Going Potty, Training.

If you read my post late last week you’ll know we embarked on the potentially tempestuous journey in toddlerdom known as potty training.

We’re on about Day 5 now. Or is it Day 6? I can’t be sure. We started going a bit stir crazy after about 4 days of being indoors an everything looked the same there for a while. The repeated song from the singing potty doesn’t help. When you’ve listened to the “well done” song 10+ times a day, you may start having murderous thoughts towards it.

After outright refusing the potty for a full day and seemingly loving weeing on the floor for about a day after that, something in Little Z clicked about Day 3 or 4. We decided to leave him in his wet pants a bit longer than the few minutes it usually takes to whisk them off and change him into fresh clothes. At first he wasn’t too bothered but over time he showed the slightest hint of looking a bit guilty. The wet feel was probably not too great for him either and we think he may have gotten fed up of walking a bit like a cowboy. Over the last couple of days he’s gone from rushing over giving me a panicked stare to rushing over to the potty himself. Whilst he’s not reliable yet he is showing willingness at last. Hurrah!! I still have to remind him a lot of the but we are getting there slowly.

Of course this could all change tomorrow so no cheering too loudly just yet. He’s flat out refusing to go potty anywhere outdoors so think that’s going to be the next challenge. Oh and night time. Oh and moving the potty to the bathroom slowly. Oh and the transition to the proper loo. Err…Is there anything else?

I also need to cut down on using sweets and chocolates as bribery; my main strategy through this whole week. When even Little Z refuses a jelly sweet you know you need to change your tactics.

Update about 6 months after we first started potty training:

If you’re reading this terrified of venturing into the potty training phase then these are my top tips . By no means am I any kind of expert but these things have worked with my ultra stubborn 3 year old. There are still days where he will get so wrapped in playing that he forgets he needs to pee but these are the things that really helped.

1. Reward charts are Fantastic! We didn’t use one for the first week or so but the thought of getting a sticker reward for every wee and poo really spurred Little Z on and he enjoyed putting it on by himself and then giving himself a good clap.

2. Lots and lots of treats help. Chocolate buttons, jelly worms, chocolate stars. Anything really. It did get to a point in our house one day where he just got fed up of them and he was probably about 50% sugar too. I think I might try passing a cucumber stick to him as a reward. It could work. No?

3. Dettol spray and wipes are a wonderful thing. As are wooden floors.

4. It’s only Wee. And Poo – I think I completely stressed myself out before hand with the thought of wee and poo all over my house. You soon find out children don’t wee like big powerful hose pipes and a wee accident is usually just a little puddle on the floor. Poo is obviously a bit more, err, challenging. But it does err…hold together a bit more in their pants.

5. Keep moving the potty a bit more towards the door and a bit closer to upstairs. We eventually moved the potty to the hallway and then just got rid and had Little Z running straight to the loo. It took a few weeks but he’s managed to make it. Mostly.

6. Sometimes they don’t make it. There are times when Little Z will almost make it to the loo and there is a little wee patch in his pants. Its happened quite a lot and after getting a bit worried about it I spoke to his keyworker.

7. It can take anywhere from hours to months to finally get it. In comparing every single potty trained child I can find I’ve found that some kids simply whipped off their nappies, flew onto the loo and have been perfectly trained within minutes. Others have taken up to a year to do it properly. Little Z has accidents and after worrying about it and speaking to his pre-school keyworker she really put my mind at ease about it. Having had over 10 years experience of looking after kids she’s said this is completely normal. Phew!!

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61 thoughts on “Going Potty, Training.”

  2. My first was relatively easy when it came to potty training…I trained her just after she hit 2 and was sorted in 2 days….

    Have a feeling Bee may be abit more trouble. Not looking forward to when the time comes to train her! Love that reward chart!

    Good luck x
    Foz recently posted…Silent Sunday – 05/01/2014My Profile

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  3. Wahay that’s fantastic progress Tas you must be delighted…kind of! I’m sure he’ll see using the potty as a fun game soon enough! Good luck and thanks for sharing #whatsthestory

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  5. Murderous thoughts toward the potty! hahaha! Weaning and potty training – my two least favourite parts of parenting. Good luck – you’ll soon be through it.

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  9. A singing potty?! I dread to think!
    My little lady is attempting to train herself but insists on using the toilet – which isn’t great when I’m trying to feed her little sister and could really do with her using the potty downstairs instead lol.
    Hope it continues to be successful for you!
    #MagicMoments
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  16. We have done day one and after nearly giving up after ten minutes of her crying to keep her nappy on I persevered and I’m glad I did because it wasn’t as bad as I expected. She got 3/4 wees in the potty so not too bad. No poos so that will be the next thing, then like you said going out and night-times. We also have a little seat for the toilet which I’m trying to get her to use more as having a potty around with J is a hazard!! I’m so looking forward to her getting it though and me not reminding her resulting in wee on the floor! x
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  17. Looks like he’s doing good so far. We used the “toilet fairy” to help ours move from the potty to the toilet. There’s a fairy for everything else so we thought, what the hey! lol. She would leave them a reward at the end of the week if they got lots of stickers on the potty chart. It was never anything huge, just a sticker book or colouring book. Good luck!
    LauraCYMFT recently posted…What’s the Story? #17My Profile

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  33. Sounds like he’s progressing well – slowly, but surely. To be honest, I’m scared to do this now. She’s not keen on trying and I can’t be bothered with the hassle. Especially while we’re dealing with toilet training the puppy too! Will it ever end??!!!
    Faded Seaside Mama recently posted…Footprints in the sandMy Profile

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