I left a comment for a friend on potty-training. I will thankfully never have to do this again. Grin.
My advice if it is going badly. Take a short break. Resume and take a different tack. I read Toilet Training in Less Than a Day. My son took much longer than a day, but you get the idea. Here’s what worked for me when all else had failed and a September first day of preschool was looming ahead of us.
- I set aside a week to stay home.
- I placed a potty in the bathroom.
- I let him walk around in underwear.
- Since he had shown so much resistance the first time, I resorted to a bribe. I placed a Diego jeep and animals toy in the box on a shelf in the bathroom. He really wanted this toy. I told him that every time he went on the potty he would get an animal. If he went 5 more times he could get the Jeep. I told him that once he got the toy we were done with diapers and pullups.
- The book said that the child should practice getting to the toilet. I had my son run to bathroom from all rooms in the house. When he got to the bathroom he practice pulling down his pants and going on the potty. He loved this game. It got him ready for those times when he left going to the toilet to the last minute.
He was the hardest to train of my 3 kids. But, once he got it he had very few accidents, plus he was trained at night a week later. My girls were still in a night pullup closer to 6.
My son was basically trained in a day too. I may have even read that book at the time. (It's been 15 years!) I used M&Ms and waited till he was 3. I had a friend that had tried to force her daughter to potty train at a year and she was having 'accidents' at 6 still, so I figured no use pushing the issue. I'd rather change diapers than clean up poopy underwear. lol!
Thank You SO much for the advice!! =)
Potty Training book saving!!!!!!
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Men’s Health Magazine (Sept. issue) recommends Potty Train Your Child in Just One Day: Proven Secrets of the Potty Pro by Teri Crane. (Similar to TTLD, more current and a lot more fun.)
My husband picked us up a copy after reading the article. IT REALLY WORKS!!
Everyone is talking about throwing a “potty party” to potty train a child. I was so desperate; I was willing to do anything. Her book outlines 10 themed parties. What kid doesn’t love to play and pretend? All my mommy friends have successfully potty trained their kids with her book too.
Honestly, when I first learned of this book, I thought NO WAY! Maybe this would work on a little girl, but NOT a BOSSY, 2-1/2 year old BOY. NO WAY! Guess what? It REALLY WORKED!!! Teri Crane SAVED MY SANITY!!! Her book was easy to read, funny and extremely helpful. I can’t thank Teri enough. I would HIGHLY recommend this book to EVERY parent. It will save you much grief and frustration. Potty training shouldn’t be difficult, we as parents make it difficult because we don’t know what to do. Teri teaches you. Buy the book, it’s the best money you will ever spend
Most amazingly, I had some questions, so I called the author, and she CALLED ME BACK!!