Potty Training 101

We're at Tot's Gym today and I see a little boy sitting off to the side against the wall looking a little lonely. I said, "Don't you want to play?" and pointed to all the other kids jumping about and riding tricycles. He nodded his head but didn't move so I said, "I'll play with you, come on!", he looked happy, stood up and pointed to his shoes. I said, "Cute shoes, come on, do you want to climb?" He pointed down again and I lifted up his big orange tee shirt (that tells which nursery school he's there with) and saw that he had peed in his pants. I pulled his orange shirt back down and noticed that it had a big wet circle on the front. I said, "Oh-oh, you had an accident? That's okay, let me get someone to help you." I went over to one of the women who were watching the kids in matching orange shirts and told her that there was a little boy who had an accident. She said, "I know, he's potty training, he's okay, we're going to have some lunch soon and then we'll take him back and clean him up".

Well, it just so happens that I am potty training Skyler without much success, so I asked her if she had any tips. I told her that I was using pull ups but he didn't seem to be catching on. She said, "Oh please, pull ups don't work, they're just taking your money, it's the same thing as diapers only way more expensive". I said, "Well, what do you do?" She said that they put them in underwear, let them have some accidents and then, after a week or so, they get the hang of it. She pointed around the room to a few of the Skyler sized kids and said "that one's potty training - he just turned three, that one over there just started - he still has accidents, that girl with the dark hair is potty training and doing good but girls catch-on faster. You just have to put them in underwear, explain how it works and what happens when they don't get to the potty on time, and let the learning begin! Put a diaper on him when he naps or goes to bed; have him wear underpants the rest of the time and accidents are okay, that’s how they learn. After awhile of wetting himself he'll realize that he can control it so that doesn't happen until he gets to the potty. You'll still have accidents, but after a while it'll only be a once in a while thing.

So tonight we put Skyler in underpants around 5:00. He peed through the first pair of underwear (and pants and shoes and socks) almost immediately. It's now 8:00 and we've had 4 changes of clothes but also a lot of success! He's made it to the potty several times and is really proud of himself.

I’ll keep you all posted…