I am now a few days into potty training as I write this post. If you have been following my Adventures in Potty Training you know by now that I have had two totally different potty training experiences from two completely different children. This is my third time around potty training and yet again I am taking a different approach.
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Years before I had children or a degree in education, I was a child-care assistant at a local daycare for children 18 months – 2 years of age. (The lead teacher was actually a dear friend of mine so the chemistry in the room was fantastic!) With the parent’s consent, we began potty training these children by leading them to the potty at specific intervals throughout the day (before and after naps, lunch, etc.).
With every one child’s success came another one. Before you knew it there was a potty support group amongst the young toddlers! Most became potty trained before they moved on and into the next age group!
Why did this work? Taking your child to the bathroom when you know it’s a logical time to go leads to more success. More success leads to more practice (so do failures- so don’t get discouraged!) What also helped is that it was a supportive, relaxed atmosphere with a lot of peer pressure. Kind of what is going on with my third child now?
You can lead a toddler to the potty, but you can’t make them go in it!
I have been potty training the Gavmeister for four days now. The first day ran pretty smooth with only a few minor glitches. He successfully went at least 3 times- one of them even being a poop! The second day- a few more successes and the third day- NOTHING! Nothing? how do you go from a huge start to an empty finish in three days? More importantly- why are you not discouraged?
It’s normal. Actually it would worry me if he didn’t go through this spurt of rebelliousness. It’s a big thing for a toddler to change up their ways. Why would they want to- it’s one more thing that they have to do for themself.
What I have been doing about it? I have continued to take the Gavmeister at our regular scheduled potty runs. Giving him encouraging words (although I want to say aloud “What? You should be a pro with this by now! What’s going on man?”) And praising him for his attempts. {Quick note- encourage and praise for attempts.
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Save the cheer-leading dances for true success!} Does he go poop in his diaper? We just take it and drop it off into the potty and tell it this is where it goes. Potty training is not for the faint of heart.
Twice he told me “No!” when I asked him to go and try. I shrugged it off (well, to him. To me it felt like a deep wound) and assured him that we would sit and try again later.
The absolute hardest part about potty training is wanting to wave the white flag in defeat when you have only just begun! Hopefully, we will have better luck on day 5!
Every child develops differently and depending on the child’s readiness for potty training, each child may have their very own challenges. Moreover, if a child has some learning differences like Autism or ADHD, toilet training can be more challenging than training a typical child. This article on toilet training for autistic kids is a complete resource for parents of kids with autism or ADHD.
