Trouble with Pottytraining

Trouble with Pottytraining… Here’s some (unsolicited) advice!

I kind of promised myself I would never write a blog about this. I certainly don’t want to embarrass my children by anything I write. I also don’t want to brag, but, well, I just have to say…. My kid is going on the potty! Hip Hip Hooray! This isn’t to say we aren’t having our fair share of “accidents.” We’ve had a whole month of accidents. But, as of yesterday, my child is going on the potty more than he is not.

My reason for sharing this delightful tidbit with y’all is quite simple. Although I’m definitely no expert (we’ve only had two days of success), I have learned a valuable lesson… If you want to potty train your child, you have to stop putting diapers (or pull-ups) on them.

This may seem like an obvious concept. But, as a parent, I can attest to the fact that you can bribe a kid, you can beg a kid, but as long as you put a diaper on a kid, you’ll both be using it as a crutch. The first time leaving the house without putting a diaper on Graham was tough. It was even harder to put him down for a nap without one on. (Confession, I’m still using a diaper for night-time. Don’t judge.) I’m not looking forward to our first of many public pants-wetting episodes. I plan to keep multiple pairs of pants and underwear in my car. I also didn’t enjoy cleaning up the mess after today’s nap. However, I acknowledge, that without giving up the diaper we wouldn’t have made the progress that we have.

So, if like me you find yourself spending way more time than you ever dreamed of in the bathroom with your toddler, and you’d actually like to make some progress, my suggestion to you is this – suck it up. Put the diapers away. Get tons of big kid underwear. Buy stock in Spot Shot. Load up on extra bed sheets. And always, always, know where the nearest bathroom is.

Got some extra tips to share? Feel free to leave a comment on the blog!