Potty Training 3

(Read Part 1 here and Part 2 here)

Where they are now

It’s been about 8 months since we started potty training.   Are we done yet?  Not quite.  As per a recent conversation with someone at the public school district they are not fully potty trained because a) They do not wipe after poo, b) They cannot use elementary school toilets because they cannot climb up and they cannot sit down without falling in, c) They cannot walk to the restrooms by themselves.

…I know, right?  What a way to measure!  She acted like it was their/my fault that they’d fall into the toilet!  They’re only 3 1/2, okay?  If you don’t provide them with toilets they can use, then they’re not going to be able to use them.  Also, they cannot walk by themselves through the entire school to get to the restrooms by the playground.  They’d have to pass the main (open) gates, pass 6 classrooms, turn right at the corner of the building (where they’re out of line of sight for anyone), and find the restrooms there (in front of ANOTHER exterior gate).  END OF RANT

I don’t disagree about the wiping after poo part.

I understand a lot of people have problems getting their kids to wipe their arses correctly.  I was looking at a forum and people were saying that their 4 year olds were making headway with the problem but some kids had problems until they’re like.. 8.   Generally, they recommend a) being sure to teach front to back wiping, b) showing them how to wipe (guiding their hand on the second poo wipe), and c) expect them to not get it right for a while.  Yes, skid marks.  Woohoo.  Something to look foward to at laundry time.

Final Thoughts

I waited until my kids were almost 3 to start potty training because I could.  There are some people who believe it can be accomplished very early (such as my mother-in-law, who insisted she thought she trained her children by this age when she saw them at 1.5 years.  My husband says this is bull.  Why my MIL decided she remembered potty training when she insists every other aspect of childcare was so long ago she can’t remember is beyond me).   I liked waiting until the kids were cognizant.  The anxiety of training went away after the first week and a half as things were going okay.  We didn’t force Z into panties all day until it was somewhat obvious she knew she could do it if she wanted to (hard to pinpoint what makes me think this, but it’s there).

Here’s some comments on the products we used:

• Bjorn potty chairs – good first step for twins since we could sit them both down for a long time (as necessary when starting), not as important for single kids, probably
• Bjorn step stool – very sturdy and good size, will get a lot of use out of it
• Rubbermaid step stool we already had – again, worked just fine
• Bjorn potty seat – really great.  I put up a Command Strip hook next to the toilet and the kids can get it down and put it on.
• Huggies pull-ups – worked just fine.  Pampers makes okay ones too, but we started with Huggies because of the side strips.
• Reusable training pants, Blueberry – the kids hated them, and wouldn’t even put them on; so much for being environmentally friendly
• Reusable training pants, some other brand- same thing as above
• Cute panties/underwear- works as an incentive if you get the right character ones, also check the size before you buy a whole bunch (ha ha, silly me)
• Little Looster “potty booster” – kids didn’t really like this in front of the toilet as the step is shallow and they couldn’t turn around easily, also it’s very large and hard to move out of the way for adults; we ended up using it at the pedestal sink where it’s working perfectly
• Waterproof flannel pads – still handy in the car where you might have to set up the Potette in the trunk
• Kandoo potty wipes- great wet wipes to really prevent those skid marks, we also used the adult Cottonelle wipes on them too with no problem
• The Potty Caddy – really not necessary, toilet paper inside was cute but on the scale of truck stop paper
• Aquaduck faucet extender – absolutely necessary for kids to use the sink on their own when they are young
• Potty training books – not that important if you just talk to your kids about it
• Kalencom Potette Plus 2 in 1 portable potty and liners – great for use as a travel seat topper AND stand alone potty (really cool).  Not as small as the folding ones but won’t pinch their arses
• Misc. cleaning supplies, including paper towels and carpet cleaner – you have kids, you have these
• Kiddopotamus Deluxe Piddle Pads, 2, for car seats – haven’t been very necessary yet, but nice to have anyway for those days the kids are soggy for one reason or another

 

Well, I posted all this because when I was researching potty training I could only find sparse guides to certain methods.  I didn’t know anyone who c/would tell me their whole potty training story and I wanted to hear one.   So here’s ours.  I hope it helps someone out there.  It’s not quite finished yet, but that’s life.

 

Edit 5/13:  I wanted to add a mention for the Hadaki Multitasker Duffle Bag.  I wanted a new bag for the Kalencom Potettes that was waterproof and cleanable.  This bag is all that and just a tiny bit bigger than it needs to be.  It’s great to replace the bag the Potettes come with once they’re  starting to fall apart.  (Of course, a gallon ziplock works fine too).

