Potty Books

In an earlier post, we suggested building a potty training library of stuff for your toddler to read.  Here are some suggestions:

Pirate Potty:


Some friends gave these out to a group of 2-year olds as the take-home at their 2-year-old's birthday party.  It includes a pirate hat, which is really too small to wear, and a bunch of pirate-oriented stickers to use as prizes during potty training.

Much more fun to read if you use your pirate voice...







Big Boys Use the Potty!




This one comes with many star stickers to track progress.  We used the pirate stickers on a sporadic basis at the start, but then started using the star stickers in this book when we really began charting progress and methodically potty training.







Once Upon A Potty:

These are gender-specific potty training books.  They include body-part illustrations to describe the process.  I found the pictures of the poor mother in these books -- holding the diaper filled with pee and poo -- to be sadly amusing.


    

Potty Training Tips: Underwear

Some parents find that after their toddler tries on underwear, it works best to have them just wear their sweats or pants instead of underwear for some period of time.  Sweats are just easier to pull down in a hurry as compared with underwear plus pants.

Be prepared for accidents at the start!

Potty Training Tips: Nighttime Potty Use

When your toddler is ready for nighttime potty training -- AFTER daytime training is completely mastered -- start out by working on reducing liquids right before bed.  That isn't easy for toddlers who like to have a drink before they turn over and go to sleep.  But it is a wise move, since toddlers frequently won't wake themselves up to go in the middle of the night.

It makes sense to have your toddler spend time using the potty right before bed.  This is true even if the toddler says he doesn't have to go.  You want them to get into the habit of potty before bed.

You may need to wake your child to use the potty once during the night.  That is a matter of trial and error.  And frankly the trial and error process is a good reason to have a rubber mattress covers.

Potty Training Tips: Some Psychology

At the start of potty training, it doesn't really matter if your toddler actually urinates or has a bowel movement.  You don't want to pressure the toddler and get him or her all freaked out about the process.  It isn't that the toddler won't be a big boy if he fails to urinate.  Nor is it that you won't be proud of him or that you'll be disappointed in him.

We suggest you try not to use words like "good boy!" or "good job!"  You want your toddler to master the skill.  We suggest you use comments like "that's it!"  Or "I notice that you went potty."  Or "it is really helpful when you use the potty."

Potty Training Tips: Making it Fun

In an earlier post, we suggested trying to make using a potty fun for your little person.

There are many potty toys on the market.  Examples include the talking potty training Elmo doll.  You give the Elmo a plastic sippy cup to "drink" from.  A sensor in the mouth of the Elmo doll senses the cup and Elmo "drinks."  Then a few seconds later Elmo announces he has to go potty.  You help Elmo out of his underpants and put him on an Elmo-size plastic potty.  The doll senses it is on the potty, and Elmo does his thing (sounds only; there's no liquid or solid coming out of this doll, which is good).  If you don't put Elmo on the potty in time, then Elmo announces that he has had an accident; better luck next time.















Of course, you don't need to take this sort of elaborate approach to making potty training fun for your toddler.  You can just use a stuffed animal and pretend that it is going potty on your toddler's potty chair or potty seat.  Doesn't have to be a big production.