So its that time. As a newer parent to the toddler generation, we all agree potty training both sucks and is great at the same time. Its great because your hope is to no longer need diapers, “savings”! On the other hand, you now have to deal with the possibly of accidents happening everywhere, and I mean everywhere. If your house is mainly carpet, and if you currently don’t have any type of cleaner. I highly recommend the Bissel Little Green ProHeat as its easy to move from room to room and is quick and it just works. Since I am a dad in a blended family, this is my first ordeal into toddler life. So while I may not be new to kids, I am completely new from birth to age 5. So I am right with all those new dads who are experiencing this now or have already. For those that have not yet come this far, take notes.
Currently, my spouse is with our toddler for a majority of the day so she has been at the forefront of this to which I am grateful for. For the most part she has been good with going in the potty, we currently have her trying to go every 30 mins as a starting point. She has though on a few rare occasions gone 2-3 hours without going which was progress. We also fear the dreaded number two situation. You ask how does that work. Well, its tricky, as kids get older they most of the time can sense needing to go but unfortunately we did have one accidental number 2 so far. No way were was that underwear getting washed out, that underwear was a goner.
When training a toddler to use the toilet, there are 3 1/2 essentials that are crucial. When I say crucial, I mean you need these. They are flushable wipes, Pull Ups which transition to training underwear and of course the toddler potty. A notable mention is the book title “A Potty for Me” by Karen Katz. My daughter loved when I read this while she was going to go pee. This though was used in the early stages but its still a cute book to have because its realistic.
We are using two different potty’s currently during our training period. The Babyjorn in purple and the over the toilet fairies potty. Both do the same thing but the Bjorn is good for smaller areas. Our main bathroom is not large enough to put one of those stair contraptions I see online. We mostly use the Bjorn as its easier to store on the side and our almost 3 year old can take it out her self. It also has a high back and holds the kid in place. The ones that have a open/close lid are not so stable.
Now, if your having some trouble enticing your kid to go to the potty, we first started with gummies as a reward. Once she was going frequently, we then moved into the prize box. We aren’t rich by any means but the Dollar Tree is a godsend for stocking amazing little things for her. They have bubbles, stickers, coloring books, and of course toys. We also included themed items we have seen such as character wash clothes, shampoo and sesame street figurines. We used an older diaper box and labeled it Prize Box and she decorated it. You must go over that she only gets to choose one. Usually its been 1 per day she uses the potty vs everytime, and you can alternate if you wish.
Overall the potty has been on the slower side of the training but our goal is to hopefully have her out of diapers during the day by summers end. Here’s to crossed fingers.