Edit 10/14:  In retrospect, I forgot to add that when they were 4 we had to revisit  correct wiping since they’d started using postage stamp sized tp pads.  Also, we found that one of them was afraid of flushing and had not flushed for a month or so until we caught on.  Finally, one of them has not mastered the idea that you wipe and drop it in the toilet between your legs.  She’s been putting it behind her and sometimes missed the toilet.  Yes, that’s right, all the little pieces of toilet paper I was picking up and thought they were playing with was actually USED and not flushed.  ARGHH.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Potty Training 2

(Read Part 1 here or Part 3 here)

Game Plan:

1.  Decide on terminology to use and tell everyone what you’re going to say.  We went with “pee” and “poo”.  Later, told every adult about toilet ritual actions for consistency.

2.  Put kids in reusable training pants or pull-ups or underwear + easily removed clothes (those cute overalls=never going to be used)

3.  Warn kids repeatedly about change/ Ask kids repeatedly if they have to go/Put them on potty every 2 hours or after meals or naptimes for about 10 minutes or until action starts (for one week, then as needed)

4.  Tell kids they were “big girls” and “big girls use the potty” (Propaganda campaign)

5.  Be willing to let them pee themselves at least once to show them what happens (per discussion with childcare professional and parental decision that a little distress goes a long way)

6.  Do not freak out if things get nasty

7.  Be ready with praise and rewards if things go well

8.  Be ready with spare clothes and cleaning supplies if things do not go well

The girls had already seen me use the potty and I had talked to them about the steps before.  (Don’t say, “Yuck” at me, sister, that’s how it’s done.)  We warned the girls the night before about what we’d be doing and played it all up again the next morning, solemnly putting them into pull ups instead of diapers (still had a lot of diapers but that’s okay).  We wanted to try training pants at first, but no one would put them on.  We also decided to focus on using the stand alone potties so the kids didn’t have to wait to use it and we could keep them in one room while we trained them.  The first rewards we used were candy sprinkles (the current craze), but we changed to stickers and hugs after the sprinkles started going into the potty chairs and little fingers dived after them.

So, how did it go?  Surprisingly okay!  A was ready for this.  She was really ready.  She was eager to show us she was a big girl and did not mind sitting on the potty when we put her there.   She had a general idea of when she had to go potty and would tell us.  Eventually, she did it.  Wheeee!  Lots of praise!  Eventually, she went poo! Wheee! Lots of praise! (Yuck! Have to clean it out.)  New additions to list:

9.  Warn kids repeatedly Poo and Pee are YUCKY and DO NOT TOUCH.

10.  Establish with less enthusiastic adults that they DO NOT RINSE POTTY CHAIR INSERT IN SINK as this puts human waste into a raised basin your kids will be dabbling their fingers in.

11.  (Was surprised I needed to tell anyone this but,) Do NOT leave used potty chairs in room with kids while you do something else.

Now, Z was another story.  Z was okay with the idea but did not care about the execution.  She did it when it seemed like a new type of play but in the middle of better play she’d forget.  And pee herself.  And cry.  Maybe… every other day.  She did okay the rest of the time so we didn’t feel that discouraged.

That’s the summary for the first week.

This is getting far too detailed so I’ll hit some important points:

• At night/during naptime we put them in pull-ups and told them pee was okay.  We taught them to yell “POO!” if they needed to (we have monitors).
• A had to learn how to “hold it” (important life skill) because she tried going pee every few minutes for the novelty (early in training, about 2 days)
• A asked to use the big potty in the second week and Z followed.  They soon learned to flush and wash hands and eventually, how to put the potty seat on and pull up the stepstool by themselves.
• Going out of the house was first accomplished with pull-ups and then, with renewed warnings, in panties (for A).  This worked okay, except I had to learn where all the restrooms were in every store I went to.  Also, had to carry Kalencom Pottette everywhere (still had use for diaper bag).  For some reason, both girls thought it was a scream to make Mommy take them to the restroom in restaurants right after the food arrives.
• Ongoing battle to teach girls not to mess with toilet paper (too much,NO lassos, too little, etc).
• After about two months of both the stand alone potties and the toilet with the potty seat I snuck the stand alones into the garage.  I hated having to clean those suckers out.
• Z continued to refuse to wear panties all day and, while she mostly used the potty for poo, often just peed in her pull-ups whenever play was too intense.  Finally, I told her we had run out of pull-ups and got her some monkey panties.  We told her Sister was a big girl but she was a baby if she kept wearing diapers.  At this point she knew she was behind her sister and her friends at school, so she went along with it.
• A and Z go to a small playschool and went through most of potty training when there were only about 3-4 other kids around.  Happily, they trained at school just as well as at home.  We discussed the entire process with the teacher and made progress reports to each other to keep current.  Was good.

So that was the main part of potty training.

Are you exhausted yet?  I am.  And I’m sure I’m blocking out part of my memories about potty training just like I blocked out most of those early just-after-giving-birth days.  It is a means to keep my sanity and forget pain.  It is also Nature’s way to try to get you have more kids.

Ha! You think I’m a sucker, Nature?

(to be continued)