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October 27, 2005
Potty Training
With the boys I waited until the week of their 3rd birthdays before I even introduced the idea of potty training. I didn't even want to start trying until I felt that they were really able to follow their own cues. I just was not at all interested in having to remind a toddler to use the potty every 30 minutes or so. I wasn't up for a struggle or for cleaning up accident after accident. And it worked. Maybe I have a selective memory, but I recall few accidents. It must have taken Henry only a couple of days to completely train because he started preschool the week after he turned 3. I had to send a spare set of clothing just in case and he never used them- not once.
I was planning to use the same approach with Iris. I know that many girls are developmentally ready at a younger age than boys. So I imagined that sometime in the spring I would address the issue with her. (She will be 3 in August)
Well, I should have known better than to try to plan it with Iris! About a month ago she started refusing to wear her cloth diapers- even her cute Winnie the Pooh diaper. And Iris likes Pooh! Then in the past couple of weeks she has refused to wear diapers at all while at home. I would say, "Great! She's potty training at 26 months!" But actually I'm having to remind a toddler to use the potty every 30 minutes and I'm cleaning up accident after accident all over the house. I could just make her wear diapers but we all know that when you try to battle a two year old there are no winners.
Arghh!
Posted by Julee at October 27, 2005 09:19 PM
Comments
I feel for you. Both my boys developed a toilet fetish around 20 months and insisted on going "like a big kid." With my now 6-year-old, I was mopping up accidents for nearly a year. Now that Hurricanehead is insisting on the potty and big-boy pants, we're back to the same routine. I send him out into the yard a lot.
Posted by: kcb at October 28, 2005 06:59 AM
Hope she decides to potty train herself quickly. Its amazing how different each child can be in their decisions of what they want and don't want to do.
Posted by: Yolanda at October 28, 2005 06:22 PM
I'm figuring I'll also take what I term the "slacker mom" approach to potty training and wait till she's basically old enough to train herself!
Posted by: Lisa at October 28, 2005 08:27 PM
I have introduced the idea to Connor and we have watched the "Potty Time" video, played with the matching "Potty Time Bear", sung the "Super Duper Pooper" song. I give up. We are not mature enough to handle this. Yes I said WE. Third birthday, here we come. I surrender.
Posted by: Colleen at October 31, 2005 09:28 AM