Potty Training 2.0

(Theme from our weekend - My Girl Wants to Potty All the Time....)

We have just come off an intense but successful potty training weekend with almost 2.5 year old, Vivian.

Once again, I referred back to our Cribsheet blog archives for helpful advice and comments from my experience potty training her big brother just last year.

She was showing signs that she was ready a year before her brother had been. (things like attempting to change her dirty diapers herself)

I had always heard girls train earlier and she was ready. So we just had to, um, go with the flow.

What I learned from our weekend was that no two kids approach potty training in the same way. What worked with one, won't necessarily work with another.

Potty training success with brother Ben involved gushing praise and M&M's

I jumped up and down and cheered "Yaaaay!" at her first successful attempt.

I swiftly received a stern and serious, "No yaaaay-ing Mommy!"

I've said before she is strong-willed and determined. She did not want a big fuss or chocolate.

But underneath her stoicism I saw a puff of proud self-satisfaction wash over her. "Mommy, I'm a big girl."

*Sigh* And so a new phase begins. Bye-bye baby and toddler years, we're officially in big girl territory now.

We've just used a hybrid of great advice that we received from Cribsheet readers last year.

You can read great advice in the comments from last year's Cribsheet archives on what worked for our readers -

click here Potty Preparation.

Here is a Potty-Training Readiness Checklist

But keep in mind, as I mentioned above - what works for one child might not work for another. It's definitely a trial and error process. You'll see what works for your child, some train on potty chairs while others go straight to the toilet. And they may be motivated by different things be it M&M's or stickers on a chart.

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FROM MARCH 2009 ...POTTY TRAINING IN PROGRESS

Thank you everyone for your advice on potty training several posts ago, we used several of your tactics. We dedicated this past weekend to intensive potty training for Ben. Stayed close to home and concentrated on the throne.

I always said I would never compare our dog to our children - but I can't help it.
We found many parallels between housetraining our dog and potty training Ben:

Diligence
Patience
Pay attention to the signs
Accidents happen and that's okay
Gush with praise for trying/and succeeding
Have rewards on hand (oh and towels and carpet cleaner too)

He'd then sit on the seat with finger resting on his chin thinking out loud. "Let's see, this time do I want a yellow M&M or should I have a purple M&M?"

Distractions helped relax him for the sessions, a book - or the comics (see above). Plus I know the sound of running water is always a big help for a shy bladder. But running the faucet seemed too wasteful if it takes awhile. Aha! I went and grabbed our trusty old "Sleep Sheep" plush sound machine and set it loud to "Rainfall." Worked like a charm for relaxing and letting go of the flow.

We're still in training - there are accidents - (but heck sometimes even mom has accidents!) but he's well on his way.

Thanks for all of your support and advice Cribsheeters! _________________________________________________________________________________