Ah, potty training.
Third time round so I’m a complete pro now, right? So here’s my five step guide to potty training your child in a day – or more accurately, in one hour and twenty three minutes.
1) Bribery: make a potty training chart with stickers for every success on the potty. If stickers aren’t your thing, go for the big guns: sweets. I don’t know a child that can’t be bribed to do something they don’t want to do if offered sweets.
2) Take off the nappy and put on some big boy/big girl pants chosen by your big boy/big girl. I hope they didn’t choose the most expensive ones with all the Disney characters on the front because, chances are, they’ll be going straight in the bin.
3) Expect a couple of accidents. Ignore these. (Although try to move out of the way as you see your big boy running towards you with wee cascading like a broken water main out of the bottom of his trousers.) Reward the successes.
4) Later that day, hey presto, done! No more nappies.
See, easy as pie, isn’t it?
Wait. Aren’t I missing something?
Oh yes, <whispers> that’ll be:
5) wait until your child is three and a half years old before realising that he really can’t be in nappies when he starts back at preschool in a few weeks.
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So I fully intended to potty train Ben in January as he turned three as I had with his older brothers. At three, it’s quick, it’s not too messy apart from the odd trail of, ahem, you know what across the floor now and again. (I see too from linking to that post that my sarcasm hasn’t eased any as my parenting skills continue to be put into practice, so I guess when things go wrong in the parenting department I really get everything I deserve.) Anyway, just after Christmas William fell really ill and by the time preschool started he was in hospital. Ben’s potty training would have to wait. Then William didn’t get better and by February we realised that he would be poorly for the rest of his life. Life went into freefall. Ben’s potty training would have to wait. Then we went on holiday and when we got back Ben said he wanted to go on the potty. Yay! The next day, however, he wanted to be a baby again in nappies with his cot side up (yes, he’s still in a cot and thank God he’s not my littlest baby because you know everyone would just be lining up to say, she can’t let that boy grow up! he’s going to be her baby forever! he’ll be thirty-five and still living at home! but as it happens I have an even littler boy who I can keep at home forever in nappies and a cot).
So we left the potty training until he was ready.
But then I looked at the diary last week and realised the school holidays are nearly over and I really would have to do it, even if he wasn’t showing any signs of being ready.
Because he was three and a half.
And that’s Ready.
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What’s your potty training mantra: get it over and done with even if it might take a bit longer? or leave it until they’re older and do it quickly? What made it work for you?
Photo courtesy of: http://www.flickr.com/photos/slack12/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Nothing works for me. But hey, whatever.
Glad it worked, at 3, 3 1/2, whatever. Really, in teh scheme of things, I think it’s fine.
Tried it with my older boy at 3, horrendous experience of a week of puddles and piles, and a stubborn child who purposefully peed on the carpet. Waited til he was due to go into the next car seat at 3.5yrs, and told him he wouldn’t get it until he was in pants. He was dry and clean from that minute (bar the occasional ‘I wanted to watch the rest of this program so I weed on the sofa’. WTF?!)
Now I KNOW my daughter is ready at just-2, but she is SO stubborn and SO contrary, and she starts preschool in 2 weeks. I TOTALLY missed the ‘window’ when she was 20 months. I really think she can do it but she is such a madam, and she always does the opposite of what I ask. Dare I try?!
Jen – She was ready at 20months? Girls are just so much better at this than boys, huh?
We went to see Edward’s doctor last week and he was talking about doing a scan when Edward was out of nappies. He said could we do it in January when E would be 22 months old. I pointed to Ben in his nappy and said simply, he’s three and a half. The consultant said, er maybe not then.
I would try with your daughter if you think she is ready. If it doesn’t work you have plenty of time to try again. At least you can be fairly certain she won’t be three and a half and still in nappies!
Oh potty training!! D’you know what – I’m almost missing it! Well, not exactly – but I did get some good posts out of it!! Both mine were completely different. Both girls though. First one did it relatively easily in a week or so (2 and a halfish). Second one took months and several tries and aborted attempts. We’re only just through it and we still have the occasional accident. I think definitely the later you leave it the easier it is for everyone. Leave them all til 6 I say!! Well done you though and well done Ben. And my littlest is still in a cot and she’s nearly 3. Funny thing is I promised the cot to a friend exactly a year ago. She gave birth the very next day and has been waiting for the cot ever since. Whoops!! Littlest shows no signs of wanting to go into her big bed at all…
My eldest is nearly two and we’re thinking about the dreaded potty training. We’ll leave it until we think he’s ready and not do it at two to please my mother in law!
I’m quite new to your blog and I’ve been reading back over your posts. I’m so sorry your son is unwell. How is he now?
Twitter: sandycalico
MT – glad to hear someone else has a nearly 3 year old in a cot! Ben will be physically too long for his very soon – must sort the poor boy out a bed!
Sandy – thanks for visiting. I’ve enjoyed reading your blog! It is six months since my son was diagnosed so I wrote a post about it today if you are interested in reading (warning, it’s long and a tad angry/sad)
My son was well over 3 before he was ready for potty training and it didn’t take too long. He’s still not dry at night at nearly 4 but one thing I’ve learnt is to let him go at his own pace. My daughter is only just 1 and I’m going to wait until she’s completely ready for potty training, which judging by the speed at which she does everything else won’t be too long!
If I knew then what I know now, I would not have bothered trying to potty train my daughter at 2 1/4. I would have waited for her to train herself at 3.