1.25.2018

Thoughts for Thursday: Potty Training

One of everyone's least favorite parenting jobs.

Potty Training.

This is my second go round with potty training and I honestly wasn't dreading it that much. Potty training Miller seemed daunting but it actually wasn't that hard. This time around has been a totally different story. As it happens with most siblings Miller and Matthew have completely different personalities so I've had to approach potty training the second time around in a completely different way. For Miller we used the three day potty training method and it worked wonderfully. There is a book about it but I really just used Pinterest and Google to figure it out. I found this article to be the most helpful and have it saved in my bookmarks.

Matthew is much more strong willed and stubborn than Miller so it's been a more challenging journey. I polled my followers on instastories and you all gave me so much good advice!  I decided to share with everyone what you all suggested I try and then give you the game plan I've come up with.


- Read the Oh Crap potty training book. I haven't read it yet but I just downloaded it to my kindle so I'll keep you all posted.

- YOU have to be ready.  You as the parents have to decide that you're all in. 100%, or none of it will work. If you get lazy or frustrated it won't work at all. So chose a week, weekend etc that works with your family and schedule.

- Don't compare you child to any other children, including siblings. Everyone completes things in their own time and some just take longer than others. He won't go to college wearing a diaper (hopefully ;).

- Wait until your child is ready. Don't focus on the age and focus more on not making the process into a scary forceful thing.  (this one goes with the one above)

- Try a slower path extended over a few weeks of gradual potty training rather than the immersive 3 day method.  Some kids need more of an introduction and slow training rather than being thrown right in.

- Read potty books, watch potty shows, talk about it a lot before you even being to sit them on the potty.

- Have older siblings help with potty training (age depending obviously). Some kids work well when encouraged by peers so have older sibling be another cheerleader.

- Keep child in the bathroom for the whole first day and allow all rewards to be given outside the bathroom. So if they go potty they can leave to go play with reward- tv show, iPad, going outside, playing with a toy, getting a treat and then return to the bathroom for their next turn on the potty. (this one is more in depth if anyone is interested I can share more details)

- Keep a potty reward system.  Sticker chart, reward chart, etc.  Encourage them through out the day that going potty is what gets them said reward.


So there you have it! I hope this is helpful to anyone else who is in the same boat as me :)

My new game plan is to step back from actual potty training for a week and then start back up by reading books, watching tv shows, and just talking non stop about going potty on the potty.  Then I'm going to take the slow approach with Matthew and probably work on it over a few weeks rather than three intense days. I also plan to read Oh Crap and any other website/blog/article I can find in the meantime to get ready.

Below I rounded up our favorite potty books and a few that I've added to my Amazon cart. If you have any other good ones let me know!  We have the top row of books and we've loved them since Miller was two.  I just ordered the three on the bottom row because Miller and Matthew said they looked good so I'll keep you posted on how they go.

Top Row: One // Two // Three
Bottom Row: One // Two // Three 


Thank you again for all the advice and I promise to keep you all posted on how it goes and share anything else I learn along the way! 



Grab the button below and link up to AnnieNatalie, and Owen on your Thoughts for Thursday post.
Use #thoughtsforthursdays on Instagram and tag us @homeofmalones , @eastcoastnat and @mrsordavis. Link up starts at 7 am EST.
Follow us on Bloglovin’ too:






SHARE:

5 comments

  1. I am already dreading this even though we are far from potty training ha! Good luck mama!

    ReplyDelete
  2. This was really helpful! I’ve got it on the horizon for Leo, and I think I need to start by stocking up on some potty books.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Potty training is the worst, I have no good tips, but it WILL happen! And there is always wine ;)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Good luck!! I feel like the potty training process is harder on the parents than the toddlers lol! Keep us posted! And keep your eye on the prize....NO MORE DIAPERS!! I have no idea what that feels like! lol

    ReplyDelete
  5. We just started my daughter in a pull up and have the immersive method planned for spring break. Definitely not my favorite parenting task for sure. Great advice here!

    www.blushmagnoliablog.com

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for stopping by my blog! Your comments make my day. If you have a question feel free to email me at eastcoastnat@gmail.com

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
Blogger Template Created by pipdig