’s…
#2—Independence (how appropriate that number is in this situation)
Now that Champ can go potty, he is pretty sure he can do absolutely anything. Sounds empowering and lovely, like the way I felt Amazonian Warrior Woman after I gave birth to him.
But independence also means “I DO WHAT I WANT, Y’ALL.”
You’ve heard of the Terrible Twos, and the How-Can-It-Possibly-Get-Worse Threes. (I don’t really know what they call the 3s, but I know most moms will tell you it’s worse. What makes either age “terrible” is the sudden onslaught of throwing tantrums, talking back, testing limits, pushing buttons, and ignoring authority.
Lemme tell you something. It’s not the age that makes the difference, it’s the threshold of independence. And I think it’s safe to say that threshold can definitely be potty training.
I think the reason we’ve had more accidents lately is the same reason I’ve had to deal with more tantrums lately. As soon as we gave Champ an opportunity to tell us “no,” like when we asked him if he needed to go potty, and he saw that his words and actions had an effect on my actions, he learned there was a whole new realm of possibility in stinkeriness. (That’s a technical term.)
Dealing with the terrible twos (or threes)
Having been a preschool teacher for four years before becoming a mother, and having had two brothers very much younger than myself, I’ve observed the different effects of parenting. The absolute best thing for a child is for him to feel secure. That means he needs to know 1) that you love him, 2) that you will take care of him, and 3) that you are in control. The worst possible thing for a parent to do to a child is to not parent that child. I’m not saying you need to be a dictator—certainly not!—but you do need to set rules and not let your kid(s) walk all over you. If you realize later that your rule was stupid, or that you made a mistake, apologize to your child. This confirms that you love your child, and it ensures that your child will respect you and your authority. Children that grow up with no regard for authority are the ones who either had no real authority in their life (due to neglectful parents OR doormat parents who spoil their children) or who had an authority in their life that they grew to not respect (due to parents who were stubborn or unfair OR parents who children feared rather than loved).
Now that I had that little schpiel, I’ll get back to the practical potty stuff.
#3—Your friend the Potty
We bought a cheapo potty at Walmart or Target that I let Champ pick out because I wanted him to get excited about it. It was advertised as being “cushy” and had Lighting McQueen on it.
similar to this one, with a pee guard and potty hook
It’s a piece of crap. The cushy part has no structure to it, so it sinks down below a hard ridge of plastic that cuts into my toddler’s beautiful thunder thighs.
I did some research and read some reviews and settled on the Prince Lionheart WeePod. And the best thing about it? It was the same price, maybe $1 more, than the piece of crap one. And they had it in stock at our local Target.
comfy and cool.
Either way, little boys need to lean FORWARD and point DOWN to avoid spray. They will touch the guard, so be sure to wipe it down when they are done. The Cars one came with a potty hook, that’s kind of nice, but that doesn’t make up for the fact that it left bright red indentations on my son’s hindquarters. The Prince Lionheart looks so comfy and well made, I had to check out the Prince Lionheart website to see what other kinds of quality products they make.
To sum up:
#4—Potty Training in Public.
Once I figure this out, I’ll do another post. Thankfully he made it on our first outing to the Vet and Post Office without having to pee. We are driving out to Wisconsin soon, though, so I’ll probably end up buying one of those travel potty seats.
In the meantime, I highly suggest reading “Public Toilets Vs Newly Potty Trained Girls and Boys” on Crappypictures.com, which is why I’m likely going to go purchase one of those travel potty seats FAST. If you read it, you might be likely needing to use your own potty soon, due to the laughter.
Click the image to be taken to CrappyPictures.com
diary of a bewildered mother 